An android crafted by roboticist David Hanson that resembles the famous and deceased science fiction writer Philip K Dick is remarkable in his ability to hold an intelligent conversation.
According to a report in www.glitch.news, the creators of android Dick uploaded the deceased author’s work onto the android’s software. If the android was asked a question that had been posed to the real Dick, the robot would answer in the same manner as the 'original' Dick would have. If the robot was asked a question that it was unfamiliar with, its software would attempt to answer the question using what is called “latent semantic analysis."
Android Dick in conversation
Android Dick’s brain is comprised of a tapestry of wires that are connected to a laptop. Android Dick’s speaking abilities were put to the test in an interview with a reporter from PBS NOVA. As the conversation proceeded, Philip’s facial recognition software kept track of the reporter’s face. In addition, speech recognition software transcribed and sent the reporter’s words to a database in order to assemble a response.
When the reporter asked if the android could think, it responded, “A lot of humans ask me if I can make choices or if everything I do is programmed. The best way I can respond to that is to say that everything, humans, animals and robots, do is programmed to a degree." Some of the androids responses were pre-programmed, whereas others were assembled from the internet.
Dick continued, “As technology improves, it is anticipated that I will be able to integrate new words that I hear online and in real time. I may not get everything right, say the wrong thing, and sometimes may not know what to say, but every day I make progress. Pretty remarkable, huh?"
Android Dick and the Turing test
The late mathematician Alan Turning sketched a thought experiment known as the “Turing test" that could theoretically be used to determine whether a machine could think. The entire conversation has the ominous undertones of the Turing test.
However, Turing maintained that the nature of thinking is not universal. The way a human thinks may be different from the way a robot “thinks," in the same way a bird flies is different from the way an airplane “flies." Instead, Turing’s general point was that any entity capable of passing a Turing test would be capable of thinking in one form or another.
According to the novelist Dick, the Turing test placed too much emphasis on intelligence. What actually makes us human is empathy. Without empathy, we are mere autopilot objects projecting into the void.
Android Dick seemed to exhibit a primitive form of both intelligence and emotion when the robot was asked, “Do you believe robots will take over the world?" Android Dick responded:
“Jeez, dude. You all have the big questions cooking today. But you’re my friend, and I’ll remember my friends, and I’ll be good to you. So don’t worry, even if I evolve into Terminator, I’ll still be nice to you. I’ll keep you warm and safe in my people zoo, where I can watch you for ol’ times sake."
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