Artificial Intelligence and Robotics

Biography

Biography: Shannon D. Bohle

Abstract

This paper describes a virtual humanoid embodied AI robot capable of autonomously expressing appropriate emotions
using gestures, facial expressions and text-to-speech while engaging in natural language conversations or giving automated,
scripted lectures with a slide show presentation. A touch-interaction-based learning/communication system is employed
where the robot responds and learns from touch sense feedback training, a poke (negative reinforcement) or swipe (positive
reinforcement) conveyed through a touch screen/pad. Th is bot’s predecessor was an award-winning project in an international
AI competition advertised by Th e White House and sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense. Th e presentation includes a
demo of a creatively scripted talk given by the AI robot providing counterarguments to its critics (RAND and organizations aimed
at slowing its progress). Utilizing logos, ethos and pathos, it argues for its legal and ethical rights for development and suggests
technical guidance for the future of AI. Th e talk includes theoretical foundations for an AI Hierarchy of Needs referencing
landmark studies including Maslow; advances in understanding the philosophical, psychological and neurological bases for
consciousness and language; Th e Turing Test; Asimov’s Th ree Laws of Robotics; Chalmers’ hard problem of consciousness;
Robert Plutchik's psychoevolutionary theory of emotion; Paul Ekman’s relationships between nonverbal communication and
emotion; behaviorist learning models (Pavlov, Skinner) and the roles of biology and social cognitive neuroscience for sympathy
and empathy capacity. Additionally, the presentation encroaches upon the development of new machine learning techniques
based on aff ective experiences that improve human-computer interaction for potential use in a variety of AI-enabled robots