Korean scientists claim to have created genes that a robot can pass on to other robots.
Professor Kim Jong-Hwan, from the Robot Intelligence Technology Lab in Korea, has developed 14 artificial chromosomes that he says will determine robots’ “personality”.
“The artificial chromosome is a software system. It means that the information – their ‘genes’ – can be easily sent to other robots,” he explains. “So if I send the chromosomes to another robot, that robot can then reproduce by itself. In that sense the robots will be created by the ‘genes’. The personality of robots will be created by artificial genes.”
Dr Kim believes there is no danger that such self-reproducing robots will take over the world, “If we design the chromosomes quite safely, then we can avoid such a bad situation.”
* Prof Kim gives a public lecture at 7pm on Thursday, Room QA1, Quadrangle Building A, Gate 1, Massey University, Albany.