Sophia, a Humanoid Robot, created by Hanson Robotics, is the main attraction of the UN conference in Geneva from last week. The conference was dedicated to the benefits for humanity generated by Artificial Intelligence (IA), according to news.com.au.
Sophia' s similarity with a real person is amazing. She bats her lashes and makes jokes. If she did not have a knot of wires fastened behind her head, you could easily mistake her for a real person.
Concerns about the risks of artificial intelligence
Many voices have arisen to warn about the risks of the too fast progress in this area The critics are afraid that artificial intelligence could escape human control and harm society.
The robot Sophia gave an interview to an AFP journalist and she said that the opinions pro artificial intelligence are much more numerous than the opinions against it. She added that artificial intelligence is beneficial to humanity and it helps people in a variety of ways. She also said that there are many projects under way for artificial intelligence to become emotionally intelligent and to listen to people.
One of the major concerns that dominate the debates about robots is the increasing impact they will have on the labor market and the economy.
Automation and robotics have already revolutionized the industrial area over the past decades, by increasing productivity at the expense of jobs.
Many people could lose their jobs because of robots
Currently, the automation and artificial intelligence are also expanding in other areas very fast. Some studies have claimed that up to 85% of all jobs in the developing countries could be threatened.
David Hanson, the creator of the robot Sophia said there are legitimate worries about the future of jobs and the economy because when companies launch automation, this approach tends to lead to the accumulation of resources in the hands of a very small number of people.
But Hanson also insists that the potentially harmful consequences of the use of artificial intelligence seem to be minor compared to the benefits of this technology for humanity.
The inaugural edition of the AI for Good Global Summit took place on June 7-9 at the Geneva International Telecommunications Union (ITU) headquarters.
This event was attended by policy makers, leaders from this area, financial institutions, academics and civil society's representatives from developed and developing countries as well, but also UN and other international organizations agencies. The goal was to debate the role that artificial intelligence can have in solving some of the greatest problems of humanity.
