Rise of the robots
UPDATE: Dispatches from the Canvas8 HQ
From delivery drones to connected homes, robots are increasingly commonplace, dramatically changing the world we live in. And as technology advances, there’s talk of the place robots will take in our society long-term; whether it’s the dystopian future depicted in Ex Machina or the blurring lines between AI and humanity that’s explored in TV series Humans. But one of the most well-worn paths of speculation is the future of robots in the workplace.
To get a glimpse of what might lie ahead, Canvas8 visited a talk at the RSA; Rise of the Robots, presented by Martin Ford, author of Rise of the Robots: Technology and the threat of a jobless future. Ford focused on the core themes of his book, which delves into how advancing technology may give rise to a robot workforce, ultimately leaving humans jobless.
With machines taking on cognitive abilities via intelligent algorithms, it’s not just low-skill positions that are threatened — Ford claims lawyers and radiologists will also soon be living in fear of having their roles handed over to the robots. Experts have predicted that robots could replace humans in 47% of jobs within 20 years. But by replacing human workers with robots, people will have no way of earning a living, and in turn, no money to spend.
Martin suggests the way forward is to introduce a basic income guarantee — where all people are given a fixed amount of money to live on, even if they’re not in work. The idea paints a somewhat idealistic picture of a utopian future in which work is taken care of by robots, while humans are free to spend their lives as they wish. Martin recognises that this is a challenging step, explaining that his book is written simply to create a dialogue and get people discussing the possibilities.
After all, the rapid advancement of AI begs a multitude of questions; will we one day employee robots? Could they ever feel emotion? And if so, could a robot ever be morally wronged? While the answers may be a long way in the future, how will we be prepared unless we start exploring them now?
Read more like this at Canvas8.com
Written by Matthew Nash, researcher at Canvas8
