Her name is Tong Tong, Chinese for “little girl”, and she was presented as the “first little girl powered by artificial intelligence” by the Beijing Institute for General Artificial Intelligence (BIGAI). Presented last January in Beijing, during the Frontiers of General Artificial Intelligence Technology, the humanoid, of which a virtual prototype was presented, reproduces the behavior of a three-four year old person and would be able to continuously improve through learning and subsequent interactions with human beings. The researchers involved in the project say that Tong Tong is capable of showing a level of emotional involvement never seen in any other Artificial Intelligence model and is able to interpret, identify and communicate emotions such as happiness, anger and sadness, as well as react appropriately when these are expressed by other people.
“Tong Tong possesses a mind and desires to understand the common sense taught by humans,” reads a promotional video, “distinguishes right from wrong, expresses his attitudes in various situations, and has the power to shape the future.” The model was developed through the TongOS2.AGI operating system and the TONGOL2.0 language learning program.
“To advance in artificial general intelligence, we need to create entities that are capable of understanding the real world and possess a wide range of abilities,” explained Bigai director Zhu Shongchun, a recognized authority in the field in China, “ Tong Tong has a complete mentality and value system similar to that of a three or four-year-old child. At present, it is still undergoing rapid updates and will enter into different aspects of our lives.”
The product seems aimed first of all at people without company, a growing phenomenon in a country prey to demographic decline and the loneliness it entails but has the potential to find applications in home automation, healthcare and education. “General Artificial Intelligence is the most powerful factor of new quality productive forces,” Zhu commented.