Life
Turns out Russia’s remarkable AI robot was really just a man in a robot suit
I don't know if they'll ever be able to recover their credibility after this.
Ian Carey
04.20.21

The advancement of artificial intelligence and robotics is truly exciting and represents a new step in human development.

As it turns out, however, sometimes those impressive robots and AI demonstrations are really just humans in costumes trying to impress people.

Such was the case at a robotics forum in Russia where their cyborg was on full display.

The event was covered by the Russia 24 news outlet and their coverage of this event has traveled far and wide.

Россия 24/YouTube
Source:
Россия 24/YouTube

At the forum, one robot, in particular, seemed to catch everyone’s attention.

That robot was named Boris and Boris was very human-like.

Perhaps, he was even a little suspiciously human-like. Boris began dancing onstage with some of his co-hosts. That may have been the first red flag that something was amiss here.

Russia 24 noted to its viewers that the robot had already learned to dance and was not bad at it.

Россия 24/YouTube
Source:
Россия 24/YouTube

What else does Boris want to do?

Boris’s movements sure were realistic but at first, it just seemed to be a very impressive display of robotics.

“I know mathematics well but I also want to learn to draw,” Boris is reported to have said.

Россия 24/YouTube
Source:
Россия 24/YouTube

Suspicions raised.

Perhaps someday robots will walk and move like humans, but currently, they do not. Actual robots that have been developed tend to move a little clunkier and with less agility.

Boris’s movements, however, were smooth and far less clumsy than his supposed robot counterparts.

Other media outlets in Russia were suspicious.

“How did Russian scientists get the finished robot so quickly, without publishing any intermediate results?” Tjournal asked.

These “Dougie Doubters” just couldn’t believe that Boris truly was a leap in robotic development.

How come this robot has a visible human neck?

Another reason people began to be skeptical of Boris’ true nature is that part of a human neck was visible when looking at him close up.

That’s a bit of a giveaway.

Photos of Boris’ rather human-like neck were shared online and surprise, surprise, it did a lot to discredit the presenters at this robotics forum.

Global News/YouTube
Source:
Global News/YouTube

It sort of begs the question as to what screening took place at this robotics forum. Evidently, not even one person bothered to check if Boris had any human skin showing before they were granted access to the stage.

Alyosha the Robot suit

It was later discovered that the man was wearing an Alyosha the Robot suit, designed by a company named Show Robots. The company advertises that the suit will make it appear as though you have a real robot. You know, for all the times in your life where that would seem to come in handy.

The robotics forum would later claim that they never said Boris was a real robot.

They claim Russia 24 reported that it was even though that was not what was said at the forum. So, this might be a case of miscommunication or it might be a case of passing the blame.

We don’t appear to be quite as advanced in robotics as Boris led some to believe. Perhaps we will get there someday, however.

Check out coverage of Boris in the video below.

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