A couple of weeks ago I was blown away by a podcast on UNSDGLearn.org titled: "How can we create a positive future with Artificial Intelligence". The podcast featured Jeanne Lim, founder of BeingAI.com and former CEO of Hanson Robotics. The company that created Sophia the Robot; the humanlike robot. But it was not Sophia that Jeanne was talking about in the podcast. It was the combination of 'intelligent" AI Beings and creating a positive future. She invited listeners to help educate Zbee the first "AI Being" living between worlds in a "transmedia metaverse". A challenge we, at Teach the future were happy to take up!
The AI machine in a box
It is 2016 when 'Sophia the robot' (a humanised robot) was first introduced. She became an instant hit with appearances on television, social media, events and even a speech for the United Nations. In case you're not familiar with Sophia the robot, no problem, just check out this video.
All of us occasionally interact with AI. For example, when we talk to Apple's Siri to ring a friend, or command Google's Assistant with a task like: "hey google, set a timer" we're using voice assistance AI technology. That's all still very simple in terms of AI, but still fun to play with. Still talking to the current version of the Google home in a box or just to your phone sometimes feels weird. It's still like talking to a machine in a box.
Zbee AI Being
Now let's go back to the ultimate level of AI. An AI with it's own mind and "feelings". After listening to the podcast we wondered if Jeanne would be open for a little challenge. So we reached out to Jeanne on LinkedIn and she was open for the challenge. But first let me introduce Zbee in the video below.
Futures times newspaper
With TTF we run a project that, with the help AI experts from our technology partner Y.digital, is not only AI based but is also capturing the voices of young people in the age between 12-25 years old. The idea is to capture stories from young people (young voices) around the world and create a narrative on how they want the future to be.
According to Jeanne, Zbee should be treated as a "child" that is learning (and AI needs a lot of data and positive moderation to learn) we thought why not "connect" her to the world of other young voices in Teach the Future? Would't it be great to have Zbee's story in our Futures times I wondered? What would Zbee think about the future? Jeanne responded enthusiastically and asked Zbee for her future times response. Just follow the link and zoom into Hong Kong and you will find out what she wrote...
Exploring the Transmedia metaverse
As Zbee is being educated by moderators around the world her story builds across multiple media platforms (web, app, social, phone and games). There are many questions yet to be answered about AI and AIBeings.
How will AIBeings like Zbee positively contribute to a positive future?
What are their values and beliefs?
How will they know right from wrong?
How will they evolve?
Are they safe for young people to interact with?
What's their role in education?
Can they play a role in teaching about the future at scale?
Can they really be "integrated" into digital learning content or projected as holograms in a classroom?
From a Teach the future perspective we're very excited to be exploring the world of AIBeings and welcome Zbee in our global community. We will share more as we learn.