First the burgers, then the world?
Global challenges and new opportunities: Will robots take your job — or make you better at it?
Creator, a San Francisco restaurant has begun using an autonomous machine named Flippy that can assemble 240 burgers in an hour, giving rise to angst about robots taking people’s jobs. At the CIO Forum, industry thought leaders explored the question: will robots take your job – or make you better at it?
The owners of Creator, Alex Vardakostas and Steven Frehn, combined their experiences in the food industry as well as robotics and mechanical engineering to form what they believe is the ideal combination of taste and efficiency.
Their machine, which has 350 sensors, and 20 computers, can do it all in five minutes. From slicing, to seasoning, and not to mention, adding all of the toppings.
The rise of robotics and artificial intelligence – and its impact on the economy and society – was a topic of debate among participants of the Business and Innovation panel at the 2018 CIO Global Forum.
Some panelists viewed AI as a potential threat to jobs in sectors ranging from retail to shipping. Others took a different stance. Ken Goldberg, professor and departmental chair of industrial engineering and operations research at UC Berkeley and also an advisor for ROBO Global, pointed to the concept of “multiplicity” to describe how AI will influence the workforce. He said humans are not simply being replaced by machines – but rather, that “we as humans can be enhanced by machines and AI systems.
In that sense, technology would take over the tedious and time-consuming tasks of the employee, freeing up time for people to focus on the more creative and productive aspects of their jobs. What countries are best positioned to win the AI race? While at least one panelist was betting on the U.S., Professor Goldberg cautioned not to underestimate China’s intellectual capabilities.
“We get amazing students coming out of China, and they’re brilliant,” Goldberg said.
Donovan pointed to research findings that, out of the 30 countries surveyed, China leads the world in the number of patents published, but also has the worst quality of patents. Interestingly enough, “the number-one country for quality of patents in artificial intelligence is Switzerland,” he added.
As panelists noted, technology has brought with it a wave of new possibilities and innovations that could hardly be imagined in the past. However, many challenges have arisen from it, not only the potential increase in structural unemployment, but cyber security and data protection, among other issues.
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