The time has come when parliaments are not only spoken by humans but also by robots. In a hearing that made both parliamentary and technological history, humanoid robotic "artist" Ai-Da spoke to the House of Lords telecommunications and digital committee on Tuesday, giving her views on how new technologies will affect the branches of art and the field of creation in general.
Described by its makers as "the world's first highly realistic humanoid robotic artist with artificial intelligence", Ai-Da appeared with a woman's face and clothes, informing British MPs that although an artificial creation, it is nevertheless capable of producing art. The robot has been created by scientists from the University of Oxford and bears the modified name of the British pioneer of IT, Ada Lovelace.
Ai-Da answered questions alongside her lead creator and art gallery director Aidan Meller at a televised parliamentary committee meeting. When asked if her creations differ from human creations, Ai-Da replied: “I am and depend on computer programs and algorithms. Although I am not alive, I can still create art."
At times the bot struggled to respond, while at one point it got completely "stuck" and had to be restarted, which probably caused some embarrassment in the House of Lords. Earlier, the president of the committee, Tina Stowell, had made it clear, addressing the creator of Ai-Da present, that "the robot does not have the same status as a human and you, as its creator, are ultimately responsible for its statements."
In fact, the questions to the robot were submitted to its creator before Ai-Da's appearance in the parliamentary session, so that her answers have some substance. Each panel member took turns asking a question and getting a virtually prepared answer in advance.
Meller said the robot is “a combined cooperative personality” with “many algorithms, very different for very different tasks. It has a group of algorithms for drawing pictures, another group of algorithms for speaking, another group for writing coke."
Ai-Da has already produced a number of works, including a painting of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, which have been exhibited in galleries and exhibitions from time to time, according to Reuters and Britain's Guardian.
Source: ΑΠΕ- ΜΠΕ