From Automation to Intelligence: Do We Have Anything to Fear in the Coming Techno Evolution?

Date

Episode 8

In a 2018 report issued by the Robotic Industries Association, industrial robot sales have doubled over the past five years across the globe with a record number of robotics units shipped last year. And according to Adobe’s 2018 Digital Intelligence Briefing, while only 15 percent of businesses use artificial intelligence today, 31 percent plan to add support for AI within their companies by the end of next spring. However, in a 2017 Pew Research Center survey, 72 percent of Americans expressed some level of worry about the notion that machines might do many of the jobs currently done by humans—with 25 percent describing themselves as very worried. Additionally, 76 percent expect that widespread automation will lead to much greater levels of economic inequality than exist today. As society moves toward new and increased uses of automation technology, can we find a satisfactory way to coexist with our creations?