Dr Robot will see you now…

ENTRUSTING YOUR ANAESTHETISED BODY TO A ROBOT MIGHT SOUND LIKE A TERRIFYING PROSPECT, BUT IT HAPPENS AROUND THE WORLD EVERY DAY – AND FOR VERY GOOD REASON. ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR ROBOTIC SURGERY SYSTEMS, DA VINCI, LAUNCHED IN 1999 AND HAS BEEN USED ON OVER TWO MILLION PATIENTS SO FAR. SURGEONS CONTROL THE MACHINE FROM A CONSOLE, USING NATURAL HAND MOVEMENTS THAT

ARE RELAYED TO THE TINY ROBOTIC INSTRUMENTS IN

THE PATIENT’S BODY. SINCE THE TOOLS ARE SO SMALL, THEY CAN ENTER THE BODY THROUGH MUCH TINIER CUTS – THE MACHINE CAN REMOVE YOUR UTERUS THROUGH YOUR BELLY BUTTON! – AND THE SURGEON BENEFITS FROM A 3D VIEW OF ORGANS WITH PRECISION CONTROL. SOON, WE MIGHT NOT

NEED THE SURGEON AT ALL. EARLIER THIS YEAR A MACHINE CALLED STAR BECAME

THE FIRST TO COMPLETE A SUCCESSFUL OPERATION ON A LIVE SUBJECT BY ITSELF. OPERATING ON PIGS AT THE SHEIKH ZAYED INSTITUTE IN WASHINGTON DC, STAR OUTPERFORMED BOTH EXPERT SURGEONS AND ONES USING ROBOTS LIKE DA VINCI – BUT IT WON’T BE TAKING OVER THE OPERATING THEATRE JUST YET. NOT ONLY DID THE ROBOT TAKE CONSIDERABLY LONGER TO DO THE OP, IT NEEDED A HUMAN TO GIVE IT A HAND IN ALMOST HALF THE PROCEDURES. HOW EMBARRASSING.

ROBOTS VS BOTS THE WORD “BOT”, CONFUSINGLY, DOESN’T MEAN A ROBOT. A BOT IS SOFTWARE DESIGNED TO DO SPECIFIC TASKS. THE MOST COMMON TYPE IS THE “CHATBOT”, WHICH USES ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) TO SPEAK TO YOU LIKE A PERSON, AS THE IPHONE’S VIRTUAL ASSISTANT SIRI DOES. IN THE FUTURE, YOU’LL BE ABLE TO SEND YOUR LOCAL CINEMA A FACEBOOK MESSAGE AND GET AN INSTANT RESPONSE FROM A BOT: “WHAT TIME IS Transformers?”. “6.30PM”. “HOW MUCH IS A FAMILY TICKET?”. “THAT’LL BE £25”. “OK, BOOK THAT FOR ME”. IT’S LIKE TALKING TO A PERSON, BUT WITHOUT THE AWKWARDNESS.