Evolving Robots in Information Society

Evolving Robots in Information Society

Jyrki J.J. Kasvi

Information Society Development Centre

Take us prophets with a pinch of salt ”There is no reason for any individual to have a computer

in their home.” Ken Olson, President of DEC, World Future Society Convention, 1977

"You aren't going to turn passive consumers into active trollers on the Internet." Stephen Weiswasser, senior VP, ABC television, 1989

“Next Christmas the iPod will be dead, finished, gone, kaput.” Sir Alan Sugar, 2005

By 2015 one third of US fighting strength will be composed of robots US Department of Defense, 2006

“By 2015–2020 every South Korean household will have a robot and many European, “ The Ministry of Information and Communication (South Korea), 2007

When it comes to information society, science fiction has hit the mark much better But how about robotics? Popular culture has formed our attitudes and perceptions on robots and robotic society

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This (I Robot) is not going to happen, in spite of fact that there is a forerunner company called iRobot.

Revolution from digital to physical Robots have already changed the way live and work but they

have been hidden out of sight in factories Just like computers were hidden in computer centers before

invading our homes and lives

Information society has been the domain of information and communication technologies Robotics breaks the conceptual wall

between digital and physical

Robots mean we can programand hack our everyday reality

But is this a robot or just a stupidmachine repeating moves it hasbeen programmed to do?

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Robots already present in our lives Teller machines have replaced bank clerks

Remember going to bank every otherday just to get some cash?

But are teller machines robots or just clever automatons?

Vacuum cleaners and lawn movers haven been replaced by simple single task robots Well defined limited tasks are the first to be taken over by AI’s

“Intelligent” washing machines analyze your laundry and autonomously decide how to wash it Intelligent appliances make smart homes

Robot police are coming to our streets But aren’t iRobot 510 PackBots just remote controlled machines?

Does military/police iRobot PackBot pack the same technologies as iRobot Roomba?

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Robots change our societies beyond recognition Productivity explosion corresponding to industrialization

Stupid industrial jobs are going the way of stupid agricultural jobs In 20 years half of current jobs will be replaced by AI’s and robots … and agricultural robots are remaking agriculture too

Totally new industries not viable with human labor E.g. automatic waste sorting

Appliances and machinery become autonomous and networked Your car tells your house that you are

coming home: Warm the sauna. Your Polar stress sensor informs the

fridge: Cool another beer.

ZenRobotics Recycler is a true robot reacting to its environment instead of repeating preordained moves.

Aseta projectU

niversity of New

South W

ales

If I were a farmer I would starttaking coding lessons right now

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Probability * Impact * Disruptivity E.g. AI’s in trading of stocks and securities

Certain: Widely used already Strong impact: Squeezes trading cycles to fractions of seconds Disruptivity disputed: Market structures have stayed the same, but glitches and

anomalies have shaken world economy several times

E.g. AI’s in autonomous vehicles Very probable: Several prototypes are already on the streets Tremendous impact on car industry, logistics, traffic and infrastructure Extremely disruptive: The number of vehicles drops dramatically and the

profession of drivers practically disappears.

Both require regulation, supervision,legislation and radical restructuringof related industries and the wholesociety.

Google

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Luddite backslash to be expected Weaving looms of the early 19th century

were 1st generation industrial “robots” Again, industries and societies change very

fast when compared to human work life cycles

Not everyone is happy to experiencea new job every few years There are still people who take pride in not

knowing how to use a computer

No company or country can afford to take a breather Forerunners reap the spoils and take the risks

How to dedicate a part of the exploding revenues to finance social benefits and job training required to restructuring … without hampering the deployment of new AI and robot technologies?

Addoz Oy

People easily see the challenges of technologybut not the smart machines in our daily lives.

Addoz automatic medicine dispenser callsyour nurse if you forget to take your pills.

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From information security to cyber security When computers have access to physical reality, information

security becomes literally vital The term cyber security is used to make the distinction to merely

digital information security Military and criminal possibilities of cyber malware are endless

Information security of automation systems is often nonexistent Automation systems may be connected

to Internet without any access control! A Finnish study found vulnerable

automation systems from power plants, factories, a prison, a hospital, a bank and a water purification unit

Stuxnet woke us to the reality of cyber warfare and the vulnerability of the automation systems we rely on.

If someone disables the robots responsible offood logistics, we end up hungry pretty soon.

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Hack your bot! Harnessing human creativity to find

new robots and robot applications Open innovation processes familiar from

open source software may create surprising new applications really fast E.g. autonomous drones built from RC plaes and smart phone components Commercial uses of robot drones hampered by lack of legislation

Keep robot technologies and legislation open to tinkerers!

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