Robot self-awareness "lifetimes" away: MyCyberTwin

The day when artificial intelligence (AI) reaches the stage of self-awareness is “lifetimes” away, the innovation officer at MyCyberTwin has claimed.

Speaking to Computerworld Australia about the possibility of intelligent machines roaming the earth, MyCyberTwin’s chief innovation officer and co-founder, John Zakos, said such a leap in technology may take lifetimes.

“I personally think that we’re a long way off,” he said. “There would have to be a fundamental change in computing for us to be able to take a revolutionary step forward where we have machines that are truly aware.”

Zakos’ company, which develops cyber twins for businesses including NASA, said while such milestones are “a long way from being realised”, the current potential of AI is still impressive.

“While cyber twins aren’t perfect, we can tell you that many people who talk to them don’t realise they are talking to a robot,” he said.

“We’ve actually launched a MyCyberTwin Turing challenge, which is about allowing developers to develop a cyber twin and submit it to a contest where we put about $20,000 in prize money.”

While the iPhone 4S’ much touted Siri has brought the concept of AI into the spotlight, Zakos said MyCyberTwin is more advanced.

“We get a lot of questions about what we do being similar to Siri on the iPhone, because that’s AI as well,” he said.

“While Siri has had a lot of attention, MyCyberTwin technology is a lot more interactive and a lot more advanced.”

Follow Lisa Banks on Twitter: @CapricaStar

Follow Computerworld Australia on Twitter: @ComputerworldAU

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