One of my first stops here was at a University of Las Vegas robotics lab. Scientists there were working on projects ranging from drones to virtual
reality, but they were also collaborating with the team behind one of the stars
of the robot world,
Sophia is a humanoid robot with a face that strays dangerously close to that "Uncanny Valley" where machines look just a little too human for comfort. She
achieved fame and some notoriety when Saudi Arabia named her its first robot
citizen, a stunt which saw many question whether machines were now being given
freedoms denied to Saudi women.
Sophia is the work of Hanson Robotics Marco Parolo Italy Jersey , an American firm with a base in Hong Kong. We had come to see her take her first halting steps on legs which are the work of this
university lab.
Then it was time for a handshake and a chat, with Sophia responding remarkably articulately to my questions - though I should say she'd had advance
notice of what I'd ask.
In many ways, this a hugely impressive project combining expertise in robotics, speech recognition and machine learning developed by American and
Chinese scientists.
But when I ask what practical purpose she serves Manolo Gabbiadini Italy Jersey , Hanson Robotics founder David Hanson is somewhat vague, mentioning work with autistic children and a role as a work of
art.
He is, however, a man with a startling ambition to use Sophia as a platform to achieve the holy grail Luca Antonelli Italy Jersey , Artificial General Intelligence where machines can outperform humans at any intellectual task.
He admits she is, in many ways, about as intelligent as an amoeba at present, but is hopeful that as she interacts with humans she will learn and grow. "Our
aspiration is to bring the machines to life Lorenzo Insigne Italy Jersey ," he tells me.
It's a vision that will be met with scepticism by scientists who think the humanoid path is the wrong route for AI, and with fear from those nervous about
killer robots.
Elsewhere we find more immediate attempts to turn AI into saleable products. Voice-controlled devices are everywhere, with Amazon's Alexa now facing a more
sustained challenge from the Google and its Assistant. The two giants seem
convinced that our homes will soon echo to the sound of people yelling orders at
everything from the light switches to the microwave.
And out on the Las Vegas streets the battle to prove self-driving cars are imminent is in full swing. I hitched a ride in an autonomous taxi, a
collaboration between Uber rival Lyft and the technology firm Aptiv which has
bought up AI teams from both Carnegie Mellon and MIT.
The autonomous driving mode was impressive Lorenzo De Silvestri Italy Jersey , keeping a close eye on pedestrians, but as soon as we arrived at Caesars Palace the human driver had to take over - the
casinos are still cautious about allowing this kind of technology on their land.
In downtown Las Vegas, I then hopped into a more futuristic vehicle, a taxi with no driver Leonardo Bonucci Italy Jersey , no steering wheel or pedals. It made its way around a block of streets set aside for autonomous vehicles, but it was not the
smoothest ride, with the vehicle lurching to a halt at any hint of an obstacle.
Still, Navya the French transport company behind this project Graziano Pelle Italy Jersey , insists its Autonom taxi will be in service in cities in the United States and Australia very soon,
But the most confident statement about artificial intelligence at the conference was made by Baidu. Its AI supremo Qi Lu took to a stage to explain to
a Las Vegas audience what his company did - "China's Google" - and why his
country was going to close the gap with its American rivals. It was all about
sheer scale - China had far more people, producing far more data and there was
what he described as a "friendly policy environment".
That presumably means controversial technologies such as facial recognition can be deployed more quickly, creating a virtuous circle where ever more data
makes the AI systems improve ever faster.
But as this data gold rush continues and the hype around AI gets ever louder Giorgio Chiellini Italy Jersey , it is worth remembering the great paradox - in a time of great technological change productivity growth has ground to a
halt.
Ever waited ages at an airport to "drop" your bag after thinking you'd done the work by checking in online? Or stood at a hotel reception desk as endless
pieces of data are entered into a computer and thought wistfully of the days
when you signed a form and were handed a key?
Then you have experienced that productivity paradox and may be sceptical that smart machines learning from vast amounts of data will make our lives more
simple and productive.(Agencies)
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