Robots Are Here Already

For many years, robots were portrayed in films as being evil and were always out to kill the human race. In reality though, robots are here already and they are not like this at all. They are proving to be very useful in industry and in the home. In fact, one survey showed that there will not be many businesses without them within 20 years and that most homes will have at least one robot within the next 50 years.

They are a far cry from the culture of Terminator and the paranoid androids that were always shown by Hollywood as to how the robots would be.

The Good Robot Report Discusses Robots Are Here Already

The Good Robot Report, which was commissioned by the consumer robotics and AI company Anki, used various methods and people to identify the current relationship between humans and robots as well as how people expect to benefit by living in tandem with them.

It should be no surprise that 27% of people expect that they will help with household chores and that this could free humans up by an extra 2 hours a day. Companionship followed closely behind at almost 20%, most of these people saying they just wanted one for the company, with 13 % envisaging that they would never feel lonely again.

Nearly 40% of those surveyed saw wider social benefits, including have more time to socialize with friends and family or to pursue new interests. The people that have already experienced having a robot at home all gave positive responses.

As They Move On

Robots have already progressed greatly in recent years and that progression is likely to continue. For instance, the first home robot with personality from Anki, known as Vector, is fully autonomous, cloud-connected and always on. Vector represents a major leap forward for home robots, which up until now we have only seen on the silver screen.

Boris Sofman, one of the co-founders of Anki commented, “The robot revolution is happening. It was never going to be a single binary event and, with AI advances, it becomes more and more prevalent in our lives” He continued “There is still an uncertainty, but Vector is a key step in changing the perception, There is something transformative about him – instead of using a mobile device and being user-reliant like most consumer robots, he essentially has a smartphone in his head. It’s game-changing”

Turning Robots Are Here Already Around

The report was not all good though. It also showed that 36% of people are concerned that in the wrong hands the robots could be used as weapons of destruction and be turned against the human race.

However, the report concluded that the development of robots will not be slowed and that it will not be too many years before they are co-existing with us. Whether that is a good or a bad thing remains to be seen.