Robotics, Ageing, and Employment – where are we and what’s next?
The link to the article below will take you to an overview of how robotic design is developing towards a more ‘natural’ form of human movement. To a larger extent, this is part of the normalisation process so that those of us exposed to robotics can be more accepting of their presence. This is indeed a very good sign – a move away from a capability focus toward an acceptance framework should speed takeup of robotics especially in more socially demanding areas like hospital assistance and aged care. And there’s one layer that is yet to be included:
Here’s the link to the story first featured on KurzweilAI called ‘Making Robots More Like Us’. For those of you have heard me speak about Honda’s ‘Azimo’ you’ll know the reason the humanoid was so small: it’s at a comfortable eye level for elderly people sitting down and as such, less of a physical threat.
So assuming that size and type of mobility is covered effectively, we can expect the facial software programs that are well underway (which display quite natural looking facial movements), to be incorporated into these more human like machines. From a jobs perspective that makes them an easy and ready replacement for jobs like toll booth operators, desk bound security, reception clerks and even to an extent, check out staff in supermarkets or drive through restaurants.
And the step after that that MUST come for their to be a more ready take up is smell. Despite our relatively limited Olfactory capabilities, Humans are surprisingly good at detecting the smell of other humans – the novel ‘Perfume’ by Patrick Suskind explains in delightful form the impact of human scent. The lack of a ‘human scent’ will expose robots (even those plainly out in the open) as less palatable to us. Expect robotics to move into artificial pheromones. Robots – coming to a perfume counter near you!
Sometimes when you look at enough assorted pieces of information a clear pattern emerges. In a previous role I was tasked with looking at the Future of Education, a topic I delved deeply into for almost 3 years. And in 2003 in a piece titled ‘The Future of Commercial Education’ I predicted that by 2015,…
Read More >Tomorrow I’ll be at the State Library of Victoria as part of the #V21 Digital Summit. In my futurist, pragmatist role I’ll be presenting few ideas about why ‘Your Future is NOT an App’, then later in the day facilitating an onstage debate about Disruption’s role in Innovation. And if it is anything to go…
Read More >I’ve been having a think lately about whether the use of Interest Rate movements by the Reserve Bank is actually too clumsy an instrument for effective economic management. The potential weakness has emerged only in recent times as the signs of a world-wide economic melt down have begun to expose one of the limitations of…
Read More >There’s a few problems with the successful leadership lists that bounce their way around the internet. In my opinion they lack context – the reality check that only comes by having a full appreciation of an individual organisation’s particular circumstances. Unfortunately many of these lists of ‘required leadership behaviours’ offer shallow quick fix advice that…
Read More >There’s no doubt that coal has a legitimacy problem with large swathes of the public around the world. Once a darling of energy and still in relative abundant supplies, Coal provides significant levels of energy per gram consumed. Yet the end outcome is now known to be incredibly harmful to localised communities needing to breathe…
Read More >At almost every stage in a shift in the way societies and organisations operate, there comes a period of extreme ‘unsettled-ness’. This period may show itself in the form of the doldrums (where things seem unusually calm but nothing seems to be happening) or in busyness (where there’s lots of activity but nothing seems to…
Read More >Sometimes when we have the chance to say something, we don’t. About two years ago one of my uncles died and I should have spoken at his funeral. This personal post is what I should have said to the public gallery that attended ‘Hi everyone. I’m Marcus and Jim was one of my three uncles.…
Read More >I’ve just posted a quick overview on LinkedIn called The ‘Loud Secret’ – Underestimating your internal skill sets which you can find at the link below The ‘Loud Secret’: Underestimating Your Internal Skill sets. If you have any troubles accessing the story let me know and I’ll see what I can do
Read More >Health Care costs in Australia are rising and are likely to continue doing so as our population both grows and ages. Which means attempts to address this issue are warranted. Equally warranted is an assessment of the impacts for addressing or ignoring the issue. If, as has been mooted, the Australian Government introduces an $8…
Read More >We’ve been getting far more effective at understanding the way our brains work especially as they relate to the idea of ‘mind’. Simply, the idea that we make decisions based on our conscious understanding, appears limited at best and highly flawed at worst. And now, the step towards longevity, perhaps even the fountain of youth,…
Read More >