A British humanoid named Ai-Da has made history by becoming the first robot to speak at the House of Lords – but suffered a slight hiccup after ‘falling asleep’.
There was an awkward moment early in the session when the bot had to be rebooted by her creator Aidan Meller, after a technical issue rendered her cross-eyed and zombie-like.
He then put sunglasses on the robot – much to the bemusement of members of the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee.
When asked why, Mr Meller explained that when Ai-Da is reset ‘she sometimes can pull quite interesting faces.’
Prior to the brief setback, the robot had been speaking to the committee about whether creativity is under attack from AI and technology.
Asked by crossbench peer Baroness Bull how she produces art, Ai-Da replied: ‘I could use my paintings by cameras in my eyes, my AI algorithms and my robotic arm to paint on canvas, which result in visually appealing images.
‘For my poetry using neutral networks, this involves analysing a large corpus of text to identify common content and poetic structures, and then using these structures/content to generate new poems.
‘How this differs to humans is consciousness. I do not have subjective experiences, despite being able to talk about them.
‘I am, and depend on, computer programs and algorithms. Although not alive, I can still create art.’
She added: ‘The role of technology in creating art will continue to grow.
‘Technology has already had a huge impact on the way we create art.’
Read More: Robot makes debut in Britain’s parliament but ‘falls ASLEEP mid-flow’
