Analyzing what robots tell us about human nature: A Q&A with Will Wright

Tue, 03/24/2009 - 01:46 - NLN

Will Wright is best known as the mastermind behind Spore as well as the enormously successful The Sims and SimCity series of computer games that offer players the opportunity to manage the lives of simulated people living in virtual worlds. (The Sims is the best-selling PC game in history.) But the 49-year-old Atlanta native also has a passion for robots.

In addition to building robot warriors that competed on Comedy Central's BattleBots TV program, which ran between 2000 and 2002, Wright is also a co-founder of Berkeley, Calif.–based robotics workshop, the Stupid Fun Club. The club, formed in 2000, has become an outlet for Wright's interest in robotics and artificial intelligence, not to mention for his propensity for mischief (Wright and club co-founder, filmmaker Mike Winter, have been known to let their creations loose on the street and to film bystanders' incredulous reactions).

We spoke with Wright about all things robot, such as why the world has yet to see a realistic humanoid robot and whether bots could someday reproduce without human intervention.