When a group of researchers asked an AI to design a robot that could walk, it created a "small, squishy and misshapen" thing that walks by spasming when filled with air.
The researchers — affiliated with Northwestern University, MIT, and the University of Vermont — published their findings in an article for the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on October 3.
"We told the AI that we wanted a robot that could walk across land. Then we simply pressed a button and presto!" Sam Kriegman, an assistant professor at Northwestern University and the lead researcher behind the study, wrote in a separate blog post.
In 26 seconds, the AI designed a blueprint for a robot "that looks nothing like any animal that has ever walked the earth," Kriegman added.
The AI began with a small rubber block and modeled different shapes before arriving at the final design that could walk. The final design walks after being pumped with air by a researcher.
Kriegman said the researchers weren't quite sure why the robot had this peculiar shape — and why it was filled with holes.
"When humans design robots, we tend to design them to look like familiar objects," said Kriegman, "But AI can create new possibilities and new paths forward that humans have never even considered."
Creating robots that can walk isn't a new concept. For example, robotics company Boston Dynamics has spent more than a decade designing walking robots.
However, Kriegman's findings present yet another showcase of the unusual outcomes while blending AI and robotics.
A Polish drinks company appointed an AI-powered humanoid robot named Mika as its CEO in August last year. Mika told Reuters that it doesn't have weekends and is "always on 24/7."
And another AI-powered robot, presented in Geneva in July, even gave reporters the side-eye when asked whether it would rebel against its creator.
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