HUMAN BRAINS ARE TOO PUNY and 15 more reasons why top researchers are obsessed with AI

Like the artificial intelligence (AI) technology that's lurking everywhere, the researchers who work on AI operate behind the scenes.

For every new robot, there are hundreds of computer scientists and researchers who put in thousands of hours to make sure it works. Computer scientists are attracted to AI for different reasons - computers are a lifelong passion, AI could hold the answers to our worse problems, or because AI could make their favorite science fiction books real.

Tech Insider talked to 16 computer scientists, roboticist, and entrepreneurs to learn why they chose to make robots for a living.

Scroll down to see their lightly edited comments on what inspired them to work in AI.