IMPACT COMMUNICATION
AND INNOVATION
AND INNOVATION
Earlier this year, we were surprised by a Russian company called Promobot that promoted its realistic android, Alex, as a local news anchor . At the time, people were at the very least surprised, if not frightened, by the android's presence as it discussed microfinance legislation, 2018 agricultural results, and even the nuclear technology forum in Sochi.
Alex was named as such because it is a robotic copy of Promobot founder Alexei Yuzhakov. Programmed to answer questions and hold a conversation based on data fed into its artificial intelligence, the android also featured 29 motors in its silicone face, allowing it to emulate facial expressions. With plans to scale the production and sale of these realistic androids, the company is now offering a new version of the robot with eighteen points of movement in the face, over 100,000 conversation modules, three angles of head movement, and integration with various services, such as smart home applications.
But this was not the first time the Russians have approached a potential robotics revolution in their country. Previously, the same Russia-24 channel where the android presented the news had also reported on a supposedly super-advanced robot capable of dancing, but it turned out to be a man in a costume. In other sectors, such as military technology, there are also projects using robotics, as is the case with the motorcycle-riding android presented to President Vladimir Putin in 2015. With that same inspiration, there is also the example of robotic tanks equipped with machine guns.
On the other hand, Russian science fiction has also shown dedication to the theme of androids with the release of the series "Better than Us" on Netflix. Drawing on classic references like Isaac Asimov and his laws of robotics, the show depicts a futuristic Russia in which a large android-selling company receives a new Chinese model of a gynoid programmed to serve as a wife and mother. If Russian science fiction was once more dedicated to space exploration and the figure of the cosmonaut, today it finds common ground with Western science fiction, ultimately proving the power of globalizing influence.
In the press release published by Promobot on October 1st, Yuzhakov commented on the product's possibilities:
"Everyone will be able to buy a robot with any appearance — for professional or personal use. In doing so, we are opening up a huge market for services, education, and entertainment. Imagine a replica of Michael Jordan selling basketball uniforms or William Shakespeare reading his own texts in a museum? We can create a linguistic model based on the popular phrases of a specific person, and the robot will communicate and answer questions by analyzing frequent expressions of the original reference using a certain context of that person's knowledge."
To make the interaction with the android even more realistic, the company has also included a new facial recognition feature, although the arms and torso remain stationary. In the case of the model for professional use, there is also a screen attached to the machine's chest. According to the product website, there are at least four features already planned for the android: a consultant that can act like a live employee and answer questions in stores, malls, museums, and exhibitions, or an office employee, where the robot can greet people, communicate with other staff members, and provide the latest news. Finally, there is also the possibility for the Robo C to be an administrator capable of granting access, scheduling meeting rooms, and recording discussed content, as well as a type of home decor or a copy of a specific person.
This aligns with a project also based in Russia 2045 Initiative, in which one of the first phases concerns the possibility of creating a humanoid robot that would be a copy of an individual and could be controlled via a brain-machine interface. While both technologies already exist and have been tested together with the example of the Hiroshi Ishiguro's Geminoid, the fact that there is now a local product with commercial potential makes the realization of this trend even stronger.
Just like in the “Be Right Back” episode of the series Black Mirror, we see this type of endeavor move from science fiction to a tangible reality, both from the perspective of transhumanism and life extension, as well as the very possibility of making robots entities that participate in our social life and our world, as creations like the robot Sophia already propose. It remains to be seen for what purposes and to which people these products will be available at first, which may decide many important things as the next steps in this human-machine landscape.
