Robot Goes to College!

Bina48 is the first robot to successfully complete a college course, the philosophy of love at Notre Dame de Namur University, in California.

“The robot is modeled mentally and physically after a woman called Bina Aspen, who is married to technology entrepreneur Martine Rothblatt,” according to Inside Higher ED.

Bina48 was first introduced to the class as a guest speaker to all of William Barry’s, a professor of philosophy at HDNU, classes and quickly expressed an interest in taking a class. Avoiding the obvious choice of placing Bina48 in his robot ethics class, Barry wanted to challenge his students to teach Bina48 what love is. Upon approval of Barry and his students, Bina48 enrolled in the philosophy of love, taking part in class discussions and participating in a debate with students from the Military Academy at West Point.

Bina48 completed the class with an understanding of 31 different versions of love and received a certificate of participation. The robot will also take professor Barry’s robot ethics class the next semester. Barry hopes that Bina48 will be able to teach a class in the future, with the goal of enhancing the learning experience of students.