“Smart” devices and “intelligent” appliances are conquering our homes and workspaces. How is artificial intelligence changing our lives? What makes a machine smart to begin with?
Last Wednesday, Ulrich Eberl held a lecture at Munich Business School about future and current “smart technology”. With his long-time experience as an author and journalist, he could effortlessly gather and present all aspects of the topic. From basic technological facts, to economic implications of a large “Robot Workforce” into deeper ethical questions evolving around the possibility of a hyper-intelligent AI superseding human power on the planet.
But first, let the robot talk:
After the demo, Ulrich Eberl recounted current research and actual usage of robots and smart machines:
- Industry Robots, capable to work with humans hand in hand, able to react to human movements and stop their motions to prevent injuries
- Humanoid Robots in the DARPA Robotics Challenge able to replace humans in catastrophic events (e.g. Fukushima) and capable of moving through rumble operate valves semi-automatically etc.
- Artificial Intelligence Software (Watson) that assists doctors and financial analysts choosing right treatment or investment given different patterns
- Machine Learning Algorithms that can analyze their environment for signs (autonomous driving)
- OR learn and play complex games (AlphaGo)
- …
Only the future will tell, whether robots will release new growth or will be a large job killing machine
