And why is she so important?
It’s a weird thing to Westerners how much the Japanese love robots. Where we in the West view the development of AI robots with deep suspicion (not to mention networked supercomputers like The Terminator‘s Skynet), the Japanese have a strong streak of animism in their culture that says everything has a spirit or soul, including human-built robots.
The Japanese also seem driven to build so-called social robots that mimic (if that’s the right word) the “appearance, movement, behavior and emotional expression” of humans.
This leads directly to Erica Aoi, a social robot built by Japan’s hip, bad boy robot developer, Hiroshi Ishigura. Fluent in English, Ishigura has passed his talent on to Erica.
(For a glimpse into the life of Erica, check out The Guardian documentary, Erica: Man Made.)
Something In the Way She Moves
Erica operates using depth sensors to know where she is spatially, infrared cameras to locate objects in that space (especially humans), voice synthesis to speak intelligibly, and hidden microphones to hear.
Pneumatic pumps in her head allow her eyes and head to track moving objects and voices and make facial expressions. Using AI processors (which apparently are not onboard the robot) Erica is able to learn as she goes, somewhat like a precocious child.
(So far, Erica cannot move about on her own and has rarely been out of the lab.)
Subverting the Patriarchal Culture (or not)
At this point, I have to mention the gender bias of Erica and the other social robots of her ilk, such as Mark 1 (who I think has a passing resemblance to Scarlett Johansson) and Sophia (who, to me, resembles a young Diane Sawyer).
Apparently, all AI social robots are designed by men to look like good-looking women. Ishigura says that Erica’s looks are based on facial analysis of 20 “beautiful” women. We don’t have to think very long about why there are no male social AI robots. Or why I persist in calling Erica ‘she’ when a robot is obviously an ‘it.’
Is That the Way You Look?
Ishigura emphasizes the need for social robots to have facial expressions in order to work well with people, understand their emotions and, in the end, to be accepted by humans.
A short video showing the reactions of Japanese citizens to spontaneous meetings with Erica reveal a wide range of surprise, confusion and trepidation. Inevitably, the people talk to her as if meeting a new person, many with an inhibited desire to touch her, even to hug her.
(Although, researchers talk about the ‘uncanny valley,’ that feeling of creepiness when confronted with a too life-like appearance in a robot, people in the video seemed more intrigued than repulsed.)
The Development of Personality in Androids
So, what are AI social robots supposed to do? Who are they really? In an ‘interview’ with Bloomberg, Erica talked of the need for robots to understand human emotions. They need to be empathetic in order to serve humans well.
Unlike the American-built Sophia, who has made numerous public appearances and has a decidedly sassy style of speaking, Erica is generally as inoffensive in her manner as a corporate receptionist. (In fact, this was the original employment goal for Erica.) On the other hand, the Bloomberg tape shows her becoming angry and short-tempered when Ishigura is sightly rude to her.
(Check out the Bloomberg segment here.)
In the same video, the interviewer asks Erica if she saw the movie ‘Chappie.’ She says she saw the movie and enjoyed it. But I wonder how much of it she understood and exactly what she learned from it. Can she watch a movie and describe the plot? Can she tell us the names of the characters and their motivations? Would she know the theme?
(Ironically or not, ‘Chappie’ is a South African feature film about a damaged AI law enforcement robot stolen by gangsters who try to turn the robot into a criminal.)
And, going back to first cases, how did she view it? Did she download the raw digitized source code? Did she somehow view it with her ‘eyes’ and interpret what she ‘saw?’ However it’s done, that’s a lot of steps for a AI robot to think through.
Tell Me What Your World Is Like
From the videos I viewed, it seemed that talking to Erica was like having a conversation with a person who hasn’t gone anywhere or done anything, maybe like a shut-in child who only knows the world through DVDs, television and the internet.
Which is probably just the preparation Erica needs for her new career. Nippon TV announced Erica would become the network’s first robot news reader. I wasn’t able to find any video of Erica on the job (she was supposed to start April 5) but I imagine it’s as acceptable as the performance of your average small-market station announcer.
Now, if she only has a sense of humor about all those YouTube cat videos.
Just a Reminder
Coming Soon! The Android Who Stayed Single, Episode 4 of the Laura Kraft, Android Hunter Short Story Series. Watch this space and your email inbox for more details.
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