ROBOTICS AND AI: ALLIES OR ENEMIES?

Most of us are really concerned about the advent of these technologies

To be honest, a sense of unease accompanies this escalation, and as a member of the baby boomer generation, I feel very old and mostly overwhelmed by all the new achievements that robotics and AI bring.

In my opinion, this feeling of unease stems from the fact that we are largely unaware that all areas of our daily lives are already being profoundly affected by these “new” technologies.

A few months ago, I underwent robotic surgery, which I consciously opted for because I was told that it reduces the number of adverse effects after the procedure and even shortens the course of rehabilitation. Every time we take a flight, we are in the hands of algorithm-controlled airplanes that obey sensors and predict weather conditions, calculate the necessary fuel requirements and the best route. Even the food we eat is heavily influenced by robotics and AI, as it automates processes from the field to distribution, which then thankfully ends up on our tables. And raise your hand if you haven’t yet been influenced by social media raising your awareness of what's healthier to eat to combat all the bad eating habits or 'modern living'

Robots are here, some scenarios look too dystopian to be true, and some of the various applications envisioned seem shamelessly ambitious, for example the stubborn goal of making cars completely unmanned. This has not proven to be entirely safe today, and there are many frontiers that need to be crossed in many areas to improve human life, especially in medicine, the fight against poverty and peace-building, to name just three sadly almost utopian goals for humanity.

I have always been attracted to new technologies and at the same time afraid of them, and in the end I think our endeavor is to try to gain some insights every day to better understand how they work and how they can be used to effectively impact the real lives of each of us.

As always, there are people far ahead of us “normal" people who can guide us to a better understanding of the whole process. Today I would like to make special mention of Mr. Ray Kurzweil and his latest book “Singularity is Nearer”. It is not an easy read, but certainly enlightening about what our future could look like in a relatively short time, for anyone who “dares” to read it.