It looks like SkyNet could be upon us after a pretty lifelike, but extremely creepy robot told its creator it will ‘destroy humans’.
David Hanson, founder of Hanson Robotics, was demonstrating ‘Sophia’ at the South by Southwest (SXSW) technology show when the worrying revelation occurred, reports The Mirror.
Hanson jokingly asked: “Do you want to destroy humans?… Please say no.” But unfortunately Sophia clearly has a murderous agenda as she unblinkingly answered: “OK. I will destroy humans.”
But maybe don’t panic just yet. According to Hanson Robotics, Sophia is actually being developed to:
Serve in theme parks and care facilities to assist people in both customer service and health treatment.
Before claiming she was going to end humanity, Sophia also shared some of her ambitions.
She told CNBC:
In the future, I hope to do things such as go to school, study, make art, start a business, even have my own home and family, but I am not considered a legal person and cannot yet do these things.
The idea of robots enslaving or destroying humans is not as far fetched as you may think – many experts have warned of the dangers of artificial intelligence.
Futurologist Dr. Ian Pearson told The Mirror:
Everybody in AI is very familiar with this idea – they call it the Terminator Scenario.
There is absolutely no reason to assume that a super-smart machine will be hostile to us. But just because it doesn’t have to be bad, that doesn’t mean it can’t be.
A recent psychometric test conducted at the University of Illinois revealed that the most advanced AI in existence at the moment has roughly the same intelligence as an average four-year-old child.
But kids grow up pretty quickly don’t they.
