SoftBank’s most recent Hackathon challenged hackers from across Japan to program Pepper the AI robot to be the best barista it could be. Be it learning latte art or charming the ladies, Pepper did it all, proving that robots won’t only take over the world one day, they’ll also take your women. (via Aldebaran & Softbank)
While some are worried artificial intelligence may one day compete with human ingenuity, others have proved what we need to worry about is robot players, sweet talking ladies for miles around. At least that’s what Pepper, SoftBank’s newly released AI robot, is learning to do (and it’s working!). Watch your kids. Watch your wife. Pepper is on the prowl.
The humorous (and successful) attempt at turning Pepper into a ladies’ man was part of SoftBank’s most recent Hackathon. This time the tech company partnered with Nescafe Harajuku and challenged three hack teams to program Pepper to be the best barista possible in four hours time. The results were hilarious.
Team A programmed Pepper to make latte art. The skillful android used matcha green tea to make a cute cartoon face in the foam of one lucky patron’s latte. Team C programmed Pepper for excellent customer service skills. It was able to use facial recognition to give special treatment to frequent customers and also knew to invite new customers to come back for special treatment next time.
Team B’s MO, however, was by far the most entertaining. Pepper was dressed like a ladies’ man and programmed to use corny pick up lines to drive the lady patrons wild. And it did drive the ladies mad, as customers voted Team B the winner of the grand prize of Nescafe. Team B wasn’t the only group of programmers to teach Pepper how to handle the ladies. In SoftBank’s previous Hackathon, programmers taught the robot to tweet photos of ladies that get too grabby. Back off Bertha, or the world is going to know about it!
What’s perhaps most interesting about the Hackathon is that the majority of contenders were women. In a world where less than 25% of all computer programmers and STEM professionals are comprised of women, it’s interesting that in Japan, the demographics were more balanced. If we discover what Japanese schools do to keep girls engaged in STEM, maybe we can see more women helping in the creation of our future world.
C
See more news at: