As master storyteller Ray Bradbury gave a chilling account of the complications and ultimate horrors presented by the development of life-like human being artificial intelligence in Marionette’, Inc., the fictional missive may not be that far from a plausible reality.
A Hong Kong man has constructed a life-size female robot, complete with moving parts, facial expressions and the ability to respond to commands. While the android’s prospects for earning the honor of gracing the Academy Awards as a sit-in for a certain unnamed actress may be slim, the project’s inspiration is obvious.
The “Mark 1” bot, designed by Rickey Ma at a cost of $50,000, took nearly 18 months complete and the “skeleton” was manufactured on a 3-D printer.
Though the current demand on a household front for the imitation of human life is low, a possible marketplace exists in providing solutions for filling sparsely attended venues. The audience never has to know that the entire crowd in the upper deck of a stadium hosting a soccer match is comprised of Ma’s robots.
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