‘Humanoids at home in five years’ says co-head of UK’s AI research centre

“So we're there now in terms of technology,” said Maclaren. “Getting into people's homes is the next challenge because it's got to be done safely. There are plenty of YouTube videos available in terms of human-type robots doing human-type tasks, picking things up, sorting them that way. In terms of having them in our homes, I could see the first robots appearing within five or six years.”

Maclaren says mental health is one area where robots could be beneficial. “There are too many people suffering from loneliness in this country,” he said. “With Ameca, it doesn't replace human-to-human contact, but what it does do is give you the feeling of being in a conversation. That's a way that they can make life better for us; that's what we're exploring.”

Making humanoids that little bit more, well, human, is also part of the plan, so we get used to being around these AI-driven entities. “They do have skin tone, they do have wigs, they do have clothes,” Maclaren explained. “The next breakthrough is dexterity. Right now, robots are quite clunky in terms of their alertness when picking things up. What we want to develop is that one minute they can pick up a brick and the next minute pick up something squishy.”

Sounds sensible, but ethics and safety are also concerns, with trust a hurdle for the public to overcome. “This is where we play our part, because Ameca is relying on a ChatGPT database,” said Maclaren. “We need to make sure it can’t give you an immoral answer or an ethically incorrect answer, so there's a lot of scrutiny needed on those databases, because that's where it's drawing the information from.

“There must be some guardrails put in place for these companies that are developing these large numbers, so we all have a responsibility to make sure we have an understanding that the data itself has the right models and has the reflective ethics we believe in as a society to make sure we're not introducing bias.”

While Ameca is considered an ‘It’, the female character and voice are deliberate, so people are calmer and less intimidated in the presence of robots. That's the only reason,” Maclaren states. “They're asking researchers to respond to female voices, particularly in the younger generation. They tend to respond better to a female voice rather than a male voice like mine.

"So, there is a bit of theory in there, but we have to be very, very careful that we're not introducing biases and stereotypes into the interaction. I think the form of the robot is also really important. So you’ll notice Ameca has some stature — that is psychologically introduced equality.”

Maclaren adds: “We mustn't create robots that we see as subservient all the time, because at the end of the day, robots have rights, too, so we have to get the right sort of engagement. If they're all small and cute, then we might start encouraging children to start barking orders and expecting the voice to follow those orders, whereas Ameca’s a conversationist, so we have to be careful.”

The National Robotarium has ten start-up companies in robotics that operate on campus in Edinburgh with an array of devices, including Spot, the Boston Robotics robo-dog. “We've got three of those roaming around the outside, and a more versatile Ameca,” Maclaren added.

STEM education plays a huge part in what FOS Future Lab is all about, and in terms of AI and robotics, Maclaren believes it’s crucial for the country that we support STEM in all areas. “It's really important for our economy and our skills, because the rest of the world, including the Far East in particular, is adopting robotics at a rapid rate, and we need to catch up,” he admitted.

“We need to decide whether we want to be consumers of robotics or creators of robotics. So there's a whole new industry there. We must bring the skills into our country as early as possible.

“The government is trying to address it right now in terms of the investment we need to drive that sector and promote more startup companies. This is where our talent grows, and then we sustain them into success, so they don’t go to the United States anymore. We want to create the demand and keep them here.”

Maclaren urges anyone to get in touch with The National Robotarium to help drive this development. “We're a national asset, we will help connect you to the right organisations, whether you're a robotics company, whether you're looking for research, or you're looking to engage with schools, we can certainly help each other.”

Robots for good, the public can get on board with, robots for bad is another matter, but Maclaren doesn’t see them being weaponised and turning on us. “This is a collaboration, and that's the way we need to look at it. Humans and robots will be working side by side. The one thing to remember is that, unlike some of the science fiction, we do have an off switch. It's the data that we train the robots on that will result in their action.”

Humanoids at home are one thing, but droids like C-3PO are more accustomed to interplanetary travel, something Maclaren also sees happening. “If you think of things like deep space journeys, robots being able to work on things like vital signs, moods, physical health, all of that can be done,” he said. “If you had simple things like being able to touch a hand, through that contact, doing an ECG, taking your blood pressure, or your heart rate, all of that is entirely possible.”

 

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Photography by Tom Shaxson and Jack Beasley.