Forget the robot singularity apocalypse. Welcome to the multiplicity movement.

We have talked a lot about Singularity and a possible future, full of abundance for the human race, and also of dystopian futures, where technology turns against us to annihilate us, one of the major fears of Stephen Hawking. But what happens in the present-future? We can talk about whether the Singularity is near or not (this is when exponential thinking comes in) but what is certain is that it will not happen this year. What is happening right now that I have to consider in terms of robotics, automation and Artificial Intelligence?

The vision of Ken Goldberg, Professor and Head of the Department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research at the University of Berkeley, is that we are in the age of multiplicity, and it’s based on the collaboration between machines and humans, just working together, enhancing together. To understand better multiplicity, watch his TEDx.

Multiplicity = AI (Artificial Intelligence) + IA (Intelligence Amplification)

Currently our life is governed by algorithms, some of them we talked about in a previous article, others we don’t even think about them like Google Maps. In industrial ecosystems, robotics have a lot of impact in the automation of processes and little by little they are conquest the physical space, in direct contact with customers. We interact more and more with “vending machines” and software application interfaces, and less with people in our day to day. This is happening right now. Is someone thinking about the consequences of this multiplicity?

Some people talk about abundance like Peter Diamandis but others think that some jobs are going to be erased and there will be a lot of people without the ability to apply for the new jobs that are going to be created. There is an interesting vision where taxes are applied to robots that substitute humans in order to create a basic income. A nice vision, shared by Bill Gates, where we can have more quality time relying on machines.

What are you talking about? What do you think?

#365daysof #futurism #innovation #technology #multiplicity #day56