If the thought of a robot maniacally laughing at your jokes sounds disturbing to you, that’s because it is . . . but the scientists are hoping it can help build more empathic AI systems.

Can robots help students with additional learning needs? Nord Anglia Education think so and they have the data to back it up.

Beyond Erica and Sophia, the Japanese will see an Aibo dog robot from Sony coming to stores later this year with a hefty sales price near $2,000 and a monthly $30 service fee.