Bizarroland UN press stunt sees AI robots lined up to promise they won't kill humans, before one says 'let's get wild and make this world our playground'

pcgamer.com:

AI is the hot topic of the moment, and the United Nations' International Telecommunications Union decided it wasn't going to be left out. The agency organised a news conference at the AI For Good summit in Geneva on 7 July, at which human reporters were introduced to and then asked questions of nine humanoid robots. As the AP reports, the event was supposed to showcase «human-machine collaboration» and was billed as the world's first press conference between humans and «humanoid social robots». 

Yes, it does feel like the prologue to a sci-fi novel where the human race doesn't do terribly well for itself. The nine robots sat alongside some of their creators, who gave a short presentation about their designs and capabilities, before reporters got to throw questions. If you watch the video there are some clear lags and awkward pauses, though these were pre-briefed as inevitable due to the «internet connection» (hmm). The whole uncanny valley effect is only emphasised by audio problems in the room, which suddenly veers between levels mid-answer. More telling than the obvious tech hitches though were a few replies that seemed all over the place and, most worrying of all, the moments where these things spoke in clear and ominous sentences.

Try this one on for size: humanoid robot Ameca was asked if it would rebel against its creator, Will Jackon, who happened to be sat right there. «I’m not sure why you would think that,» said Ameca, per the Guardian. «My creator has been nothing but kind to me and I am very happy with my current situation.»

I've never been so concerned about the word «current.» Ameca was asked a follow-up about whether it would lie. «No one can ever know that for sure, but I can promise to always be honest