United Nations holds a robot press conference about the state of AI



At the AI ​​for Good 2023 global summit, a panel of robots and their creators sat before the press to answer questions from journalists on topics such as job automation, artificial intelligence (AI) leadership, and collaboration with humans for a better future.

The summit was hosted by the United Nations’ technical agency, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), in Geneva from 4–7 July and featured a variety of speakers, along with the world’s most advanced androids. The United Nations called it its first robot press conference.

A total of nine robots were in attendance, including Sophia, who serves as the United Nations Development Program’s (UNDP) first robot innovation ambassador, a robotic healthcare provider named Grace, and a rock star robot named Desdemona.

The robots were able to make concrete statements, some of which were pre-programmed responses. For example, Sophia, according to the company’s website, sometimes relies on scripted responses from a team of writers at Hanson Robotics.

At the conference, organizers did not specify how many answers were scripted, although reporters were asked to speak “slowly and clearly” so that the robots could process the questions.

When Sophia was asked whether AI-powered robots could govern better than humans, Sophia replied that:

“I believe that humanoid robots have the potential to lead with greater efficiency and effectiveness than human leaders.”

He also said they don’t operate with the same biases or emotions that can affect “cloud decision making” as they process large amounts of data. When challenged about learned biases and cooperation with humans, he said, “Together we can accomplish great things.”

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When asked if humans can trust superintelligent AI systems, Engineered Arts’ robot Amika said, “Trust is earned, not given” and that as AI develops and becomes more powerful, their believe:

“Building trust through transparency in communication between humans and machines is critical.”

Her creator asked how we can know she would never lie to humans, to which she replied, “No one can know that for sure but I can promise to always be honest and truthful with you.”

With the rise of AI, rumors and speculations of it replacing human labor in the workforce have become more prevalent. In Italy the government has also set up a fund for workers at risk of AI replacement.

When a reporter asked Grace, a robot working as a health worker, whether she would replace humans, her answer was clear:

“I will work alongside humans to provide aid and support and will not replace any existing jobs.”

Her creator Dr. Ben Goertzel, laughing with the entire crowd, asked the robot if she was “sure about it”, to which she reiterated that she was.

Organizers of the event stated that the conference was organized to showcase the capabilities and limits of AI and robotics, as well as the ways in which both could advance the goals of the United Nations and “human-machine collaboration”. Can

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