Humanoid robots could change our brains, warn experts

Scientists believe eerily lifelike robots will walk among us in just 20 years. Stuart Russell, vice chair of the World Economic Forum Council says the more a robot resembles a human, the more disturbing it will be to the general population. Stuart Russell, vice chair of the World Economic Forum Council says the more a robot resembles a human, the more uncomfortable or repulsed people become. The British scientist made the comments during the Milken Institute's panel titled'Artificial Intelligence: Friend or Foe?' 'We're just not equipped in our basic brain apparatus to see something that's perfectly humanoid and not treat it as a human being,' he said. 'So in some sense, a humanoid robot is lying to us using the lower levels of our brain we don't get to control.' Russell's viewpoint echoes a theory known as the'Uncanny Valley', a term coined by Japanese professor of robotics, Masahiro Mori.