Gitex shines spotlight on robotics to offer glimpse of the future
The Gulf Information Technology Exhibition in Dubai is a sprawling trading space with thousands of exhibitors from all over the world.
As a visitor it can be difficult to gain an understanding of the wider tech trends, partly because every couple of minutes you trip over a robot or meet a hologram.
Cyber security, coding, artificial intelligence and the data economy are common topics of conversation, but is humanity actually making progress?
Are we moving into a brighter future populated by cobots – collaborative robots – and autonomous vehicles?
And how soon will humanity be able to collectively put its feet up and let the machines do the hard work?
The National spoke to several experts at Gitex to find out.
In the near future, intelligence will be redefined through AI and robotics, they said.
Many of the exhibitors and speakers at Gitex are focused on how close we are to the singularity – a hypothetical point in time at which technological growth becomes uncontrollable and irreversible, resulting in unforeseeable changes to human civilisation.
“This is a landmark moment in the history of humanity because never before have we tried to replicate or duplicate our intelligence,” said Tannya Jajal, a futurist and artificial intelligence expert in Dubai.
No one knows when it will happen, but there are plenty of companies at Gitex trying to figure out what this technological era means for humans.
The reality is that the technology to power AI robots that clean your house exists and is starting to become cheaper.
Now it comes down to the question of whether the public are ready to live with robots in their homes and offices, said David Reger, chief executive of Neura Robotics, a German company set to bring a robot maid to the market.
“I think we are still working to make the public ready,” he said.
“In Asia and China we sell a lot of robots and they use them for many more reasons than in other regions. They have fewer boundaries there and a different ethical approach.”
Arash Masomzadeh, who is in charge of the 152 robots at Expo 2020 Dubai, hopes the world’s fair will help people become accustomed to having them around.
“Where robotics goes from here is really up to the general public,” he said.
“Where will they allow robots to go? Will they accept it? Will they nurture it, or will they take a hands-off approach? It’s really up to demand where robotics goes from here.”
Films such as The Terminator, which feature rogue robot characters, may have inadvertently made people scared of AI, Mr Masomzadeh said.
“I think there’s a lot of bad publicity regarding AI and its capabilities,” he said.
“We cannot be a computer but humans have logic and common sense. We have to teach the robot that common sense and it’s going to be like that for a very long time.
“The robot needs to be taught and it’s still us, for the time being, doing all the teaching.”
Over the next few years, we will redefine our perception through tools such as virtual reality and augmented reality, Ms Jajal said.
Dozens of companies are showcasing their systems at Gitex, with some exhibitors encouraging visitors to put on VR goggles to enter a new world.
“You’ll see a lot of start-ups here and a lot of larger organisations as well investing in technology like that,” Ms Jajal said.
“Over time I think we will absolutely see the proliferation and democratisation of these technologies and it’s going to completely alter the way that we interact with one another.”
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg certainly seems to agree.
He has spoken of creating a “metaverse”, or online world where people interact, work and play games, often using VR headsets. He described it as “an embodied internet where instead of just viewing content – you are in it”.
So in the future, meetings will not take place in 2D with each person appearing in their own rectangle, but in 3D, where an avatar or hologram allows you to feel like you are physically in the meeting room.
Progress is starting to accelerate thanks to the democratisation of digital technology.
Faster internet, better processing power and technological advances have led to more people becoming innovators and creators.
“We no longer have to follow a linear path to human progress, we can all kind of come together and do amazing things,” Ms Jajal said.
“We’re actually on a really good track as humanity – and governments and companies and private organisations – are really coming together to make sure that we move forward, and Gitex is evidence of that.”