Robot artists - 6 Minute English

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Hello. This is 6 Minute English from

BBC Learning English. I’m Neil.

And I’m Sam.

Do you think robots could ever

become intelligent, Sam?

Well, if you believe Hollywood  movies like ‘Robocop’,

robots will grow more powerful than their

human creators and take control.

You’ve been watching too many sci-fi movies, Sam!

But seriously - do you think robots will ever be

able to think or dream? Could they fall in love or create art?

It’s hard to say but because of the huge advances

in artificial intelligence  over the last ten years,

questions like these are being asked more and more.

In this programme we’ll be meeting a very

unusual ‘person’ (if that’s the right word) who

could help answer some of these questions.

She’s called Ai-Da, she’s an artist who can draw,

paint and create sculptures – and she’s a robot.

Yes, the humanoid robot, Ai-Da, uses a robotic arm

and a pencil to draw what it sees with a camera in its eye.

It’s very life-like and can even talk to the

people whose picture it’s drawing.

We’ll hear more about this extraordinary robot

and the team of inventors behind her soon,

but first I have a quiz question.

The name, Ai-Da, uses the abbreviation for ‘artificial intelligence’ -

AI - to make a woman’s first name, but which famous,

real-life Ada was the robot named after? Was it:

a) Ada Brown?,

b) Ada Lovelace? or,

c) Ada Maris?

I think it must be, b) Ada Lovelace.

OK, Sam, we’ll find out if that’s right later.

Of course building a realistic robot that can see,

hold a pencil and draw is not easy.

Behind the creation of Ai-Da was a team led by

Cornish robotics company, Engineered Arts,

and supported by engineers in Leeds who built

her robotic arms using AI systems developed at Oxford University.

Here’s chief engineer, Marcus Hold, introducing presenter, Karl Bos,

to the still unfinished Ai-Da for the first time for

BBC World Service programme, In The Studio:

It’s very strange because on first glance she looks

incredibly scary, a bit like a dystopian robot from

the future but when you see her move and

express she becomes incredibly cute.

People tend to refer to them as ‘he’ or ‘she’,

they’re drawn to the robots. So much of our

communication is non-verbal – I’m gesturing with my arms,

I’m smiling… and our robots – a big part of their appeal

and their human nature is in the way they behave

and move and it’s great that you’re picking up

on that from something that has no skin.

When Karl first meets Ai-Da he sees a wired-up

metal skull without skin. She looks like a robot from a dystopia -

an imaginary future world where

everything is bad – like the movie ‘Robocop’.

But as Karl spends more time with Ai-Da

he begins to see her move and express herself.

She smiles, blinks and uses facial expressions

and hand gestures known as non-verbal communication

to appear more human.

This human-like behaviour is part of Ai-Da’s appeal -

the quality in someone that makes them attractive

and interesting – and soon Karl is calling the

robot ‘she’ instead of ‘it’.

Former art gallery owner, Aidan Mellor, manages

the Ai-Da project. Here he is speaking to

BBC World Service’s, In The Studio,

about the complex process involved

in building a working robot:

We’ve got the programmers and researchers

working at Oxford University and Goldsmiths

and they’re doing their algorithmic programming,

programming the AI that is going to be eventually

used for the art pieces that we’re doing…

But we’ve also got a couple of guys who are

actually working on her arm – her ability to draw –

and actually getting her to do a compelling

drawing of what she sees. There’s some battles

still to be won before the show, we will eventually

hopefully iron out all the issues before that time.

One challenge the team faced was building

a robotic arm that could allow Ai-Da to draw

pictures that were compelling – exciting, interesting

and able to keep your attention.

In combining an electronic AI brain with

mechanical robot eyes and arms there were

many battles to be won – difficulties and

technical obstacles to be overcome.

And at the time of the interview, the team

still had some issues to  iron out – removing problems

by finding solutions – before Ai-Da’s opening show:

an exhibition of her artwork at The Design Museum in London.

Amazing! It’s nice to think that a robot could be

the next Picasso instead of an out-of-control sci-fi policeman!

Yes, and the whole project was inspired by a real-life woman –

whose name was?

What was the answer to your quiz question, Neil?

Ah yes, I asked Sam which famous Ada was

the real-life inspiration behind the robot, Ai-Da.

I said, b) Ada Lovelace. Was I right?

You were… right, Sam! Ai-Da is named after

Ada Lovelace, the 19th century English mathematician

and first computer programmer in the world.

OK, Neil. Let’s recap the vocabulary from this

programme, starting with dystopia -

an imaginary future society where everything is bad.

Non-verbal communication is communication using

physical gestures and facial expressions instead of speech.

The appeal of something is a quality it

has which people find attractive.

If something is compelling, it holds your attention

because you find it so interesting.

A battle to be won means a problem to be

solved or an obstacle to overcome.

And finally, to iron something out means to

remove or find solutions to a problem.

With artificial intelligence improving so fast

it may not be too long before we see robot

presenters of Six Minute English!

But until Sam and I are replaced by AI we hope

you’ll join us again next time for more trending

topics and useful vocabulary,

here at BBC Learning English. Bye for now!

Goodbye!