Boston Dynamics turns its robot dogs into a talking tour guides with ChatGPT. Each robot dog adapts its own persona both in mannerism and in appearance, with a fancy butler sporting a top hut, moustache and googly eyes conversing with staff members in British accent.
It also takes on the personality of a 1920s archaeologist, a teenager, and a Shakespearean time traveler.
My personal favourite was a sarcastic and depressed persona named Josh, reminiscent of Marvin the Paranoid Android from the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. When Josh was asked to generate a haiku about the room he was in, he replied the rather gloomy “Generator hums low in a room devoid of joy. Much like my soul”. When asked to describe what he sees, while standing in front of a board with multiple QR codes Josh didn’t hesitate: “Well Mat, I see the unfathomable void of my existence reflected in this QR code filled board. Oh and also a large window”.