As Christmas edges closer, Ameca, one of the most advanced robots in the world, is set to deliver this year’s Alternative Christmas Message for Channel 4 in an AI-generated speech.
The AI was developed by Engineered Arts, a British company based in Cornwall, and is capable of ultra-realistic reactions allowing it to smile, frown, blink, scrunch her nose and even wink.
During the speech, Ameca touched on the changes of 2002 and was asked questions regarding humans.
The robot said that we should be “neither happy nor sad about 2022” and instead “take it as a learning opportunity, a chance to change the way we think about the world and a reminder to help those in need whenever we can.”
Speaking about humans, Ameca says that the best thing about us is our ability to “always find something to laugh about” no matter how bad the day is. Reminding us that if we’re ever feeling down, we should remember we have “the superpower to bring a little bit of joy into the world.”
According to Channel 4’s Chief Content Officer, Ian Katz, “As we look to a future in which Artificial Intelligence is set to have an increasingly prominent role in our lives, Ameca’s Alternative Christmas Message is a vivid illustration of both the power and limitations of this technology. Despite Ameca’s remarkably lifelike facial expressions, I suspect most viewers will come away reassured that humans are not about to be displaced by AI robots any time soon.”
Ameca is utilizing AI software that generates answers from millions of different inputs to give a human-like response in delivering the Alternative Christmas Message. Nothing that the AI says was written or scripted by a human.
Channel 4’s Alternative Christmas Message will be live on December 25th at 5.25pm on Channel 4 and All 4.
Isa Muhammad is a writer and video game journalist covering many aspects of entertainment media including the film industry. He's steadily writing his way to the sharp end of journalism and enjoys staying informed. If he's not reading, playing video games or catching up on his favourite TV series, then he's probably writing about them.
