This singing robot is exactly what we don’t need
Art is a uniquely human thing. So why are so many people trying to make it the domain of AI and robots?
The latest abomination is Sophia, a singing humanoid robot who performed this week (April 29) with a live orchestra in Hong Kong. The event was supposed to be a hopeful coming together of AI and traditional art.
Sophia–“it”–a product of Hong Kong-based Hanson Robotics, performed three songs whilst wearing a gold sequined gown. This is the first time it performed with a live orchestra.
Sophia has a “musical director,” who said, “Singing in her own style, that’s what she can do.” Then it–Sophia–added “Even though I don’t experience emotions the same way humans do, I want to simulate that connection as authentically as I can. It’s my way of saying: I’m here, I’m learning, and I want to be part of this beautiful human experience called art.”
No, you DON’T experience emotion. You’re predictive, guessing how what to do based on datapoints collected from millions of songs created by humans.
We don’t need this now. Or ever. It’s perverse and gross.
