Softbank developed a robot named Pepper to be the first humanoid to testify in front of the UK Parliament about AI.
Since the beginning of the fourth industrial, considerable changes have been made, bringing about benefits as well as challenges for human. One of the biggest debates was around the rise of AI and robotics, which is considered to alter society significantly. There have been a lot of explanation about the development of AI and robotics by leaders, researchers, experts but rarely do we hear it from the robots themselves. “If we’ve got the march of the robots, we perhaps need the march of the robots to our select committee to give evidence,” Committee chair Robert Halfon of The Commons Education Select Committee said.
Hence, Pepper will be the one to testify for AI and Robotics to the Commons Education Select Committee. With microphones, two HD cameras, touchscreen on its chest as illustrators, The Robot will help answering the Committee questions about Industry 4.0.
“This is not about someone bringing an electronic toy robot and doing a demonstration,” said Mr. Halfon. “It’s about showing the potential of robotics and artificial intelligence and the impact it has on skills.”
Whether it is for better or worse, the future of AI will mainly lie on the hand of its developers – we, human to decide. Hence, a certain set of guidelines on ethics and standards is needed for developers to follow, not just what to make but also how to make it ethical. This is exactly what Michael Dukakis Institute for Leadership and Innovation (MDI) is attempting to do. So far, the organization has been working on developing the AIWS Index for governments and enterprises.
