From Robot-Habilis to Robot-Sapiens
Currently, the hottest technological research topic is the autonomous machine (in the broad sense). Such a machine is endowed with decision-making capabilities as well as physical capabilities enabling changing physically the world in autonomous ways. One of the typical machines in this family is the robot. Ranging from the field arm to to the driverless car, the robots are omnipresent nowadays. AI is amplifying this trend as it is offering cost-effective and easy-to-implement solutions to support advanced decision-making tools. This amplification is not new in fact. Moravec in the late 60’s used mobile robots as a showcase of AI. Shakey, the first mobile robot, was used as a testbed to assess environments understanding using computer vision. His findings were smoothly transferred to other types of robots (robot arms, mobile manipulators, etc.) changing the robots from basic automata to intelligent and evolving workforce: from dexterous and physically machines, to machines able to learn and to act following their "own" rules. This idyllic story could have lead to a world where the dirty tasks are done by machines and leaving to humans the noble parts of producing wealth. The reality is a bit different and robots were used as cost-killers for the best and weaponised for the extreme. The dual use of the technology is part of human kind.
Ryad Chellali
32
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