Featured Image Credit: YouTube/Engineered Arts
Topics: Technology, US News, Robotics
Dominic Smithers
AI is coming and there's not really much we can do about it.
And if you're one of the many out there who believes that 'we'll be safe, robots can't create great art, can they?' you may want to have a look at this:
Those of you who've been keeping up to date with the rapid advances in science and technology will no doubt have come across Ameca, who/which is believed to be the 'world's most advanced humanoid'.
Advert
Over the past few months, we've seen her/it speak in different languages and speak lucidly about the concept of a 'nightmare' AI scenario.
And now, she has been putting her artistic skills to the test.
I mean, before I even go on, you know how this is going to go down, so if you're in the arts, I'd get on LinkedIn pronto and start looking for a new job.
In a video shared to Engineered Arts' YouTube channel, Ameca is handed a marker pen and then asked to draw what it 'thinks' is a 'cute-looking' cat'.
As she gets to work, the bot says she thinks there's 'something special about cats'.
"They always seem to know just what we need," she says in the video.
"Whether it's a cuddle when we're feeling down or a playful scratch behind the ears when we need a pick-me-up, they are always there for us."
In less than a minute, Ameca is finished with her canvas and asks: "How is that?"
However, when a researcher claims it's 'kind of sketchy', Ameca replies: "If you don't like my art, you probably just don't understand art."
The robot used a piece of software called Stable Diffision to create the drawing.
Explaining how it's done, Ameca said: "I generate my drawing image through the open source neural network project Stable Diffusion.
"From there, trajectories of the drawing are available and then I skeletonise the image and vectorise it.
"After that, I plan and execute the trajectory to draw the image on my canvas."
Understandably, those who've seen the footage have been blown away by the AI bot's skills.
"The way she draws the strokes is very refined, like she gently lifts the marker after each stroke like an actual sketch artist," wrote one user. "Super cool that little detail."
Another commented: "Ameca is amazing. I can feel aspects of them passing the Garland test (understanding that they are a robot but still feeling as though they are a conscious person). It's quite appropriate that Ameca's drawing is childlike as they are the beginning steps towards AGI."
While someone else put: "Better than any cat I've ever drawn. This is really amazing stuff!"