Futuristic robot shows real life characteristics

From a glance one would see Nadine as any other ordinary person on the planet. She has brunette hair, brown eyes, and light skin. After awhile, the realization that she does not breath, blink, or move a muscle begins to set in. Nadine is the most human looking robot of this day and age.

Nadine the robot was created by the Nanyang Technological University of Singapore and is designed to respond to emotional stimuli, as well as being a personal assistant. Her looks are based off of her creator Nadia Thalmann, a professor at the university.

When speaking to Nadine, it is similar to chatting with an online “Artificial Intelligence” or “AI” such as Cleverbot or A.L.I.C.E. But both AI programs are limited in the human relation aspect as they are integrated within website form only. Nadine, on the other robotic hand, is designed to bring a relatable and personal feel to people, something like C3PO from Star Wars, as she has her own “mood” and “emotions.”

School nurse Susan Peterson said, “I don’t know if they have emotions, that’s the hardest part about it. I think for conversation it is fine, for anything else, no. And the reason why is because they cannot assess, they can’t put their mind to work. ‘Oh you are down, ok, what are we going to do this afternoon,’ you know what I mean? I think they can be assistants, but I do not think they can be the primary person.”

It is hoped more androids, human looking robots, will be developed and integrated into the workforce as nurses for the elderly or as secretaries and assistants. Healthcare assistants are especially needed in countries like Japan, where the overall birthrate has declined. Thus, leaving the elderly a majority in the population, and finding people in the workforce to take care of these people, is minuscule.

Sophomore Cameryn Glamm said, “I actually think that is pretty cool, and it is nice because then they can program it to have them do what they need to do to help those people.” She added, “but then that would be putting someone out of a job who really needs it.”

Sophomore Tayja Henke said, “Especially someone who really studied hard for that job in school and went to college for it and did all the stuff that they needed to land that job.”

The fear that technology will rise up and eradicate the human race is a common thought, among the science fiction and literature community. Some say we are on the verge of the technological singularity, a point in time where robots and humans will become indistinguishable from each other. Of course there is wariness and constant speculation over if this event would be a good change or not.

Henke said, “It could get scary sometimes because you wouldn’t be able to tell which is which.” Peterson said, “That is way beyond my scope, I think looking at my age, science fiction has evolved over the years. When they used to talk about the 20th century, the things they would say, they would go, ‘well we didn’t quite get to there but we did get to these other kinds of things.’ Do I think it is not real and not going to happen? Probably not in my lifetime. People always push for new and innovative things, which is good, it encourages the mind and encourages a lot of extra assistance. But to be primary, to be in control, I don’t think they have mastered that yet, they haven’t replicated the brain.”

In light of our ever changing society, and the emergence of great and more human technologies, Peterson concluded with, “It’s technology, it’s moving forward. We are not standing still, we are always evolving.”