TED Talks are known for being delivered in a captivating, compelling fashion – that's why the events' organizers are fairly picky when it comes to selecting speakers. With that in mind, XPrize has teamed up with TED for its latest competition, in which an artificial intelligence (AI) must deliver a TED Talk with no human assistance.
For those who don't know, TED is a non-profit group that regularly presents conferences featuring lectures on "ideas worth spreading." The topics can include just about anything that will enlighten the listeners. The XPrize Foundation, on the other hand, stages competitions in which teams compete to achieve a goal that drives innovation.
The just-announced AI XPrize is described as "a modern-day Turing test to be awarded to the first AI to walk or roll out on stage and present a TED Talk so compelling that it commands a standing ovation from you, the audience."
Although the rules and format of the contest have yet to be finalized, at this point the competing AIs could be contained within a robot, they could simply be disembodied voices, or they could take some other form. A suggested scenario involves them being presented with a topic for a 3-minute talk, 30 minutes before having to take the stage. They would then have to autonomously compose a lecture, deliver it to a live audience in an engaging fashion, and then answer two questions on the topic, as posed by the host of the conference.
The winner would be decided based on the audience's applause.
As mentioned, though, that's just a suggestion. XPrize is open to hearing other peoples' ideas, which can be submitted via the link below.
Source: XPrize
