Robot Receptionist? Ah, leave it to Carnegie-Mellon. I'm sooo at the wrong school. This bytieful bot--"My name is Valerie, kthnx!" is a vast improvement over the typical receptionists at most colleges, AND this one has an excuse for being superficial (That's just how I was programmed). She's blonde, sings (albeit awfully), and likes to gossip about her boss. So far, all she's doing is giving out directions and the weather. She ain't no Cherry 2000, that's for sure--the geeks have yet to install face and voice recognition, more the less an anatomically correct (or perhaps exaggerated?) robo-bod. Let's HOPE that Carnegie Mellon's Army Combat Robot doesn't do Rambo or Ahnold impressions.

This robot receptionist is sure to rankle feminists with its stereotype-perpetuating cyber-personality. What next? An African American manual labor robot who sings "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot?" What does it say about these folks that they created a receptionist in the image of a silly blonde bimbo? I'm aghast at the political implications of all this. Right now, I'm just pleased that someone is making progressive steps with robots, even if it is a bit goofy at this point.