Children with autism saw their learning and social skills boosted after playing with this AI robot

Scientists who designed an artificially intelligent robot that helped children with autism boost their learning and social skills hope such technology could one day aid others with the developmental disorder. The study saw seven children with mild to moderate autism take home what is known as a socially assistive robot, named Kiwi, for a month. According to a statement by the University of Southern California where the team is based, the participants from the Los Angeles area were aged between three and seven years old, and played space-themed games with the robot almost daily. As Kiwi was fitted with machine-learning technology, it was able to provide unique feedback and instructions to the children based on their abilities. For instance, if the child got a question wrong Kiwi would give prompts to help them solve it, and tweak the difficulty levels to challenge the child appropriately.