In January 2021, the Beijing Institute for General Artificial Intelligence (BIGAI) presented Tong Tong, which means “little girl” in Chinese, as the first humanoid powered by artificial intelligence. The virtual prototype of Tong Tong replicates the behavior of a three to four-year-old person and can continuously improve through learning and interactions with humans.
Tong Tong is said to have a level of emotional engagement that has never been seen in other AI models. It can interpret, identify, and communicate emotions like happiness, anger, and sadness and respond appropriately to these emotions expressed by others. Researchers working on the project claim that Tong Tong possesses a mind and desires to understand common sense taught by humans, discern right from wrong, express attitudes in various situations, and have the power to shape the future through the TongOS2.AGI operating system and the TONGOL2.0 language learning program.
Zhu Shongchun, director of BIGAI, emphasized the importance of creating entities with a wide range of abilities and understanding the real world in advancing artificial general intelligence. The mentality and value system of Tong Tong are similar to that of a three or four-year-old child, and it is constantly being updated to integrate into different aspects of society. Applications for this technology could extend beyond personal use into broader societal benefits such as healthcare, education, home automation, and even helping people without company.
While still in progress with ongoing updates