HUFFINGTON
07.15.12
HARUYOSHI YAMAGUCHI/BLOOMBERG VIA GETTY IMAGES
YOU. ROBOT
have witnessed her many computerized brainwaves competing for her power. Sometimes
the chatbot wins out; when you
say, “Good morning,” she’ll simply say “Good morning” back.
Other times she’ll interrupt
some piece of information with
a random detail from Bina’s life.
It’s far from a consistently
fluid experience, but as Duncan and Bina-48’s creator Hanson will note it’s still early and
things are moving quickly.
“We’re not crazy, we’re not
getting our instructions from
space, we’re just curious people,” Duncan says. “I feel like
we’re right at the beginning of
that early interpretation where
we ask: What would it be like
if you could transfer your personal data, your consciousness,
to a robot or a machine?”
HAVING A MINDCLONE.
That question is one almost
every major technology organization seems to be asking in
less overt yet just as potentially invasive ways, and with
the added benefit of making a
spectacular profit.
Google just unveiled “Google
Now,” its own Android-phone
version of Apple’s Siri — “A.I.
in your pocket,” Duncan calls it
— which uses your past Google
searches to gauge your habits,
your interests, and how you go
about your day. You searched
for the Chicago Cubs yesterday? Google Now will automatically reveal when the Cubs
are playing or what the score of
the game is, without you even
asking for it. It wants to get to
know you, or at least the things
you do and the things you
might want to buy.
Facebook has gotten in trouble for knowing us too well
— using our personal data in
The ASIMO,
designed by
Honda Motor
Co., wheels
a drink on a
trolley during
its 2011
unveiling
at a news
conference
in Japan.