Robotic and artificial intelligence is improving continuously. Robots are already started to take humans’ jobs, and it’s going to continue. But precisely which job they’ll grab continues to be the topic of debates.
A humanoid robot has recently read the news on Russian-24, a state-owned television channel. During a Tuesday afternoon news segment on the channel, the silicone-faced anchor presented some run-of-the-mill updates – and even touched on a lurid case in which local authorities were hunting down a mayoral candidate who allegedly kicked a homeless cat.
It’s fair to say that the robot still needs some work- Ahh… no, a lot of work.
Alex was created by the Perm-based startup Promobot, which produces service robots with computer-screen faces for state bank Sberbank. His silicon head is modeled on the face of the company’s co-founder Alexei Yuzhakov.
Well, at the moment, the robot is only able to move parts of its face. While the engineering team said that they are working on a version featuring moving limbs as well.
The humanoid can also answer questions and hold a conversation based on data uploaded into its brain. Thanks to the 29 motors in its silicon face, which allow it to mimic emotional expressions.
Alex costs more than one million roubles ($15,600; £12,000) to develop and that it had received orders for 12 more humanoids, said Promobot.
“I should note that at a technological innovations exhibition, the main hero was me, robot Alex,” Alex said, with a smile, when presenting a segment about an artificial intelligence conference in Moscow.
While some social media have accused Alex of peddling political propaganda in his news reports, others made fun of the robot’s wooden delivery and odd appearance.
One viewer took a shine to Alex and said he was a “very nice robot,” while another said his deployment was “an interesting trend.”
Alex is definitely a robot, though. Or at least we hope he is.