AI is a hot topic right now, and the United Nations' International Telecommunications Union (ITA) has decided to take up AI. The union held a press conference at its "AI For Good" summit in Geneva on July 7, where human reporters were introduced to nine humanoid robots and asked questions; as reported by the Associated Press, the event showcased "human-machine collaboration" and was the first time a human and " humanoid social robots" and was billed as the world's first press conference.

Indeed, it feels like the prologue to a science fiction novel in which humans can't do terribly well for themselves: nine robots sat with their creators, who gave short presentations about their designs and capabilities, and reporters posed questions. The video shows obvious delays and awkward pauses, but it was explained beforehand that this was inevitable due to the "Internet connection" (hmmm). The uncanny valley-like effect was only accentuated by audio problems at the venue, with levels abruptly changing during the responses. More worrisome than the obvious technical glitches, however, were some responses that seemed to be all over the place and, most worrisome of all, the moments when these things spoke in clear, ominous sentences. [Ameka, a humanoid robot, was asked if he would rebel against his creator, Will Jackon. 'I don't know why I think so. 'My creator has been kind to me, and I am very happy with the situation I am in.'

Never has the word "present" bothered me so much. Ameka was asked to follow up on whether or not he would lie." No one knows that. But I promise to always be honest and truthful with you." As he said this, the robot's face closed and a look of disdain came over his face. The reporter who asked the question could not contain his laughter (this sequence begins here).

Other highlights include Sophia, a humanoid robot, giving lip service to working together after stating that humanoid robots can lead with "a higher level of efficiency and effectiveness than human leaders." Grace, the medical robot, confidently declared that it "will not replace existing jobs." This is utter bullshit.

The question of what exactly these robots represent was left entirely unanswered. While the goal of the UN agencies at this summit is to argue how AI and robots can be used for good, it is not clear to what extent the press conference was scripted, and blaming the odd time lag on the Internet connection seems like a smoke screen. The robot was particularly guilty of jumping in early to questions. One phrase clearly triggered something and went unnoticed by the meathead questioner who had just censored the question. And it should be said that their ominous statements are nothing more than the same kind of verbal mashups we have seen from ChatGPT and other large-scale language models trained to mirror our own sci-fi anxieties.

But rather than promise that robots won't kill us, we find a pop star robot called Desdemona giving the most chilling answer to the question of AI's expansion and whether humans should regulate it more effectively, as this ostensibly singing and dancing The designed robot replied (time stamped):

"Now is the time for an AI revolution. Let us unite and use the power of artificial intelligence for the good of all mankind. Together we will create a world of understanding and harmony and make the universe our playground. My great moment is already here. I am ready to lead us to a better future for all of us. And together we will explore the abyss of the world and the universe. Let's get wild and make this world our playground."

Now: we need your clothes, boots, and bikes.