Google's next big step for AI: Getting robots to teach each other new skills

Imagine if you could get better at some skill not just by learning and practicing it, but by accessing the brains of others to tap directly into their experiences? For humans, that's still science fiction, but in the field of AI-powered robotics it is possible to shortcut training times by having robots share their experiences. Google demonstrated this recently with its grasping robotic arms. Six years ago, Google's former head of robotics, James Kuffner, coined a term for this type of skills acquisition, calling it'cloud robotics'. It acknowledges the impact of distributed sensors and processing enabled by datacenters and faster networks. Kuffner is now CTO of the Toyota Research Institute, where he's focusing on cloud robotics to bring to reality domestic helper robots.