Today, when one talks of robots, the image of automated metallic and blocky machines come to mind. Indeed, these automated machines will contribute largely to the construction of future megaprojects, and become more relevant to daily life. However, there is another form of robot that doesn't immediately spring to mind: artificial intelligence. Although still very primitive and far from human's capability, simple AIs exist today and available to public, such as the chat robots Cleverbot and SimSimi, Apple's newest feature Siri, and chess-playing computers that are capable of defeating humans. The overall reasoning capability of these AIs are far from comparable to humans, but there are areas where robots can perform a task much better than humans can. To assert that claim, these CubeStormers do the job very nicely
With the rate technology is expanding, we might witness as-close-to-perfection-as-possible AIs before the turn of the century. As of now, AI-driven cars are becoming a reality, already a legal presence in Nevada. My wish is, however, for the existence of SAIs like those in sci-fis. Two novels that I find excellently portray those are:
In Red Mars, John Boone's SAI Pauline is very much like Apple's Siri, but her reasoning level is higher than Siri's.
Fans of the sci-fi genre should be familiar with Orson Scott Card's works: the Ender's Game Series. Introduced in Speaker for the Dead is Jane, an artificial sentience that assists the characters in ways very similar to Pauline, albeit the way Jane is depicted puts her many levels above Pauline.
The helpful aid of automated machines combining with the reasoning prowess of AIs will no doubt change lifestyles. As with any technology, there will be both well and ill intents for the inventions, but the future they promise is worth looking forward to.
Many Westerners may be unfamiliar with this character, but Doraemon is a widely recognized character in Asian countries. He is a cat-robot from the fictional work of Fujiko F. Fujio. In his work, he often depicts futuristic scenarios, megacities, and most importantly, the role of robots in a megacity lifestyle. Further reading:Doraemon Long Story Vol 22 - human coexisting with robots. Doraemon Long Story Vol 7 - robots overtake human.
While Doraemon may be unknown to Westerners, Wall-E captures the heart of many. The movie is first set on a devastated Earth, then a mega-spaceship capable of self-sustain. There are a plethora of robots in the movie: food service robots, security robots, cleaning robots, Wall-E and Eve. The movie perfectly demonstrate how robots would benefit a megacity lifestyle; it also, however, poses one real problem to us: over-dependence on technology.
Nonfiction examples:
TOPIO is a robot designed to play ping pong against human. It is developed by a Vietnamese robot manufacturer, TOSY. This robot demonstrates the power of technology to perform human tasks. It is logical to deduce from the speed of technological advance that robots will one day become commonplace, able to interact with and aiding humans.
Nico is a robot that is able to demonstrate self-awareness, a trait shared by very few animals. This advance in technology discourages one from regarding future robots as merely autonomous machines. They can very well become humanly intelligent. Nico is only one example of scientists' effort around the world to produce robots with cognitive skills.
The video represents Actroid, a robot designed to be a receptionist. With the advancing AI technology, it is very possible that these robots will one day replace humans as door greeters or tour guides. In a futuristic mega society, the presence of such robots is not unfathomable. Imagine a building housing hundreds or thousands of points of interest. Having robots as greeters is much more efficient than hiring humans to do this repetitive job.
Articles and documentaries:
2 Billion Jobs to Disappear by 2030 - This seemingly disturbing article actually is not illogical. With the current rate of technology expansion, the jobs mentioned in the article can very likely be left to robots. I suspect, however, many more new jobs will be created to design and maintain these robots.
Nine jobs that humans may lose to robots - Following a similar theme to the first article, this article also outlines some jobs that may be handled by robots in the near future.
Starting at 6:18, this Discovery Channel documentary talks about one potential way of human extinction: robots. This theme is a recurring one in many works, fiction or nonfiction. This signals to us that we need to
be cautious with how we use robot and for what they are used.
