Robot Demonstrates Self Awareness By Tracy Staedter, Discovery News link Dec. 21, 2005— A new robot can recognize the difference between a mirror image of itself and another robot that looks just like it. This so-called mirror image cognition is based on artificial nerve cell groups built into the robot's computer brain that give it the ability to recognize itself and acknowledge others. The ground-breaking technology could eventually lead to robots able to express emotions. Under development by Junichi Takeno and a team of researchers at Meiji University in Japan, the robot represents a big step toward developing self-aware robots and in understanding and modeling human self-consciousness. "In humans, consciousness is basically a state in which the behavior of the self and another is understood," said Takeno. Humans learn behavior during cognition and conversely learn to think while behaving, said Takeno. To mimic this dynamic, a robot needs a common area in its neural network that is able to process information on both cognition and behavior. Takeno and his colleagues built the robot with blue, red or green LEDs connected to artificial neurons in the region that light up when different information is being processed, based on the robot's behavior. "The innovative part is the independent nodes in the hierarchical levels that can be linked and activated," said Thomas Bock of the Technical University of Munich in Germany. For example, two red diodes illuminate when the robot is performing behavior it considers its own, two green bulbs light up when the robot acknowledges behavior being performed by the other. One blue LED flashes when the robot is both recognizing behavior in another robot and imitating it. Imitation, said Takeno, is an act that requires both seeing a behavior in another and instantly transferring it to oneself and is the best evidence of consciousness. In one experiment, a robot representing the "self" was paired with an identical robot representing the "other." When the self robot moved forward, stopped or backed up, the other robot did the same. The pattern of neurons firing and the subsequent flashes of blue light indicated that the self robot understood that the other robot was imitating its behavior. In another experiment, the researchers placed the self robot in front of a mirror. In this case, the self robot and the reflection (something it could interpret as another robot) moved forward and back at the same time. Although the blue lights fired, they did so less frequently than in other experiments. In fact, 70 percent of the time, the robot understood that the mirror image was itself. Takeno's goal is to reach 100 percent in the coming year. _________________________ TERMINATOR Human decisions are removed from strategic defense. Skynet begins to learn, at a geometric rate. It becomes self-aware at 2:14 a.m. eastern time, August 29. In a panic, they try to pull the plug. SARAH And Skynet fights back. TERMINATOR Yes. It launches its ICBMs against their targets in Russia.... Because Skynet knows the Russian counter-strike will remove its enemies here.
Freakin' MULDER, stop scaring the SH*T out of me, man!!!! Just kidding. I love these stories of robots being able to imitate humans. I am really not typing. It's my BBS-enabled robot who is typing for me. [Beep!] Now it's me. I've turned him off... he went off to some pr0n site... dang thing DOES imitate human stuff...
Is that an Amplified Frequency Reciever in your lateral storage compartment or are you just happy to see me?
Dude. You just reminded me of that episode when Bender (Futurama) had his eyes pertruding to show that he had cameras. One eye pops out, and while doing so, you can hear the whirring from the eye. Another eye pops out, and while doing so, you can hear the whirring from the eye. Then, he stands still, the camera keeps on his face, but you can hear another whirring.
And yet another baby step to Judgement day, they actually did a study... on this? Study: Cows Excel At Selecting Leaders From same website.
