AI is the hot topic of the moment, and the United Nations' International Telecommunications Union decided it wasn't going to be left out. The agency organised a news conference at the AI For Good summit in Geneva on 7 July, at which human reporters were introduced to and then asked questions of nine humanoid robots. As the AP reports, the event was supposed to showcase "human-machine collaboration" and was billed as the world's first press conference between humans and "humanoid social robots".
Yes, it does feel like the prologue to a sci-fi novel where the human race doesn't do terribly well for itself. The nine robots sat alongside some of their creators, who gave a short presentation about their designs and capabilities, before reporters got to throw questions. If you watch the video there are some clear lags and awkward pauses, though these were pre-briefed as inevitable due to the "internet connection" (hmm). The whole uncanny valley effect is only emphasised by audio problems in the room, which suddenly veers between levels mid-answer. More telling than the obvious tech hitches though were a few replies that seemed all over the place and, most worrying of all, the moments where these things spoke in clear and ominous sentences.
