BBC Learnings · Section 3

Robot artists

Do you think robots could ever become intelligent, Sam? Well, if you believe Hollywood movies like Robocop,

Level: B1 · 89 sentences

Transcript

  1. Do you think robots could ever become intelligent, Sam?
  2. Well, if you believe Hollywood movies like Robocop,
  3. robots will grow more powerful than their human creators and take control.
  4. You've been watching too many sci-fi movies, Sam.
  5. But seriously, do you think robots will ever be able to think or dream?
  6. Could they fall in love or create art?
  7. It's hard to say,
  8. but because of the huge advances in artificial intelligence over the last ten years,
  9. questions like these are being asked more and more.
  10. In this programme, we'll be meeting a very unusual person,
  11. if that's the right word, who could help answer some of these questions.
  12. She's called Ada.
  13. She's an artist who can draw, paint and create sculptures.
  14. And she's a robot.
  15. Yes, the humanoid robot Ada uses a robotic arm
  16. and a pencil to draw what it sees with a camera in its eye.
  17. It's very lifelike and can even talk to the people whose picture it's drawing.
  18. We'll hear more about this extraordinary robot and the team of inventors behind her soon,
  19. but first I have a quiz question.
  20. The name Ada uses the abbreviation for Artificial Intelligence
  21. to make a woman's first name.
  22. But which famous real-life Ada was the robot named after?
  23. Was it A, Ada Brown, B, Ada Lovelace or C, Ada Maris?
  24. I think it must be B, Ada Lovelace.
  25. OK, Sam, we'll find out if that's right later.
  26. Of course, building a realistic robot that can see,
  27. hold a pencil and draw is not easy.
  28. Behind the creation of Ada was a team led by Cornish robotics company Engineered Art
  29. and supported by engineers in Leeds
  30. who built her robotic arms by using
  31. AI systems developed at Oxford University.
  32. Here's chief engineer Marcus Hold introducing presenter Carl Boss to the still unfinished Ada.
  33. for the first time for BBC World Service programme in the studio.
  34. It's very strange because on first glance she looks incredibly scary,
  35. like a dystopian robot from the future,
  36. but when you see her move and express, she becomes incredibly cute.
  37. People tend to refer to them as he or she.
  38. They're drawn to the robots.
  39. So much of our communication is non-verbal.
  40. I'm gesturing with my arms, I'm smiling, and our robots...
  41. a big part of their appeal and their human nature is in the way they behave and move.
  42. And it's great that you're picking up on that from something that has no skin.
  43. When Carl first meets Ada, he sees a wired-up metal skull without skin.
  44. She looks like a robot from a dystopia,
  45. an imaginary future world where everything is bad.
  46. But as Carl spends more time with Ada,
  47. he begins to see her move and express herself.
  48. She smiles, blinks and uses facial expressions and hand gestures,
  49. known as non-verbal communication, to appear more human.
  50. This human-like behaviour is part of Ada's appeal — the quality in someone that makes them attractive or interesting.
  51. And soon, Carl is calling the robot she instead of it.
  52. Former art gallery owner Aidan Mellor manages the Ada project.
  53. Here he is speaking to the BBC World Services in the studio.
  54. about the complex process involved in building a working robot.
  55. We've got the programmers and researchers working at Oxford University and Goldsmiths,
  56. and they're doing the algorithmic programming,
  57. programming the AI,
  58. that is going to be eventually used for the art pieces that we're doing.
  59. But we've also got a couple of guys who are actually working on her arm,
  60. her ability to draw,
  61. and actually getting her to do a compelling drawing of what she sees.
  62. Some battles still to be won before the show.
  63. We will eventually, hopefully, iron all the issues before that time.
  64. One challenge the team faced was building a robotic arm that could allow Ada to draw pictures that were compelling.
  65. exciting, interesting and able to keep your attention.
  66. In combining an electronic AI brain with mechanical robot eyes and arms,
  67. there were many battles to be won,
  68. difficulties and technical obstacles to be overcome.
  69. And at the time of the interview, the team still had some issues to iron out,
  70. removing problems by finding solutions,
  71. before Ada's opening show,
  72. an exhibition of her artwork at the Design Museum in London.
  73. Amazing. It's nice to think that a robot could be the next Picasso instead of an out-of-control sci-fi policeman.
  74. Yes, and the whole project was inspired by a real-life woman whose name was...
  75. What was the answer to your quiz question, Neil?
  76. Ah, yes. I asked Sam which famous Ada was the real-life inspiration behind the robot Ada.
  77. And I said B, Ada Lovelace.
  78. Was I right?
  79. You were right, Sam.
  80. Ada is named after Ada Lovelace,
  81. the 19th century English mathematician and first computer programmer in the world.
  82. OK, Neil. Let's recap the vocabulary from this programme,
  83. starting with dystopia — an imaginary future society where everything is bad.
  84. Non-verbal communication is communication using physical gestures and facial expressions instead of speech.
  85. The appeal of something is a quality it has which people find attractive.
  86. If something is compelling,
  87. it holds your attention because you find it so interesting.
  88. A battle to be won means a problem to be solved or an obstacle to overcome.
  89. And finally, to iron something out means to remove or find solutions to a problem.