Will Robots replace Humans?

17

October

2022

No ratings yet.

written by Robin Fieseler, 17th of October 2022, 5 min read

Google developed their newest Natural Language Processing (NLP) model Pathways Language Model (PaLM). It possess groundbreaking 540 billion parameters and aims towards generalizing artificial intelligence while being highly efficient (Narang und Chowdhery 2022).

PaLM in action:

In the picture, you could see how PaLM solves a math exercise and cretaes the necerssary text. Solving math and putting sentences together is impressive, but it doesn’t seem like it replaces us. YET.

Therefore let’s look on the most recent robto developments.

DO As I can, Not As I say.

Googles Robotic Researchers stated this year:
“We evaluate our method on a number of real-world robotic tasks, where we show the need for real-world grounding and that this approach is capable of completing long-horizon, abstract, natural language instructions on a mobile manipulator.” (Ahn et al. 2022).

But what did the researchers do? They combined the use of an algorithm called “SayCan” with the PaLM NLP model and applied the software to a robot (a mobile manipulator from Everyday Robots with a 7-degree-of-freedom arm and a two-finger gripper). In addition, reinforcement learning is used to allow the robot to learn the skills it needs. For example, grabbing a dropped cup, putting it in the bin and cleaning it. This robot selects and performs the correct sequence of skills 84% of the time, a 50% improvement over previous robots (Ahn et al. 2022).

The combination leads to a future where Robots perform tasks as requested. Did I just say future? It is clearly present even though it is applied only within the research sector and not to 100% of the time. But do you always do as your told?

Artificial Agents Mimic Human Brains

Lastly, Tim Behrens, James Whittington and others have found evidence that cognitive maping applied on artificial agents (robots) could imitate how a brain stores and accesses knowledge (Behrens et al. 2018).

To quote: “We highlight how artificial agents endowed with such principles exhibit flexible behavior and learn map-like representations observed in the brain. Finally, we speculate on how these principles may offer insight into the extreme generalizations, abstractions, and inferences that characterize human cognition.” (Behrens et al. 2018)

Key Takeaway

In conclusion, this blog has demonstrated that robots successfully perform tasks based on words and that brain activity and the way humans store and apply knowledge can be imitated.

People who believe that robots will and can replace humans have been around for a long time. These “believers” have formed groups to incorporate technology into the human body to stay ahead in the race between robots and humans. They are called transhumanists. Now the transhumanists finally have scientific evidence that the brains of robots and humans work similarly, and proof that robots can perform tasks based on spoken words in an unfamiliar environment. So for them, the question is not whether robots will replace us, but when?

Therefore, I ask you: Will Robots replace Humans?

Let me know in the comments!

References

Ahn, M., Brohan, A., Brown, N. et al. (2022), ‘Do As I Can, Not As I Say: Grounding Language in Robotic Affordances’ <https://​say-can.github.io​/​assets/​palm_​saycan.pdf>, updated 19 Aug 2022, accessed 17 Oct 2022.

Behrens, T. E. J., Muller, T. H., Whittington, J. C. R. et al. (2018), ‘What Is a Cognitive Map? Organizing Knowledge for Flexible Behavior’, Neuron, 100/2: 490–509 <https://​www.sciencedirect.com​/​science/​article/​pii/​S0896627318308560>.

Narang, S., and Chowdhery, A. (2022), ‘Google AI Blog: Pathways Language Model (PaLM): Scaling to 540 Billion Parameters for Breakthrough Performance’ <https://​ai.googleblog.com​/​2022/​04/​pathways-​language-​model-​palm-​scaling-​to.html>, updated 17 Oct 2022, accessed 17 Oct 2022.

Please rate this

Roboethics: Are robots like Tesla Optimus a tread to humanity?

6

October

2022

No ratings yet.

One of the most genius people on this earth, Elon Musk, came out with the news this week that a Tesla robot will be on the market in 3-5 years. This AI-driven robot will be called Tesla Optimus and should cost around $20000. The purpose of the robot is to help with everyday tasks, such as delivering parcel or watering plants (McCallum, 2022).
That Tesla is coming out with an AI-driven robot seems strange, as Elon Musk has often spoken out about the dangers of Artificial Intelligence, saying, for example, that robots will one day be smarter than humans. He even calls AI as humanity’s “biggest existential threat” (BBC News, 2017). Yet he says the Tesla Optimus will not be a danger to humanity because Tesla adds safeguards, such as a stop button (McCallum, 2022). It is therefore good to think about where the boundaries are with regard to designing humanoid robots.

Despite robots only starting to become truly realistic in recent years, Isaac Asimov (1941) wrote about ‘The Three Laws of Robotics’ over 80 years ago:

  1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
  2. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
  3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.

Later, the EPSRC (Bryson, 2017) added the following five principles:

  1. Robots should not be designed solely or primarily to kill or harm humans.
  2. Humans, not robots, are responsible agents. Robots are tools designed to achieve human goals.
  3. Robots should be designed in ways that assure their safety and security.
  4. Robots are artifacts; they should not be designed to exploit vulnerable users by evoking an emotional response or dependency. It should always be possible to tell a robot from a human.
  5. It should always be possible to find out who is legally responsible for a robot.

These laws and principles indicate that robots are there to help people and not to hurt people. In addition, humans should always retain power over robots and not the other way around. This seems logical, but with the rapid growth rise of AI, robots may one day become smarter than humans. Therefore, I think this is the time when there should be strict and clear laws around designing robots. Robots should always be limited so that they can never be smarter than humans.
If proper regulations are put in place, I think robots can be of great value to humanity. Think for example of humanoid robots in healthcare, these robots can ensure that more people can receive good quality care at the same time. I am curious to see how AI driven robots will evolve in the coming years, at least we can say that robots are no longer the future, but they are the present!

Bryson, J. J. (2017, April 3). The meaning of the EPSRC principles of robotics. Connection Science, 29(2), 130–136. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540091.2017.1313817

Asimov, I. (1941). Three laws of robotics. Asimov, I. Runaround.

McCallum, B. S. (2022, October 1). Tesla boss Elon Musk presents humanoid robot Optimus. BBC News. Retrieved October 6, 2022, from https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-63100636

BBC News. (2017, August 21). Musk warns of “killer robot” arms race. Retrieved October 6, 2022, from https://www.bbc.com/news/business-40996009

Please rate this

Why we should not fear for robots stealing our jobs

8

October

2021

No ratings yet.

In my job as a business analyst, I work on the robotization of business processes. We often get the question: are you destroying human jobs by robotization? Although it is true that one of the main objectives of robotization, and digitization in general, is increased efficiency, and robots do substitute some jobs, ultimately they will lead to increased added value for both the demand side as well as the supply side of the job market.

Firstly, robots are likely to replace highly repetitive and logic-based tasks, which does lead to job loss in the lower end of the market (2). For one, this is beneficial to the employer (demand side of the labor market), because of the gained efficiencies and elimination of human error. Secondly, this may be beneficial to employees: as a result of their repetitive tasks being replaced, they are likely to focus on more value-adding tasks, requiring interpretation instead of repetitive logic-based operations, which is likely to improve employee satisfaction. However, of course there will be some jobs that become obsolete as a result of robotization.

Although this downside of robotization is certainly existent, both the history and future predictions tell us that automation also creates job opportunities. These predictions show this will completely offset the job loss as a result of robotization, even resulting in more newly available jobs (2). Besides the positive offset to the quantity of jobs, job value (both monetary – salary, and job satisfaction level) will also increase as a result of this. Because low-level jobs disappear and are replaced by roles with increased expectations and complexity, entry-level job seekers will be more likely to be wanted for those jobs that would have been out of reach in a world without automation. Examples of jobs with increasing demand are data analysts, for which the demand has increased by 650% in the period between 2013 and 2017 (3), marketing specialists, system engineers, and – of course – process automation specialists (2).

To conclude, robotization does not only lead to gains in efficiency and non-monetary benefits such as increased employee satisfaction, but it also creates new jobs. These new jobs are higher valued than the originally substituted jobs, thus robotization does not only provide benefits to the welfare in general (the society) and the employers but also creates long-term value to job-seekers.

References

(1) Brown, T. (2016) Will robots actually take your job? (retrieved from https://www.raconteur.net/will-robots-actually-take-your-job/) (image source)

(1) World Economic Forum (2020) Future of Jobs Report 2020 (retrieved from https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-future-of-jobs-report-2020/)

(2) LinkedIn (2017) Here Are the 20 Fastest-Growing Jobs in the US (retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/business/talent/blog/talent-strategy/fastest-growing-jobs-in-the-us)

Please rate this

How obsolete can humankind become?

6

October

2021

No ratings yet.

The rapid evolution of automation, machine learning and AI has prompted a lot of questions regarding humankinds’ future. Will machines be able to take over any job? Is my job safe? Are we looking at a society with above 50% unemployment? What other impacts will this have on humans? What are the challenges that come with “robots”?

The development has ignited governments to rethink. In 2016, the Swiss went to the voting machines to vote over income to all citizens regardless of employment. The result? A solid “No”. The swiss government’s argument was that if machines were to take more and more jobs, the unemployment rate would increase. In a society, the economy is reliant on sellers and buyers. With such a high rate of unemployment, fewer people would be able to buy, leading to a decrease in the flow of money. Which would inevitably damage the economy and society. The argument behind the proposed change becomes more and more relevant as AI and machines improve. However, is this a good solution? Could that lead to a “Wall-E” type world where all you do is “chill” day-in and day-out?  

“I do not find this a promising future, as I do not find the prospect of leisure-only life appealing. I believe that work is essential to human well-being”. – Moshe Vardi on machines substituting humans.

Moshe Vardi, a computer scientist at Rice university, argues that the negative projections of human labor would be highly damaging to society. The continuously difficult question “what is the meaning of life” is today answered through working. Working hard to achieve things brings out a satisfaction of accomplishment. With a lot of middle-class jobs on the brink of being replaced more people would find less value in life. Vardi, argues that this is humankinds’ biggest challenge yet. How do we coexist with machines? Could humans find another purpose than working?

Of course, machines are not going to overtake every job on the market right away. The development takes time and most likely humans are going to be required for certain jobs. However, anticipating the future is impossible. Which means it is even more important to think about the possibilities and challenges it might hold. It could be an idea to venture outside and start focusing on alternatives to working or reshape how we look at working. What are your thoughts on the matter? How obsolete can humankind become?

Sources:

Leetaru, K. (2016). Will AI and Robots make humans obsolete? Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/kalevleetaru/2016/06/14/will-ai-and-robots-make-humans-obsolete/?sh=d51b45d35f2c

Rice University. (2016). When machines can do any job, what will humans do? Human labor may be obsolete by 2045. ScienceDaily. Retrieved from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/02/160213185923.htm

Please rate this

AI and Robotics: The Future of Elderly Care?

19

September

2021

No ratings yet.

As a result of declining birth rates and increasing life-expectancies, populations around the world are nowadays ageing at unprecedented rates. In Europe, the life expectancy at birth for both, men and women, has increased by 10 years within the past five decades, and is expected to rise even further in the future (European Commission, 2020). While the increasing longevity brought about by significant breakthroughs in healthcare has been a major achievement of our time, the changing demographics are also posing tremendous challenges on public health care systems in providing sufficient care for the growing share of older people. Already today, the demand for workers in elderly care is significantly exceeding the supply, a trend that will continue and accelerate even further.

Major developments in AI and robotic technology however provide an exciting opportunity to complement elderly care by counteracting the growing labor shortages within nursing facilities and home care and helping older people to preserve their independence for longer (Association for Advancing Automation, 2020).

Overview of service robots in elderly care

Broadly, one can distinguish between two categories of robots in elderly care. The first category includes rehabilitation robots which aim at physical assistance and would include devices such as smart wheelchairs and artificial limbs. The second category refers to assistive social robots which are seen as “social entities” that are meant to actively interact and communicate with the user. Within this category, there are two different kinds of social robots: service type robots and companion type robots (Broekens et al., 2009).

Service type robots

Service type robots have their main functionality in assisting older people in their everyday lives. One example is the robot “Pearl” . It reminds people of their daily activities, such as eating or going to the bathroom and supports them in their mobility, for instance by navigating them through the nursing facilities and accompanying them to appointments, social events or regular walks for exercise (Pollack et al., 2002).

Companion type robots

Apart from service type robots, robots are also being utilized as “companions” that can help counteracting loneliness and strengthening the psychological well-being amongst older people. One example is the robot “Pepper” which is utilized in several care homes in the UK. “Pepper” can learn about the interests of care home residents, allowing him to have conversations with them, play their favorite music and play games with them (The Guardian, 2020). Another type of companion robots includes therapeutic pet robots, such as the cat-shaped robot “iCat” or the seal-shaped robot “Paro”. Studies have shown, that “Paro” can indeed reduce loneliness, depression, agitation and blood pressure among older adults with dementia (Hung et al., 2019).

Reflection

Personally, I think these are exciting developments. While robots can by no means sufficiently compensate for the growing labour and capacity issues in elderly care, I do think that they can become an important pillar as an additional source of support. However, the emphasis here should clearly be on additional support. It is crucial to consider the ethics of using robots to care for the elderly and not to neglect the importance of interpersonal contact and quality of care for the sake of efficiency.

What are your thoughts on the utilization of AI and robotics in elderly care?

References

  • Broekens, J., Heerink, M., & Rosendal, H. (2009). Assistive social robots in elderly care: a review. Gerontechnology, 8(2), 94–103.
  • Hung, L., Liu, C., Woldum, E., Au-Yeung, A., Berndt, A., Wallsworth, C., Horne, N., Gregorio, M., Mann, J., & Chaudhury, H. (2019). The benefits of and barriers to using a social robot paro in care settings: a scoping review. Bmc Geriatrics, 19(1), 1–10. 

Please rate this

The fear of being replaced by automation

8

October

2020

No ratings yet. The world is becoming more and more technology driven – IoT, big data analytics, AI and robots. We are living in an age in which automation technologies such as robots play an essential role. Automation has many benefits such as it increases productivity, optimises processes and saves costs (McKinsey & Company, 2017). However, the increase in automation also raises growing concerns of workers about being replaced by these technologies. Studies have shown that 1.5 million UK workers are at a high risk of being replaced by automation (White et al., 2019) and that automation will steal 20% of all UK jobs in 2030 (McKinsey & Company, 2017). Furthermore, research by the economists Frey and Osborne (2017) has shown that about 47 percent of total US employment is at risk of job loss due to automation. The question therefore arises, whether workers have to fear to be replaced by automation?

 

Some economists and researcher believe in the skilled-biased technological change theory. This theory suggests that the demand for low skilled workers decreases relative to the demand for high skilled workers due to technological changes (Bound & Johnson, 1995; Acemoglu & Autor, 2011). According to this approach, automation therefore decreases the demand for low-skilled workers. However, others such as the labour economists David Autor argue that automation does not decrease the overall level of employment, but rather substitute and complement jobs. Jobs that require repetitive tasks are likely to be replaces by automation whereas jobs that perform non routine cognitive tasks are complemented by automation (Autor et al., 2003).

 

What many people do not consider is that automation technologies also create new jobs. Automation changes the types of jobs available in the market by creating new job opportunities. Many new jobs have been created over the past years, due to automation technologies such as software developers, programmers and data analysists. Therefore, I do not believe that workers have to fear that they are replaced by automation. Rather than worrying about being replaced by automation, workers should invest in good education and acquire automation-proof skills such as communication, management and creative skills. Robots can replace humans in many tasks, however, some skills especially inter-personal skills, cannot be replaced by robots.

 

References:

Autor, D. H., & Acemoglu, D. (2011). Skills, tasks and technologies: Implications for employment and earnings. In Handbook of labor economics (Vol. 4, pp. 1043-1171). Elsevier.

Autor, D. H., Levy, F., & Murnane, R. J. (2003). The skill content of recent technological change: An empirical exploration. The Quarterly journal of economics, 118(4), 1279-1333.

Bound, J., & Johnson, G. (1995). What are the causes of rising wage inequality in the United States?. Economic Policy Review, 1(1).

Frey, C. B., & Osborne, M. A. (2017). The future of employment: How susceptible are jobs to computerisation?. Technological forecasting and social change, 114, 254-280.

McKinsey & Company. (2017). Jobs lost, jobs gained: What the future of work will mean for jobs, skills, and wages. Retrieved 25 March 2020, from https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/future-of-work/jobs-lost-jobs-gained-what-the-future-of-work-will-mean-for-jobs-skills-and-wages.

White, S., Lacey, A., & Ardanaz-Badia, A. (2019). The probability of automation in England: 2011 and 2017.

Please rate this

Burger enthusiasts beware: a new cook is in town

3

October

2020

No ratings yet. Major fast food chain White Castle has hired numerous new chefs to operate their kitchens. While this might not sound as shocking news, you might want to look further into their new employees. The new kitchen operators for White Castle are in fact fully autonomous robot arms, programmed to flip burgers and operate fryers. This AI driven kitchen assistant called Flippy, made by Miso Robotics (n.d.) reduces the need for human kitchen employees and with improved efficiency and speed in food preparation, profit margins for quick service restaurants can increase up to 300%. Because of the removal of human error in the food preparation process, customers will receive a more consistent product. Due to cloud connectivity, data can be collected from the machine to monitor and tweak performance, which creates the possibility for efficiency to increase even more.

For employees of White Castle, this development creates the opportunity for them to focus more on customer interaction and quality control. This will ultimately lead to a better customer experience, less waste and less stressful moments in the kitchen. Common injuries from operating hot kitchen appliances will also reduce greatly.

However, with the current high unemployment rate in America, a decrease in jobs is the last thing that needs to happen at this moment in time. Approximately 13.2 million work in the restaurant business in the USA and 3.7 million of those work in the fast food restaurant business, so if these machines would be implemented throughout all restaurants, hundreds of thousands could be losing their jobs in the kitchen (Huddleston, 2018). But due to the improved efficiency, cost reducing opportunity and a safer work environment, more restaurants will eventually follow the trend of implementing autonomous kitchen assistants.

While the increase of automatisation has been happening for a long time, the world seems to be unprepared for an exponential increase in automated work. Data scientists, mechanics, industry experts and programmers are going to be in high demand to develop, maintain and train the machines. In my opinion, before the major rise of machine happens, some important measures need to be taken. One of the most important developments that need to be set in action, is a reform in the education system. It is clear that a lot of jobs are going to disappear in the near future. The next generation should be better prepared to work on and alongside automated machines. Also, as most jobs that disappear are not high academic positions, retraining should be stimulated to offer kitchen employees new jobs within their business in order to prevent a further surge in unemployment. What do u think should be taken action on before machines take over a substantial amount of jobs in the restaurant industry?
Sources:

Huddleston, J. (2018, June 1). Things you don’t know about fast food employees. Mashed. https://www.mashed.com/124676/things-dont-know-fast-food-employees/#:%7E:text=You%20may%20think%20that%20fast,work%20for%20fast%20food%20restaurants.

Miso Robotics. (2020). Miso Robotics. https://invest.misorobotics.com/

Please rate this

Would you want to be resurrected?

11

October

2019

No ratings yet. Today, an estimated amount of 2.8 billion people are making use of social media networks worldwide, a number that is expected to increase to around 3.1 billion in 2021 (Statistica, 2019). All these people have created a personal profile, established their online presence, and are basically generating an online archive of their lives.

 

We, humans, are creating a staggering amount of data that is still increasing exponentially. Furthermore, the ability of humans to analyse this data is growing exponentially as well (Brynjolfsson and McAfee, 2017). What if artificial intelligence could analyse this data in such way that it could predict the way that we are interacting right now. Imagine an AI system analysing the data of a very active social media user; learning and understanding the way they interact with their online peers. In the near future, this machine might be able to predict how someone would interact with their peers or their loved ones. The children from now will have created such a vast in amount of data available for this analysis, that once they die artificial intelligence might be able to create a computer personality that is just like them (Ostrow, 2011). Furthermore, with the current advances in technology, a robot or hologram could even be created that would be able to replace that person once they die (Ostrow, 2011). This robot or hologram could even have the same voice, by for example using Google’s data on voice recognition. As can be seen in the videoclip below, robots or holograms that act as humans are already a common theme in movies.

Important questions arise concerning ethicality, privacy and whether we would even want this. Due to the enormous amounts of data we currently produce, people could decide to ‘resurrect’ us, even without our permission. We should start considering this possibility, and what we could do to prevent this. We must come up with new and easier ways to delete all your data when you die, from that Twitter entry from the year 2000, to a recording of your voice.

 

 

 

 

Brynjolfsson, E. and McAfee, A. (2017). The Business Of Artificial Intelligence: What it can – and cannot – do for your organization. Harvard Business Review.

 

Ostrow, A. (2011) After your final status update. TedTalks, https://www.ted.com/talks/adam_ostrow_after_your_final_status_update?referrer=playlist-our_digital_lives

 

Statista. (2019). Number of social media users worldwide 2010-2021. [online] Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/278414/number-of-worldwide-social-network-users/ [Accessed 10 Oct. 2019].

Please rate this

How will automation affect our jobs in the future?

10

September

2019

No ratings yet.  

 

 

1_wpac-owHsTr92FvASk1XVQ

(Medium.com ©)                                                                                                                                  Time to read: 4 min

 

As Adam McCulloch describes in his article “Automation and AI: how it will actually affect the workplace”, there are very split opinions about whether automation or Artificial Intelligence in a broader sense will either create or destroy job opportunities.

The latter, more antagonistic side of the argument claims that the use of AI for automating job routines is going to entirely replace the need for human employees. In contrast, the counter-argument to this posits the idea of job opportunities and the shift from routine labour to more meaningful jobs that cannot be replaced by machines at all.

Personally, I believe that we will see both sides materialize to some extent as we continue to develop technologies and machines with the aim of mimicking both, physical and mental human activities. At the risk of stating the obvious, one reason for which I believe that AI and process automation will create, rather than destroy, job opportunities in the near future is that there are more forces fuelling the demand for automation than opposing it.

Industry and government bodies are realizing the gain in productivity that can be achieved by automating routinized tasks and are therefore unlocking large amounts of money to be dedicated to the development of automation technologies. This will most certainly create job opportunities as the supply of engineers and managers with experience in this field is currently drastically behind the demand for such technologies and business models.

Forces opposing the development of automation technologies nevertheless do exist, urging for the development of policies and regulations that shall act to safeguard the human workforce. A good example of one player seeking to oppose automation are labour unions, who act on the fear that humans and machines will compete against each other rather than work together in a symbiotic relationship.

Blue-collar automation requires state-of-the art technology which at this point in time, remains expensive for companies to implement. For this sole reason, I believe that the fear of destruction of blue-collar positions due to automation is not yet justifiable on a global scale, as many countries lack the economic resources and/or incentives to adopt the required technology. Even more developed countries are heavily reliant on a cheap human workforce and keep outsourcing blue-collar work to less developed countries rather than acquiring robots.

White-collar automation or robotic process automation (RPA) refers to the automation of some routine desk-job tasks that are highly standardized within the set of a white-collar worker’s various responsibilities. It is perhaps more easy and less costly to implement than blue-collar automation, as it does not require the development and implementation of physical mechanical robots (e.g.: anyone who has a basic grasp of programming can write programs that automate their excel tasks for example). In this scenario I believe that automation will free up white collar workers’ time and energy to be spent on different, more thought-intensive tasks.

I believe that much of the economic and sociological research of the first and second industrial revolutions do equally apply to what is now often referred to as the third and fourth industrial revolution. John Maynard Keynes for example already thought that the impact of the first industrial revolution on society would be that of a drastically shortened work-week in the long-run. Today we can observe that this theory has in fact not (yet?) materialized.

To conclude, and again at the risk of stating the obvious, it is us humans who are at the source of automation and we seem to be in a period of technological breakthroughs (AI, blockchain, quantum computing, IoT, etc…) which will impact many more people than are currently developing it, and hence deeply understanding it. As more people realize they will be impacted by such technological breakthroughs, a bandwagon effect of decision making involving a highly diverse set of stakeholders will develop to steer the direction of this new industrial revolution. Yes, I believe that the potential for replacing our jobs in the very long-term exists, however, whether that will happen depends on how we and our decision-makers want to spend our time.

 

 

What do you think?

 

 

References        

 

Bessen, J. and Kossuth, J. (2019). Research: Automation Affects High-Skill Workers More Often, but Low-Skill Workers More Deeply. [online] Harvard Business Review. Available at: https://hbr.org/2019/02/research-automation-affects-high-skill-workers-more-often-but-low-skill-workers-more-deeply [Accessed 10 Sep. 2019].

 

Book, A. (2018). Should I Panic About Automation Now Or Later?. [online] Hackernoon.com. Available at: https://hackernoon.com/should-i-panic-about-automation-now-or-later-82a4323f1dc7 [Accessed 10 Sep. 2019].

 

Chui, M., Lund, S. and Gumbel, P. (2019). How will automation affect jobs, skills, and wages?. [online] McKinsey & Company. Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/future-of-work/how-will-automation-affect-jobs-skills-and-wages [Accessed 10 Sep. 2019].

 

McCulloch, A. (2019). Automation and AI: how it will actually affect the workplace – Personnel Today. [online] Personnel Today. Available at: https://www.personneltoday.com/hr/analysis-ai-automation-impact-on-jobs-hr-employment/ [Accessed 10 Sep. 2019].

 

Sivertsen, R. (2018). The Fourth Industrial Revolution – Where Are You Going With This? – Ross Sivertsen – Systems Sherpa. [online] Ross Sivertsen – Systems Sherpa. Available at: https://ross-sivertsen.com/the-fourth-industrial-revolution-where-are-you-going-with-this/ [Accessed 10 Sep. 2019].

 

 

Please rate this

Are You Human, Too?

26

September

2018

5/5 (6) ‘Are you human, too?’ is a 2018 South-Korean drama about an artificial intelligence (AI) robot that pretends to be human and in turn is treated as such by the people around him (Scoompi, 2018). He is the protagonist of the show and in true South-Korean drama fashion gains a love interest that ends up falling for him. In the final episode he shows some affection that indicates reciprocation by a tear that he sheds. This drama may not be as far-fetched as the premise makes it out to be. As we see nowadays the line between humans and machines is vanishing. We are teaching and programming AI to be better in our own games and they are becoming more developed as a result (Lant, 2017). However, some people get uneasy and afraid when a robot looks like something that resembles them too much, a phenomenon known as uncanny valley. An example of this is a person or pet that does not act as they expect them to act (Science Friday, 2018). People find it strange and do not feel comfortable with the robots. Nevertheless, I firmly believe that people should not be afraid of them.

Robots are now getting more and more advanced and as a result can play an increasingly valuable role in our society (Dormehl, 2017). For instance, robots can be a companion for the elderly, which is surely needed in our time where the number of caregivers is limited, our society is becoming an aging population and loneliness amongst the elderly is a rampant problem. For example, these robots can remind the elderly to take their medicine. Moreover, they can also teach communication skills to people with autism by talking and responding to them. The relationship between a human being and a machine can perhaps one day become real as our conceptions of what being truly human is challenged. According to researchers, when people form a bond or know the robot better they will avoid doing wrong to them (Science Friday, 2018). Eventually if the bond grows further between robots and humans, people tend to protect them from others. If you watch for example the video of Boston Dynamics’ Spot , you might feel some sympathy for the robot. This is because we have the inclination to treat robots more humanely if they exhibit human like qualities and actually interact with these robots (Dormehl, 2017). For example, people who have prejudice against a group but do not actually interact with them, will still have some prejudice regarding them (contact-theory).

So, robots should not be seen as something scary but as something that can be a great advantage in our human life. In the future, if the technology involved becomes more developed, there might be the chance that robots can express the same emotions as human beings, and so not be different at all from human beings.

Will it be possible? Time will tell.

References
Science Friday (2018). How strong is the human-robot bond? [online]. Available at:

How Strong Is The Human-Robot Bond?


Scoompi (2018). 3 Reasons Why “Are You Human, Too?” Isn’t Your Average Robot Drama. Available at:https://www.soompi.com/article/1182765wpp/3-reasons-human-isnt-average-robot-drama
Lant, K. (2017). Humans and Technology Are Becoming One, and It’s Changing Everything. Available at: https://futurism.com/humans-and-technology-are-becoming-one-and-its-changing-everything/
Dormehl, L. (2017). Why human-robot relationships are totally a good thing. Available at:
https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/why-human-robot-relationships-are-good-for-us/
picture – https://www.koreandrama.org/are-you-human-too/

Please rate this