Researchers working to teach creepy baby robot to talk

The iCub robot was already doing pretty well for itself in the creepiness department, but a group of researchers from the University of Plymouth are now working to take things one big step further, by teaching the so-called "baby robot" to talk (as opposed to teaching it baby talk). That will supposedly be done over the next four years, during which time the researchers will work with language development specialists who normally study how parents teach children to speak. Eventually, they hope that the robot will be able to perform basic tasks like stacking wooden blocks, and be able name objects and actions so that it can speak basic phrases like "robot puts stick on cube" or "I want more life, father." What's more, while the research hasn't even begun yet, one of the professors involved sees it as nothing short of a milestone, saying that "the outcome of the research will define the scientific and technological requirements for the design of humanoid robots able to develop complex behavioural, thinking and communication skills through individual and social learning." Unless the robot gets some ideas of its own, that is.

[Image courtesy of BBC News]

[Jherez @ Feb 28th 2008 1:19PM]

Whoa!!! That is seriously disturbing. I for one do not welcome this one...

[Aguiluz @ Feb 28th 2008 4:08PM]

I really want to ask him this question:

What is the Square Root of -1?

[Mj @ Feb 28th 2008 1:21PM]

Actually, the line from Blade Runner is, "I want more life, fucker." AIs are notoriously potty-mouthed.

[Ray @ Feb 28th 2008 1:22PM]

It's Casper the metal-skeletoned Robot!

[oGMo @ Feb 28th 2008 1:48PM]

I think I know who I'm gonna call...

[Leo @ Feb 28th 2008 2:09PM]

...Ghostbusters! (with all their brilliant, brilliant sarcasm)

[applefreak @ Feb 28th 2008 1:24PM]

hay, I saw this robot in POP SCI mag, it learns how to do things by observing real people just like a baby.

[looseinthedeuce @ Feb 28th 2008 1:25PM]

Other phrases the robot will learn:

"robot kill human, take over"
"resistance is futile"
"johnny five is alive"
"danger will robinson"
"come with me if you want to live"

[superbeast @ Feb 28th 2008 1:42PM]

Don't forget the first thing they should teach it...
"Yes... I will blend"

(just to eliminate any further stupid questions)

[Neoprimal @ Feb 28th 2008 2:04PM]

You forgot:

"Hi, I'm Chucky, and I'm your friend to the end. Hi-dee-ho. Ha ha ha."
"Hi, I'm Chucky, wanna play?"
"Playtime's over"
"I promise I won't kill anyone else"

[daemonios @ Feb 28th 2008 2:07PM]

What about "all your base are belong to us" ??

[looseinthedeuce @ Feb 28th 2008 2:18PM]

@ Neoprimal

Chucky was a possessed talking doll. Not a technically advanced robot doll. Although I did forget:

"My CPU is a neural net processor, a learning computer"

[Barry @ Feb 28th 2008 2:31PM]

What about, "It can't form complex machinery, only knives, stabbing weapons."

[3waygeek @ Feb 28th 2008 2:40PM]

You forgot "Bite my shiny metal ass!"

[blinkcowz182 @ Feb 28th 2008 2:42PM]

Input!

[Dave @ Feb 28th 2008 2:45PM]

My top choices:

"Intruder alert! Intruder alert!"
"Welcome to Good Burger, home of the Good Burger, can I take your order?"

[phanbouy @ Feb 28th 2008 6:42PM]

best freakin post eva

[shig23 @ Feb 28th 2008 8:25PM]

"Like kill men. For you for you."

[/obscure]

[Ransom @ Feb 28th 2008 1:35PM]

"Unless the robot gets some ideas of it's own"

Hi journalists, please learn the difference between the possessive "its" and the contraction of "it is"

thank you

[Hax Or @ Feb 28th 2008 1:35PM]

I like how that one eye is kinda lazy in the photo.

[Dr Buzz0 @ Feb 28th 2008 1:39PM]

Ga! Kill it! KILL IT!

[IndiaTech @ Feb 28th 2008 1:55PM]

That's it. Engadget doesn't care about its readers. I mean why are they so hell bent on giving us nightmares and making us pee in our pants?

[EricLMcCormick @ Feb 28th 2008 1:57PM]

it needs to come with a pet cricket and say "I want to be a real boy"

[umm....hello??? @ Feb 28th 2008 2:02PM]

"...they're machines, Sarah. and they absolutely...will...not...stop. EVER!"

[Dolf @ Feb 28th 2008 2:53PM]

Quick, someone call Daft Punk, their robo-baby is loose!

[Miguel @ Feb 28th 2008 9:29PM]

my god it really does look like that huh? Daft Punk rocks and so does their robo-baby-technologic-singing-thingy!

[J @ Feb 28th 2008 2:15PM]

creepy lil shit.

[webon @ Feb 28th 2008 11:24PM]

Thats what she said.

[Annun @ Feb 28th 2008 2:17PM]

Am I the only one that doesn't see much sense in teaching a robot to think for himself? Okay, better AI in games would be nice, but not getting shot in real life by a robot that thinks humans are obsolete is even nicer!

[Ben @ Feb 28th 2008 2:22PM]

This is exactly what I think the research field of robotics is lacking. Too much time has been spent on "programming" robots how to walk, talk, recognize, and not enough is being spent on emulating the human behavior of learning. We couldn't do anything but shit our pants when we were born and we should be taking robitics from the same standpoint.

[kal326 @ Feb 28th 2008 2:33PM]

Just out of curiosity, how exactly would a robot shit its pants?

You did forget crying though, which I'm not exactly sure we would want the robots learning from the get go.

[farnelp @ Feb 28th 2008 2:41PM]

Ben, We were so much more complex than that... where do you think the shit came from? I'd be truely amazed if they could make a robot that shit all the time and didn't need anything put in... that would be spontaneous creation!!... , but wouldn't that make the robot god? ...maybe I am getting ahead of myself...

[BeniRose @ Feb 28th 2008 3:52PM]

No, I completely agree with you. I'm just saying that I think we're taking robotics from the wrong angle, trying to program them to do things that we learn. Instead of programming a robot to walk and keep from falling over, program it to learn how to get back up and gather data on why it fell over and use that to prevent it from falling over again. That's how we learned to walk. Sometimes you just gotta let a robot fall on its ass!

[murray @ Feb 28th 2008 2:31PM]

As a BR nerd I must back up Mj -- it's "I want more life, fucker," but perhaps you were just sanitizing it for us.

[kal326 @ Feb 28th 2008 2:35PM]

That thing is just one voodoo seance away from being a Chucky doll.

[Dave @ Feb 28th 2008 2:38PM]

"I want more life, father."

Woah. That phrase is seriously horror movie-esque. If my son ever said that, I'd check his belly to make sure it didn't read "REDRUM."

[Justus @ Feb 28th 2008 3:04PM]

I wonder if this doll will be 3 Laws compliant...

[Steve Jobs @ Feb 28th 2008 2:58PM]

I think there's a quote from every robot movie I've ever seen in here.

[bi0hazard @ Feb 28th 2008 3:29PM]

I had no idea that robots could have babies, although i guess this does explain why there are male and female "ports".

[DeadEagle @ Feb 29th 2008 8:01AM]

"I'm afraid I can't do that Dave."

[AMc @ Feb 29th 2008 8:08AM]

I for one will be welcoming our robot overlords with "Who's a pretty little robot then, would you like your teddy". Then I'll rest easy, confident in the knowledge that instead of conquering the planet it will be watching X factor until I'm recycling under ground.
Unless of course '[it starts] learning at an exponential rate and becomes self aware at...'

[What?! @ Feb 29th 2008 9:58AM]

Yuck, Boohbah face.

[Ting @ Feb 29th 2008 1:09PM]

this is one really scary thought.

its only a matter of time now. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skynet_%28satellites%29