A team of researchers in China has created the world's first “AI child” that has the emotional behavior and capabilities of a three- or four-year-old human child.
Tong Tong is able to teach herself PHOTO Capture youtube
The artificial intelligence model, named Tong Tong, which translates as Little Girl, was created by the Beijing Institute of General Artificial Intelligence (BIGAI).
Although Tong Tong currently has the skills of a toddler, she is still improving, Chinese scientists say.
BIGAI researchers suggest that through additional human interaction, Tong Tong could continuously develop its skills, knowledge and values.
The team stated that Tong Tong is capable of self-learning and can display a level of emotional involvement not yet seen in other AIs. His ability to interpret human emotions even extends to the ability to identify and communicate feelings such as happiness, anger, and sadness, and to react appropriately to the emotional states of others.
Tong Tong was presented at the Frontiers of General Artificial Intelligence Technology in Beijing last month, writes Metro.
Visitors were able to interact with Tong Tong and watch her perform human skills – including being obsessed with cleanliness, straightening picture frames and mopping up spilled milk.
Tong Tong also has a range of facial expressions and gestures and can even hold a conversation.
“Tong Tong possesses a mind and strives to understand common sense learned from humans,” a video shows. “She distinguishes right from wrong, expresses her attitudes in different situations and has the power to shape the future.“
According to BIGAI director Zhu Songchun, a world-renowned expert in the field of AI, for AI to advance, it must be able to perform an infinite range of tasks and define new tasks autonomously.
“To move towards general artificial intelligence, we need to create entities that can understand the real world and possess a wide range of abilities,” he said.
