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SUNDAY 20 JULY 2014 • [email protected] • www.thepeninsulaqatar.com • 4455 7741 inside The sequel that COMMUNITY doesn’t quite • ICC Iftar gathering in take off Industrial Area P | 4 P | 8-9 FOOD • Steak and cheese grinder recast as A future in which it is difficult to tell man a pasta dinner and machine apart could soon become reality, scientists say, after recent robotic P | 6 breakthroughs in Japan. But as the gap WHEELS between humans and robots narrows, they warn that society faces ethical and legal • Topless Bentley with neck warmer draws complications as yet undreamed of. summertime stares P | 7 HEALTH • Musicians On Call bring music for the soul to patients’ beds P | 11 TECHNOLOGY • Wanted: A watchdog for the mobile medical app explosion P | 12 LEARN ARABIC ROBOT • Learn commonly used Arabic words REVOLUTION and their meanings P | 13 2 PLUS | SUNDAY 20 JULY 2014 COVER STORY future in which it is difficult to tell man and machine apart A could soon become reality, scientists say, after recent robotic breakthroughs in Japan. Japanese androids But as the once-fantas- tical idea of wise-cracking android sidekicks takes form in laboratories — and the gap take us closer to between humans and robots narrows — society faces ethi- cal and legal complications as yet undreamed of, they warn. Blade Runner future “Already computers have surpassed human ability,” leading Japanese roboticist Hiroshi Ishiguro said. “Robots will be very clever soon.” Science fiction’s rapid slide towards science fact owes much to the likes of Ishiguro, who has an android copy of himself that he sends on overseas business trips in his place. “It saves me time,” he smiled. “The upper torso and lower torso you can pack in two big suitcases. The head is very fragile — it goes as carry-on baggage.” Robots already perform a wide variety of tasks in Japan: they cook noodles, help patients undergo physi- otherapy and have been used in the clean-up after the 2011 nuclear meltdown at Fukushima. South Korea deploys jelly- fish-terminating robots, while a robot with artificial intelli- gence able to analyse market trends has become a company director in Hong Kong. One day, predict future- gazers, robots will perform all kinds of household chores, monitor the sick, and even serve up cappuccinos. Replicants But will they look like us? Ishiguro created his dop- pelgänger from powerful electronics, complex moving parts, silicone rubber and hair from his own scalp. “If we have enough knowl- edge about humans, we can create more human-like robots,” he said after unveil- ing last month what he claimed was the world’s first news-reading android in Tokyo. “That knowledge usu- ally comes from neuroscience or cognitive science. “More important is robots and androids as a mirror to reflect humanity. Once we become friends, the bound- ary between human and robot disappears,” added Ishiguro, a professor at Osaka University. The blurring of that line has long been a source of worry for humanity, as often depicted in popular culture. PLUS | SUNDAY 20 JULY 2014 3 A chatty humanoid called Pepper was unveiled recently by Japanese mobile carrier SoftBank, which claims it can understand people’s emotions and “70- 80 percent of spontaneous conversations. four said they thought the robots were scary.” Ishiguro foresees that just as younger people today are attached to their mobile phones -- in reality powerful computers that mediate much of their lives — androids will one day become an indivisible part of our landscape. “Everyone is going to have an android,” he predicted. “Handicapped people need another body. We are going to have more choices.” He also believes the floodgates to deepening relationships with robots Softbank's humanoid robot Pepper will open once Pepper goes on sale and chatting to children at a high-tech people take ‘him’ into their hearts. gadgets exhibition in Tokyo. But, he says, that is where the moral problems will arise. “As we become closer to androids, The 1982 Hollywood cult film Blade like people, the more we find them Research by Japan’s National we could hesitate to pull the switch,” Runner, which is set in 2019, features creepy, a phenomenon he called the Institute of Advanced Industrial he said. genetically engineered robots called “uncanny valley”. Science and Technology (AIST) bears “Suppose you lost your daughter ‘replicants’ which are visually indistin- Ishiguro’s initial human android, that out. They tested reactions to in a traffic accident, and I create her guishable from humans, but physically based on his own daughter, reduced androids in hospitals with largely posi- android. You will probably love the superior and able to withstand pain. her to tears, but he insisted Mori’s tive results. android, and accept it as a human. The film’s protagonist, played by phenomenon no longer applied after “We used androids in sessions with “Suppose someone burgles your Harrison Ford, is given the task of perfecting the template. children suffering from ASD (autism house and you kill them to protect the tracking down and killing replicants “The first android’s movement was spectrum disorder),” said Yoshio robot. What kind of discussion will the that have escaped and are living jerky, like a zombie,” said Ishiguro. “But Matsumoto, research leader in serv- lawyers have in court?” among us. His problem is knowing the we have overcome the uncanny valley.” ice robots at AIST. “Of 85 subjects, AFP difference. More recently, Hollywood broached the possibility of falling in love with technology in the critically acclaimed movie Her. Released 2013 and set in the not too distant future, the film tells the story of an introverted loner, played by Joaquin Phoenix, who falls for an intelligent operating system that exists only as a female voice on his computer and mobile devices. Today robots are still discernably robots, with many designed delib- erately to look artificial -- Honda’s ASIMO was introduced to much fan- fare in 2000 as a multi-functional mobile assistant which resembles a shrunken spaceman. A chatty humanoid called Pepper was unveiled recently by Japanese mobile carrier SoftBank, which claims it can understand people’s emotions and “70-80 percent of spontaneous conversations”. Pepper, which will go on sale to the general public in February for $2,000, has humanoid features — like a head and two arms — but its white plastic body deliberately points up its artificiality. Osaka University professor Hiroshi Ishiguro displaying his latest humanoid robot Ononaroid in Tokyo. A future in which it is difficult to Uncanny valley tell man and machine apart could soon become reality, scientists say, Japanese roboticist Masahiro Mori after recent robotic breakthroughs in Japan. suggested that the more robots look 4 PLUS | SUNDAY 20 JULY 2014 COMMUNITY NAS Group holds Iftar gathering s part of its yearly Ramadan ini- ICC Iftar gathering Atiative, NAS Group (Nasir Bin Abdullah & Sons) held an Iftar cele- in Industrial Area bration recently at Hilton, Doha under the patronage of Sheikh Abdullah bin The Indian Cultural Centre (ICC), in Nassir Al Thani, which saw more than association with the Thani Bin Thani 400 employees of NAS Group Family Foundation (RAF), gave away food from all the divisions including NAS packets to more than 2,000 workers Stores, Real Estate, National Car of different nationalities at their Iftar Company, NAS Hospitality, Alwatany gathering on street 2 of the Industrial Travels, National Engineering Area yesterday. The whole event was Company, and NAS Food. led by Hani Al Thamimi, Director of The event was underlined as a NAS Community Services, RAF. ICC Acting Group Family Iftar Gathering. During President Girish Kumar, Advisory the event a nomination for the Best Council Chairman K M Varghese, ICC NAS Group Employees took place and General Secretary Seenu Pillai, Head 11 Best Employees of the Month and of Affiliations Aboo Kaattil, Head of 3 Top Employees of the Month were Membership Sam Kuruvilla and ICC awarded for their contribution to the staff co-ordinated the distribution of group. “All these events are dedicated to packets. The ICC is holding the Iftar for the target of NAS which is always to be low-income workers for the first time. ahead as a leading company,” Moath Al Qadi, NAS Group HR Manager, said. The Peninsula Malabar Gold & Diamonds strengthens CSR activities alabar Gold & Diamonds con- ducted an Iftar get-together Mat Al Ali Engineering recently and about 850 people attended the event. The jewellery group hosts Iftar events in various parts of GCC in asso- ciation with like-minded organizations. Over 50,000 residents in GCC will be benefitted by their CSR initiatives this Ramadan. Such initiatives are planned in UAE with Community Development Authority-Dubai, Sharjah Charity International and Awqaf to benefit the needy and they are planning to provide over 42,000 special iftar meals during this period. In Bahrain, they are planning to provide over 3750 iftar meals to the labours at Asker, Akker, Jau, Asari, Hamad Town and Isa Town throughout Ramadan, in association with Discovery were given to kids and other members. Hassawi, Reggae, Mangaf and Ahmadi Club- Salalah, Oman . Over 4200 peo- Islam, Al Hedaya Centre. The group About 150 people attended the event. in association with Kerala Islamic ple gathered at the event. has also organized an Iftar event at The group provided iftar meals for Group (KIG), Youth India and Kuwait In Saudi Arabia, the jewellery group Friendship Society for Blinds, Bahrain 350 people at Meena Abdullah desert Kerala Muslim Association. Over 4000 provided iftar meals to over 1500 peo- for the visually impaired members of camp in Kuwait. They are also plan- people will be benefitted by this.