We’ve all seen the terrifying headlines:

‘Rise of the Cybermen: The Terminator-style bionic ear that could give people “superman” hearing’
‘Terminator is nigh: Shape-shifting material that instantly switches from solid to liquid could lead to a new generation of robots’

And the rest.
Undoubtedly, there is a great deal of anxiety out there about the development of robots and artificial intelligence. Some of these fears are well-founded, of course, and some less so. We’ve been presented in the popular media so often – in films, video games and in the popular press –  with the image of robotic monsters and genocidal AI that it’s a wonder that public have not demanded that these dangerous toys be taken from scientists and forever locked away, their development forever prohibited for the good of all life on earth as we know it. (A similar public attack is underway regarding GMOs, for example; again, many of these are well-founded and some are not.)

However, increasingly, we are seeing another side to our imaginations of what robots can do, will do, to us, for us. No longer are they simply the laser-gun-wielding psychopaths, or the disembodied masterminds orchestrating the end of the human race. Robots and AI have also now become not only our carers (e.g. Robot and Frank), our lovers (Her) and even our children (A.I., Chappie).

And now, even more optimistically, they have become our saviours, the final great hope for humanity.

This is quite a turnaround, in terms of public relations.

Consider, for example, the tagline on the posters for Chappie, New Blomkamp’s take on the birth of sentient AI and the Singularity:

Humanity’s Last Hope Isn’t Human

Or consider Daniel H. Wilson’s 2011 novel, Robopocalypse: we are presented with a story about the rise of AI and robots and the destruction of humanity. But absolutely essential in humanity’s fight back are not only technologically-enhanced humans (armed with prosthetics and neural implants), but our new robot allies, good robots that help us battle the bad robots.

Or, going further back, consider more widely the Terminator series: in the first movie,, from 1984, Arnold Schwarzenegger is most certainly, unambiguously the Bad Guy, sent by a future AI to ensure that human resistance against machine-rule dies in its (or his) infancy. But already by the second film, , in 1991, Arnie is already the Good Guy protecting humanity from the next robot threat. And by the fourth in the series, in 2009, it is inevitable to avoid a certain degree of spoiling just by mentioning that the title is Terminator: Salvation. (And 2015’s Terminator: Genisys [sic] promises more of the same.)

Terminator

All of this might seem like a positive step in the right direction for those whose work is dedicated to building useful machines that help humanity, as the bad PR of snarling chrome skulls (and THAT picture) are replaced with more wholesome and realistic ideas of robots caring for the elderly and helping the sick and disabled – and on some levels this absolutely needs to be applauded – but there is also the worry that this new conception of robots is really just the other side of the very same coin: that the idealisation of robots and AI as humanity’s last great hope is not actually that much different from the demonisation of robots that preceded it.

Of course the idea that robots, and technology more generally, will be the humanity’s salvation is not a terribly new idea, and certainly has been around as long – or perhaps even longer – than the technological monsters that have come to dominate the popular media. Frankenstein’s monster, for example, was conceived as a warning of what could go wrong with humanity’s new technological prowess, despite our noblest intentions (and is itself a post-Enlightenment version of the classic Faust myth).

Android Superhero and Arch-villain – get ready to see more of The Vision and Ultron in the coming weeks.

And conceptions of the future since have always been manichean: utopian visions have always competed alongside dystopian versions, and though the nightmare images are more often (and popularly) the stuff of our fictions there have always been groups, from the Futurists to the posthumanists, that are ready to embrace the brave new world.

But uncritical optimism is often driven by the same sort of (often unconscious) anxieties and fears that give rise to the images of robotic monsters; likewise, misinformation and unrealistic expectations are the source of both unrealistically positive and negative beliefs.

So while the robo-enthusiast and AI-champion might welcome this cultural shift towards more positive social attitudes towards technology, it might not be all good news. We have to resist the vicissitudes of love and hate, demonisation and idealisation, and approach these questions – as always – with rational discussion and education.

]]> https://csnblog.specs-lab.com/2015/04/23/robot-saviours/feed/ 0 https://csnblog.specs-lab.com/2013/10/22/living-machines-2013/ https://csnblog.specs-lab.com/2013/10/22/living-machines-2013/#comments Tue, 22 Oct 2013 02:30:41 +0000 http://csnblog.specs-lab.com/?p=4782 Continue reading →]]>

What’s the relationship between living and artificial systems? How can we combine the two to form sophisticated solutions to challenges in science and engineering? The annual conference Living Machines puts these questions under the microscope.

Conference chairs Paul Verschure (Director of the Synthetic, Perceptive, Emotive and Cognitive Systems Group at Pompeu Fabra University) and Tony Prescott (Director of the Sheffield Centre for For Robotics, University of Sheffield ) hosted the 2013 events July, 29 – August, 2 at the Natural History Museum in London, a venue no less enchanting than last year’s edition which took place at Antonio Gaudi’s La Pedrera in Barcelona.

In addition to the workshops and the international roster of plenary speakers, this year’s conference featured a special exhibition on Living Machines at the London Science Museum.  Intelligent artifacts and biohybrid art made up the majority of installations displayed. Some of the stranger-than-fiction highlights included: a live musical performance featuring a humanoid robot; a robot model of ‘trace’ fossils from the dawn of life; music composed by a bio-inspired computer programme that mimics natural selection; plant-like robots that grow and change shape; wearable computing for finding your way in darkness and a robot that powers itself by digesting insects.

The fascinating exhibition complemented captivating talks on Natural and Artificial Selves by University of California Berkeley’s Tarrence Deacon; Biomimetics for medical devices by Ferdinando Rodriguez y Baena from Imperial College London; the history of living machines by Andrew Pickering from the University of Exeter, and several others.

Stay tuned for the Convergent Science Network’s next edition of Living Machines, coming up in the summer of 2014! To read more about the 2013 event click HERE.

An ancient Arabic machine manuscript

What’s so great about machines?

It’s easy to see how some of today’s mechanical marvels like NASA’s Mars Spirit Rover or The HRP-4C, created by The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), inspire jaw-dropping wonder. Who made that? And how on earth does it do that? Are all natural questions that come to mind in the face of these modern works. However, there’s something about animated bits of wire and metal that have intrigued humans for centuries.

The ancient Greek mathematician and engineer, Hero of Alexandria  (c.AD 10–70), was rumoured to have built robots made locomotive through the use of air pressure. Accounts of the creation of a human-like automaton even go back as far as the 10th century BC, in the ancient Chinese Lie Zi text. And since their existence, people have prophesied about what their role could be, for both good and evil. Even Aristotle had an opinion on robots. After noting Homer’s reference to them in Lliad, he speculated  that robots might one day bring world-wide human equality, ultimately ending any want for slaves.

But our fascination with machines extends far beyond robots… from the measly coffee maker to the mighty space shuttle, we’ve included many in both our daily and monumental rituals. And speaking of a monumental ritual, you may want to check out what went  at the Burning Man festival this week. Artists there put on a terrific display when they ran 3.2 billion base pairs of encoded DNA run through pattern-generating software that was projected via a 60 W Laser. Talk about blurring the line between art and science.

And speaking of art, perhaps our fascination with machines has more to do with what we gain from the process of creation itself. The famed robotocist, Masahiro Mori, stated the following in the Japan Times after founding the first nation-wide robot-building competition in Japan back in the 80′s: “When we lose ourselves in an activity, we become creative, friendly and funny. Think of how children are when they are playing. They are completely absorbed in the game; their eyes shine and they are all smiles. They’re into the game, not themselves”.

Ghost in the Machine- Guy David

The development and design of future technology should foster some unlikely alliances

The late professor of English and Cultural studies at De Montfort University, Nicholas Zurbrugg, focused largely on the analysis of the contemporary, the experimental and the avant-garde. His 1999 paper, Virilio, Stelarc and ‘Terminal’ Technoculture, published in Theory, Culture and Society,
discusses the way that various artists and cultural theorists view and portray technology.

Zurgrugg quotes Marshall McLuhan, Canadian Philosopher and literary critic, as stating that ¨The artist picks up the message of cultural and technical challenge long before its transforming impact occurs and builds models for facing the change that is at hand¨.  What challenges does McLuhan refer to exactly? German writer, Heiner Müller, describes that modern technology causes us to face a sort of awkward cultural transition -¨The man between the ages knows that the old age is obsolete¨ but he  feels that ¨the new age has barbarian features he simply cannot stomach¨.

An earlier post in this blog discusses the phenomenon of ¨the uncanny valley¨ where robots that reach a near-human level of  resemblance make us feel uncomfortable. This complex and deeply ingrained phenomena calls for a need for people from diverse disciplines (science, art, philosophy, etc.)  to work together in developing and designing  new technologies that society is comfortable with. For instance, when it comes to the design of robots as sentient machines, what types of features should be included in  their appearance and mannerisms, and which ones should be left out?

You can check out art by Stelarc, an Australian performance artist who has visually probed and acoustically amplified his body and Bill Viola an American video artist who uses video to explore the phenomena of sense perception as a means to self-knowledge.

You can also read an article in  Guardian on the need to integrate art and science.

Currently it takes a lot of time and money to produce, program and design a functioning robot. Although the project’s in its early phases, it aims to ¨dramatically reduce the development time for a variety of useful robots, opening the doors to potential applications in manufacturing, education, personalized healthcare, and even disaster relief,” explains Rob Wood, an associate professor at Harvard University.

On a larger scale, the project aims to democratize access to robots by advancing the state of the art of today’s increasingly accessible 3D printers- allowing individuals to design and build functional robots from material as readily available as a sheet of paper.

Researchers also envision that these types of robots could provide fix-it-yourself solutions for household problems;you could simply head to a printing store and pick out a blueprint from a catalog of robotic designs and customise an easy-to-use robotic device built to tackle the problem. Within a day, the robot would be printed, assembled, programmed and ready for use.

Can we make robots to help solve problems that are part of our daily lives? Click HERE to find out about a European initiative which envisions robots as companions for everyday citizens.

At the Synthetic, Perceptive, Emotive and Cognitive Systems group (SPECS) at the Universidad Pompeu Fabra (UPF) in Barcelona, it’s just your average Jam session. Fellow music makers include a PhD student, a robot and the Reactable! The demonstration featured in the video above merges two projects into one: The Reactable and the Experimental Functional Android Assistant  (EFAA), which is using the iCub robot as its main research platform.

Robot-lovers are likely already familiar with the iCub, a European robot famous for being able to interact with the world much the way a small child does- by learning from others around it. As  robots become increasingly ubiquitous  in our daily lives, the social compatibility of such robots gains more importance and in order to meaningfully interact with humans, robots need some real-world social intelligence.  For this reason robotocists are working hard to endow machines like the iCub with novel perceptual, behavioural, emotional, motivational and cognitive capabilities.

While there has been  a lot of research centred on human-robot interaction, another interesting line of research investigates not only  how humans interact with robots but also how different forms of technology  interact with each other. Within this context, robots are rather special because they’re capable of using some forms of technology much the way humans do.  The video above features the iCub simultaneously jamming with musician and scientist, Andre Luvizotto, on the Reactable.

Beginning as a research project by the Music Technology Group at UPF,  the Reactable is a new electronic musical instrument  that enables musicians to experiment with sound by changing its structure and controlling  its parameters in a highly original way. Recently turned into a spin-off company, Reactable Systems, the amazing piece of technology is  now being used by various musicians around the globe, including world renown Icelandic singer-songwriter Björk.

While the iCub’s got a ways to go before becoming a Reactable pro, guided by Andre, it’s capable of identifying, grasping and positioning objects that symbolically represent different musical instruments. The result is sweet, sweet music- made by one man and two machines!

We know it takes creative minds to inspire new technology, are we now on our way to making creative technology that can inspire us?

You may want to read a Spanish article in the El País Technology blog about a Robot artist… and if you’re curious about more cutting edge technology, check out the European Flagship Initiative: Robot Companions for Citizens

Robot and Frank premiered this week at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Directed by Jake Schreier and written by Christopher Ford, this dramatic comedy features a relationship between an elderly man and a robot bought for him by his kids who are concerned about his well being .

Although one of the film’s main protagonists commonly haunts Sci-fi story lines, makers of the film wanted to steer clear of a setting that seemed outlandishly futuristic. Instead, the story takes place in the near future and portrays a very realistic and even plausible relationship between a man, and a machine that slowly grows to be his companion.

Could we have robot companions like this in real life? The robot, that plays alongside actor Frank Langella in the film, may be seen as an archetype for some of today’s robot makers;a machine capable of interacting softly and safely with humans, promoting their independence and well being. Robot Companions for Citizens is a European initiative which envisions robots like this. More information HERE.

Spelling help robot — Girl, 10, Germany

“What would happen if robots were a part of your everyday life—at school and beyond?”

Latitude, an international research consultancy, asked  nearly 350 children in Australia, France, Germany, South Africa, the UK and the USA to draw a picture and write a story that answers the  question above.

Homework help robot — Boy, 9, Germany

Through this task researchers aimed to take a closer look at the following issues:  What intersections exist between learning, play and creativity, and how might
technology facilitate all three fluidly; What kind of relationships do children hope to develop with and through robots?;  What are the specific opportunities for robots and other technologies to ignite and encourage children’s learning and creativity?

Motivational math robot— Girl, 11, Australia

*Photos are  participant submissions from Latitude’s  study, ¨Robots @ School¨. More information is available HERE.

The video above features a special performance of a Shakespearean classic put on by Texas A&M University several years ago. The students and professors involved in the production thought this would be a great way to see how people respond to and interact with robots.

Presently, there are quite a number of studies which are investigating human-robot relationships. The recently completed European project SERA (Social Engagement with Robots and Agents ), aimed to advance the social acceptability of robots by collecting data on real-life, long-term relationships of subjects with robotic devices. A current European project, LIREC (Living with Robots and Artificial Companions), is also geared towards investigating social interaction with robots yet, some scientists suggest we look elsewhere than the lab for clues on how to improve our experiences with robots….

Literature, theatre and film portray a vast array of human relationships.  An Immortal literary icon like Shakespeare was an expert in unraveling the many aspects of human behaviour. Similarly, today’s roboticists have become very interested in picking apart the smaller components of human interactions in order to make our future experiences with robots as comfortable and natural as possible. From operas to poetry, artistic productions expose all sorts of human relationships in great detail but how can we extract useful information from such works and apply it to robotics?

Researchers from the Austrian Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Vienna, Austria suggest we do the following:

First, identify relevant scenes from various media. This could include anything from Greek tragoidia to modern day classics like metropolis and ET, however they suggest selected scenes be centred around characters which are engaged in a servant-master relationship. Those scenes would then be carefully analysed; identifying who does what, when and looking at the reactions that ensue. Next, they recommend different types of behaviours be categorized. This could result in categories of behaviours that are important to consider for robot demeanor but may otherwise be left out of conventional psychological typologies ( for example unobtrusiveness). Finally, this information should be integrated into existing personality models for humanoid robots.

For more information on this, you may want to have a look at the paper: Robots as Companions: What can we Learn from Servants and Companions in Literature, Theater, and Film? This paper is part of the proceedings from FET 11  (the European Future Technologies Conference and Exhibition 2011) which also featured Robot Companions for Citizens as one of the 2011 Flagship Initiatives.

What will the next generation of robot helpers look like? If you’ve got a vision,
now’s your chance to show us what you think! First Prize is a 2 week placement at the prestigious Sebastian Conran design studios in London and a selection of the best entries will be exhibited at the Living Machines conference in Barcelona in 2012.

You’re free to draw, sketch, paint or make a 3D computer model of a robot companion in any of these 4 environments:

1 The healthcare environment – a larger robot that has the strength to
lift/carry a person. Possible uses could include bed to wheelchair or wheelchair
to car aids, transfer to and from the bathroom, walking and washing assistance.

2 The home environment – a general-purpose household assistant that might
carry out tasks such as food preparation, tidying, cleaning as well as social
activities such as game playing.

3 The outdoor environment – A medium sized robot designed to travel over a
variety of terrains, carry, act as a guide or perform tasks such as gardening
or operate as a guard/warning device.

4 The active environment – a robot companion to support and maximize healthy
aging. With the ability to socialize, learn skills such as golfing, dancing,
monitor sleep/activity/medication/entertainment patterns and preferences,
coach and encourage.

Your designs should show robot companions interacting with people, emphasizing that future robots are there to support humans, not replace them!

How To Enter

You can submit up to 4 individual submissions, group work is also encouraged.
The submission date is Friday  March 3rd, 2012. Please use the SHU digital drop box to send in your submissions. All submissions and questions regarding the competition should be addressed to: Professor Ian Gwilt (i.gwilt@shu.ac.uk).

Create your designs on an A3 format (landscape or portrait). Remember to indicate
which environment your robotic companion is designed to operate in. Label any particular devices, characteristics, materials, capabilities or attachments that your robot companion might have. Please submit your designs digitally as a PDF. You will need to rescan your submission if you have created it off the computer, as we will only accept digital submissions.