SpaceX is flying an artificially intelligent robot named CIMON to the International Space Station

CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla. -- Unlike HAL, it won't be able to open the pod bay doors. Its programming is limited, capable of conversation and technical support but not much else, at least for now. And instead of the searing red eye of the super computer gone rogue in Stanley Kubrick's sci-fi film, "2001: A Space Odyssey," the artificially intelligent robot launched into space from here Friday has a screen displaying a genial face prone to smiles. CIMON, as it is known (an acronym for Crew Interactive Mobile Companion), is designed to help astronauts on board the International Space Station perform their work -- namely the science experiments they are sent aboard the orbiting laboratory. On Friday, it became the first AI technology launched to the space station, officials said, an experiment that would be a sort of Alexa in space, able to help astronauts through the steps outlined in a manual, show pictures of certain parts of the experiment and answer questions about it.