As the story goes, the Black Eyed Peas' frontman Will.i.am was just cruising on his Segway, thinking about technology and stuff—when he decided to call up Dean Kamen and got hoodwinked into hosting the FIRST Robotics Championship.

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Now in its 20th year, the annual competition puts kids against one another in the robotics arena—only this year, with Will.i.am's support, they also put on a show called i.am FIRST - Science is Rock and Roll, which had live performances from the Black Eyed Peas and Willow Smith, plus 'slebs such as Justin Bieber, Britney Spears, Bono, Justin Timberlake, Snoop Dogg and even Steven Tyler from Aerosmith weigh in with their support for...technology. It sounds like I'm making this up, but it really did happen—it aired on Sunday night on ABC, but if you missed it you can check the YouTube video down below, and the five other parts over here.

As this isn't Will.i.am's first step into our nerdlinger world (remember Intel hired him as their Director of Creative Innovation?), I wonder if he's busy fastening the safety net for the day his career as a wedge-haired pop-rapper falls through? [Examiner via Technabob]