[TRACE] There are lots of different types
of robots; insect robots, animal robots, jellyfish robots, toy robots, cooking robots, military
robots..sex robots? An android is a human-like robot...it looks
like a human, talks like a human, it acts like a human. Androids are the pinnacle of robotics and
artificial intelligence. Successfully building an android is essentially
like creating synthetic life in our own image. So how close are we to building an android? Right now there are only a handful of robots
that are anywhere close to passing themselves off as human. Not only do these ‘bots look and feel weird,
their artificial intelligence systems... aren’t that intelligent. But roboticists and computer engineers are
working on humanoid, intelligent robots all over the world. Why? Because who doesn’t want a robot cook, butler,
or driver? But making science-fiction a reality is way
harder than it looks. Even just attempting to make robots look and
move like humans is hard. [SUBBARAO KAMBHAMPATI]: AI has gotten very
smart, in specific aspects most recently in perception. Well you have speech recognition, as well
as image recognition software on your cell phones. One of the pieces that AI is not still very
good at is things like grasping and manipulation of physical objects. Things like cooking actually requires enough
fine motion skills that it will be at least need 10 years. [RUZENA BAJCSY] You have now more sophisticated
robots that can pick and move around and help you, more as a complement to the human capabilities
rather than replacement. [TRACE] So robots can’t physically cook
you dinner and clean up afterward - yet. Even though most of the robots that you see
online are more like this, we’re not actually that far from robotic limbs that perform basic
movements. In the last 10 years, bionic prosthetic arms
have come a long way. Many models have decent grip strength and
individual finger articulation. But, they’re still controlled by people. [RUZENA BAJCSY] We don't fully understand
how our muscles work. It's a complicated system that robotic technology
can help to unravel. [TRACE] So, that’s where we are with movement,
but right now that’s kind of the best we’ve got. And when it come to the looks department,
we’re really far away. Synthetic robot skin is made of things like
silicone and polyurethane. It still can’t bounce back or feel things. As you probably know, it doesn’t even look
real. Realistic, synthetic skin will need to be
sensitive to different tactile experiences like heat and cold, and no one is even close. As for a humanoid robot with clever AI, a
robotic skeleton, artificial limbs and flawless skin? That could take decades, or longer. [RUZENA BAJCSY] We’ll have better sensors,
sensor meaning cameras, smaller, higher resolution, faster, detecting what's out there, but it's
not only visual. It will be auditory. It will be tactile, fingers, hands. [TRACE] Maybe we’re overthinking this, do
we really want or need robots to be humanoid, like the replicants in Blade Runner? Or would we be happy with them being out of
sight, like the disembodied voice on Star Trek? [SUBBARAO KAMBHAMPATI] if you want a household
robot that walks from one room to the other, then you’re probably looking for something
that looks humanoid, but if on the other hand you’re looking for a smart home, and food
just appears in front of you, that’s a smart home not a smart robot. In terms of the challenges, they’re the
same, it’s as to which one you prefer is really an issue. [TRACE] What it’s really about is the task. Androids are great for working around the
house, but several companies are already proving we don’t necessarily need a humanoid robot
to drive a car. Perhaps the more important obstacle to overcome
isn’t physicality or looks. If we really want intelligent robots to work
for us, we’re going to need them to learn to work with us. [SUBBARAO KAMBHAMPATI] To be an effective
assistant you really need to be able to read the other person’s mind. That’s the whole entire direction, that’s
actually happening right now. And, in fact, there is this whole saying that
the reason humans have the huge brains that we have is not to run away from the tigers
in the savanna, but to be with each other. [TRACE] So what we need is to find a way to
not only make robots act human but, for them to fully understand and even anticipate what’s
on our minds. And... is that what we really mean by intelligence? What is intelligence anyway? How do you test it? How do you know when a thing is intelligent? [SUBBARAO KAMBHAMPATI]...intelligence involves
things like perception, things like ability to manipulate the world, emotional intelligence,
social intelligence. [RUZENA BAJCSY] That process of how you deal
with the never seen before, never heard before, never experienced before, and still you somehow
know how to react is something that we don't understand. [SUBBARAO KAMBHAMPATI] it’ll be at least
25 years or more before we reach human level intelligence and we do reach human level intelligence,
that we will have also passed the Turing test. [TRACE] Alan Turing, is often referred to
as the father of modern computing. He said “a computer would deserve to be
called intelligent if it could deceive a human into believing that it was human.” But anyone who’s ever chatted with a bot
online knows they’re not ... great. They don’t always understand, they’re
repetitive; they don’t respond in the way a human would -- or they know things that
no human would know off the top of their heads! [SUBBARAO KAMBHAMPATI] there was this one
human being who knew so much about all the arcana of Shakespeare that people essentially
decided that it must be a machine because nobody with a real life would know so much
about Shakespeare. [TRACE] Robots are a comin’, and while they
may not be in humanoid form, they will be replacing the work of humans across our society. Blue collar, white collar, nobody is safe. [SUBBARAO KAMBHAMPATI] The reality is that
anything routine, whether it is cognitive or non-cognitive is going to be replaced. So, for example, truck driving is something
that within five years it’s probably going to be gone. [TRACE] Radiologists: you got 5 years. Psychologists: we have an app for that. Sports and economics reporters: Too late,
computers already do that job. Paralegals: Bye! [TRACE] So, how close are we to creating androids? Smart AI systems already exist and we’re
a decade away from building robots that move like us, though, aesthetically we’ve still
got some major challenges to overcome. There’s really no incentive to put all the
pieces of the intelligent humanoid robot puzzle together, at least, not yet. But in reality, we’re not building toward
a future where one type of artificially intelligent robot will exist. For better or for worse, we’re heading toward
a world where a whole fleet of specialized robots will be developed, each taking over
its own little world. How close are we... to getting you to subscribe? It’s easy, just tap this button. So at the moment AI isn’t great, but part
of that might be that AI just doesn’t have its own memories… so what if we gave an
AI the ability to remember? To think back? Find out in this video we made, here. And thanks so much for watching Seeker.
