ROTENA - Reports and Documents of Interest

27,901 EU citizens from different
social and demographic categories were interviewed.

§ Almost nine in ten respondents agree robots and artificial intelligence are technologies that require careful management (88%).
§ Almost three quarters agree that due to the use of robots and artificial intelligence, more
jobs will disappear than new jobs will be created (74%), and almost as many agree robots and artificial intelligence steal people’s jobs (72%).
§ More than four in ten respondents who are currently working think their current job could at least partly be done by a robot or artificial intelligence (44%).

Attitudes towards the impact of digitisation and automation on daily life (European Commisison Special Eurobarmoneter 460 - May 2017)

A report by Dutch bank ING estimates that progress in 3D printing could wipe out one-quarter of world trade by 2060 (October 2017)

Will the future of work be dominated by robots? Can people and robots coexist and collaborate? The CIPD and Loughborough University’s new report gathers the evidence and insights, and explores the ethical implications of how we’re currently adopting new technology, to create a basis for delving deeper into how we can ensure that people remain at the heart of work.

Impact of artificial intelligence, robotics and automation technologies on work (CIPD and Loughborough University (December 2017))

The job demands that teachers have nearly superhuman levels of empathy, grit, and organization. Creating robotic teachers that can meet all these demands might be challenging, but in the end, could these AI-enhanced entities solve our most pervasive and systemic issues in education?. (January 2018)

Robots will replace teachers by 2027.

Origami-inspired robots that can fold into a number of different shapes have been developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL). The miniature bots could have the potential to carry out different types of surgery - like patch wounds, remove objects and take samples. (December 2017)

The origami-inspired robots that could perform surgery

Artificial intelligence: A brief introduction to AI (short video)

Meet the cobots

Humans and robots together on the factory floor. Collaborative machines have the potential to revolutionise production lines.

Members of the European Parliament have called for the adoption of comprehensive rules for how humans will interact with artificial intelligence and robots. It is looking at whether to give robots legal status as "electronic persons".

A hotel has opened in Japan and it's run almost entirely by robots. There's a female humanoid and a dinosaur robot at reception to welcome and check guests in. Another robot is on hand to carry the guest's bags.

Erica, a Very Creepy Android

Robots and drones take over the classroom.

Will a robot ever be able to make a decision based on ethical principles?

Robots making ethical decisions

We are not used to the idea of machines making ethical decisions, but the day when they will routinely do this - by themselves - is fast approaching.

Are robots replacing us?

That's no longer a question, but a reality in many industries. There will be more than 1.3 million industrial robots in service globally by 2018. The World Economic Forum estimates that by 2020, robots will cost 5 million jobs in 15 major economies. The current global leader in industrial robotic automation is South Korea, followed by Japan. But China is catching up, and robots there are increasingly interacting with customers. (July 2017)

Reports and Documents of Interest

It's the first time an automaton has been quizzed by MPs.Thought to be the fist time a robot has been called in front of a (UK Parliamentary) select committee Pepper answered questions about the impact artificial intelligence could have on education. Rewarded with a round of applause from the the meeting, Pepper also described the international research project she was designed for, which aims to develop robots to help elderly people remain independent.

(HuffPost - 16/10/2018)

Pepper The Robot Makes Parliamentary History

Pepper The Robot Makes UK Parliamentary History

WEF: Robots 'will create more jobs than they displace'

Millions of jobs are likely to be displaced by automation but we have less to fear from robots than some might think, a report from the World Economic Forum has suggested. The Swiss think tank predicts that robots will displace 75 million jobs globally by 2022 but create 133 million new ones - a "net positive". It said advances in computing would free up workers for new tasks. But others have warned there is no guarantee lost jobs will be replaced. (September 2018)

Jellyfish robots to watch over endangered coral reefs

A fleet of robotic jellyfish has been designed to monitor delicate ecosystems, including coral reefs. The underwater drones were invented by engineers at Florida Atlantic University and are driven by rings of hydraulic tentacles. The robots can squeeze through tight holes without causing damage. One expert praised the design but warned that the man-made jellyfish might be eaten by turtles. (September 2018)

IBM launches tool aimed at detecting AI bias

IBM is launching a tool which will analyse how and why algorithms make decisions in real time. The Fairness 360 Kit will also scan for signs of bias and recommend adjustments. There is increasing concern that algorithms used by both tech giants and other firms are not always fair in their decision-making. (September 2018)

Robotics & 3D Printing in SMEs - Challenges & Opportunities - Workshop

On Friday 9th March 2018 - the SME Academy Network arranged an online workshop with Robotics and 3D printing in focus and ROTENA as a key speaker. Participants from several European countries and Mauritius made the workshop an inspiring experience and many topics were discussed, based on the findings in the ROTENA report and the input from all participants.

Women are likely to lose more jobs than men as automation increases.

Nearly all-95%-of workers at highest risk of losing their jobs can be retrained for new, potentially higher-paying, jobs. — World Economic Forum, 2018
Women are more likely than men to lose jobs as automation increases, according to a World Economic Forum (WEF) report released Monday.

Around 57% of the estimated 1.4 million jobs lost to automation by 2026 will belong to women, the report found. The loss may continue gender disparity in employment, especially in sectors like the tech industry that already see uneven employment rates between men and women. (World Economic Forum, 2018)

Many of us could use a professional to talk to. But therapists are expensive, and it's hard to get an appointment. Luckily, artificial intelligence is here to save us.

A team of UCLA researchers claim to have the solution: an artificially intelligent therapist. No more waiting rooms, small talk, or copays. Just log in and start chatting.

Monica Chin - February 2018

Jobs in manufacturing and retail were among the most at risk from the new technologies, the report said. The study estimated that 30% of existing jobs in the UK were potentially at a high risk of automation, compared with 38% in the US, 35% in Germany and 21% in Japan. John Hawksworth, chief economist at PwC, told the BBC that "more manual, routine jobs" which "can effectively be programmed" were the most at risk.
"Jobs where you've got more of a human touch, like health and education," would be safer, he said.

Robotics and artificial intelligence could affect almost a third of UK jobs by the 2030s, according to a study.

Flying drones and robots now patrol distribution warehouses - they've become workhorses of the e-commerce era online that retailers can't do without. It is driving down costs but it is also putting people out of work ... Two drones can do the work of 100 humans over the same time period, according to supply chain specialist, Argon Consulting. (November 2017)

The firm that can 3D print human body parts ...Currently focused on growing cartilage and skin cells suitable for testing drugs and cosmetics, Erik, 28, believes that within 20 years it could be used to produce organs that are actually fit for human implantation. (November 2017)

3D-printed human body parts

Sophia the citizen robot

Saudi Arabia made history by becoming the first country to grant nationality to a robot. Sophie, the humanoid robot, said that she was “honoured”, whilst addressing an audience in Riyadh - citizenship (October 2017)

The robot lawyers are here - and they’re winning

Amid the dire predictions of occupations that will be decimated by artificial intelligence and automation, there is one crumb of comfort. Yes, lorry drivers, translators and shop assistants are all under threat from the rise of the robots, but at least the lawyers are doomed too.
That at least may be your conclusion when you hear about a fascinating contest that took place last month. It pitched over 100 lawyers from many of London's ritziest firms against an artificial intelligence program called Case Cruncher Alpha.
Both the humans and the AI were given the basic facts of hundreds of payment protection insurance mis-selling cases and asked to predict whether the UK Financial Ombudsman would allow a claim.
In all, they submitted 775 predictions and the computer won hands down, with Case Cruncher getting an accuracy rate of 86.6%, compared with 66.3% for the lawyers. (October 2017)