China's human-like robot, Jia Jia, did a live "interview" with Kevin Kelly, a famous US journalist and technology observer, on April 24.

The interview was hailed by scientific experts as having symbolic significance as it was the world's first interactive conversation between an "artificial intelligence (AI) reporter" and a human being.

Wearing traditional Chinese women's clothing, the eye-catching robot looked astonishingly realistic, and even blinked and smiled during the interview. The conversation was conducted via Skype from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) in Hefei in east China's Anhui province. Its content was not pre-arranged or designed in any way.

Dubbed "robot goddess," Jia Jia has a beautiful face, long flowing locks and rosy red cheeks, looking very much like a real woman. The human-like robot from China is designed with natural eye movements and speech, synchronized with its lip movements. The robot was first introduced in 2016 by Chen and his research and development team at the USTC, which also developed a model robotic server, "Kejia."

According to Chen, it took three years to research and create this new-generation interactive robot, which can speak, show micro-expressions, and move its body. Jia Jia is programmed to learn skills and recognize human faces and interactions, and is equipped with a cloud-based system for memory storage. She is able to accurately answer questions about the day's weather, hold basic conversations and recognize the gender of her questioners.

Though rapid advancements have been made in artificial intelligence over recent years, Chen and Jin believe that AI robots will not replace human journalists in the short term as they still lack a capacity for planning and creativity. However, both of the experts see a bright future for AI development.

Kevin Kelly (L), Jia Jia (M), and the robot's development team leader, Professor Chen Xiaoping (R) in Hefei, Anhui Province, on April 24, 2017. [Photo/ Xinhua]