Thorsten Wuest, West Virginia University; David Romero, Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey et Johan Stahre, Chalmers University of Technology
People will still be needed on factory floors, even as robots become more common. Future operators will have technical support and be super-strong, super-smart and constantly connected.
The robot Berenson in 2015.
Stéphanie Leclerc-Caffarel
Robots are strange creatures, and not only because they might steal our jobs. We humans actually have good reason to be a little worried about these machines.
Today, the U.S. is leading the robotics revolution. But without timely investment, China will overtake us, and could permanently put Americans out of work.
We have long believed ourselves to be the only intelligent beings on Earth – that may soon change and the consequences will be dramatic for law, politics and society in general.
In this episode we look at historical visions of the future and how accurate they were, the future of work, and what it's like to predict the future for a day job.
Too sick to attend school in person, but perfectly able to participate with a robot’s help.
AP Photo/David Duprey
Students with chronic illness often get only a few hours of education a week. Telepresence robots could let them participate fully in classroom and school activities.
The European Union is currently debating the legal status of intelligent robots, and whether they ought to be given a new classification of ‘electronic persons’.
A Japanese dementia patient holds a baby seal robot known as Paro.
Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters
Rebel fighters in the latest Star Wars movie are helped by a droid that was captured from the enemy and reprogrammed. Could that happen in real life with today’s autonomous weapons?
Customer-facing roles may soon be taken over by cheaper, friendlier and more knowledgeable robotic retail assistants.
Thomas Peter/Reuters