REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLOS ANGELES, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Legendary "Star Trek" actor William Shatner has been spending time exploring the new frontier of artificial intelligence. The actor best known for playing Captain Kirk on "Star Trek" talked with ProtoBot, a device that combines holographic visuals with conversational AI, and grappled with philosophical and ethical questions about the technology. Can ProtoBot understand sentience? The ProtoBot device was developed by hologram technology provider Proto Inc with conversational AI developer CodeBaby. It will be released on Sept. 8 and available free to owners of Proto M or Proto Epic hologram units.

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Persons: William Shatner, Shepard, Mike Blake, Captain Kirk, ProtoBot, Shatner, Raffi Kryszek, We're, Rollo Ross, David Gregorio Our Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Lawmakers, Thomson Locations: Van Horn , Texas, U.S