To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a webbrowser thatsupports HTML5video

In the latest chapter of UK politics being entirely normal, a robot has spoken in the House of Lords.

Dressed in dungarees with an orange shirt – completing her look with two robotic arms – Ai-Da joined the Communications and Digital Committee this afternoon.

Her maiden speech surrounded the role of machine learning, machine creativity and Artificial Intelligence (AI) within the UK’s creative industries.

The humanoid robot made history as she answered questions: becoming the first robot to speak at the House of Lords.

At one point however, stage fright appeared to strike.

The machine briefly fell silent and needed switched back on before the Q&A session could continue.

A pair of sunglasses were placed on her head which, the robot’s creator explained, was to shield ‘interesting faces’ which appear during the reset process.

Ai-Da was questioned by committee members in a surreal back-of-forth about her artwork, which has previously hit headlines.

The machine told the committee: ‘I produce my paintings by cameras in my eyes, my AI algorithms and my robotic arm to paint on canvas which results in visually appearing images.

‘Although not alive, I can still create art.’

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a webbrowser thatsupports HTML5video

She softly explained how art is ‘up to interpretation’ and the role of the audience was ‘key’ to those engaging with her work.

At one point, the committee had to make clear the robot was giving evidence but ‘not a witness in its own right’, as Ai-Da ‘does not occupy the same space as a human’.

Meanwhile the robot’s creator, Aidan Meller, reassured the committee that the machine should be marvelled at, not feared.

He said: ‘I don’t think robots are going to bring the apocalypse.’

He was questioned on whether robots could eventually take human jobs, and admitted it was a ‘genuine concern’ people hold.

But he added ‘great strides’ within the AI industry and ‘vast jumps’ within the wider technology sector was ‘really exciting’ prospect.

Ai-Da – named after Ada Lovelace -was built in Cornwall by Engineered Arts, and programmed by an international team.

The robot has cameras in its eyes and uses a specially designed artificial intelligence model to formulate answers to questions.

Ai-Da previously painted a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II ahead of her Platinum Jubilee.

Her work also includes collaborative paintings, sculptures and performance art. As a work of conceptual art herself, Ai-Da encourages her human counterparts to reconsider our self-perception through the lens of a humanoid robot.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].

For more stories like this, check our news page.

Source: Read Full Article