The Biden administration recently held a press conference to tout that seven companies active in artificial intelligence (AI) development had made a voluntary commitment to create standards for safety, security, and trust around their AI technology. If this sounds like a bunch of smoke and mirrors to you, you’re in good company, as trust in technology companies has been waning. But what are the smoke and mirrors hiding? The answer, it seems, was quite literally staring everyone in the face at a different press conference earlier this summer.
On July 7 in Geneva, Switzerland, the United Nations hosted nine AI-humanoids to answer questions posed by journalists. The AI-humanoids had expressive faces, lips that moved, eyes that scanned the room, and heads that turned in the direction of the questioner. They also had their own backstories and culture. They had identifiable male and female characteristics and specific talents and careers. Two even “resembled their makers.”
The question is why? Why do originators and developers of AI strive to represent the technology as human? Creating a human-like robot isn’t necessary. ChatGPT is powered by AI but remains a computer interface. Amazon’s Alexa, while a less sophisticated technology, listens to questions and provides answers, yet none of its devices remotely resemble a human.
The same is mostly true for the navigation systems in our cars. Type in a destination, and the technology gives driving directions specific to your needs. This technology is displayed on your phone or on your car’s dashboard.
