Futurologists and Robotics, but what about Agents?

Several futurists predict that robotics is set on course to change our lives. They way we work, live and play. And this change will come within the next decade!

Although history is littered with such 'futuristic visions' of the 21st Century that never came true, many people still put a big stake in futurologists and their predictions about the next decade.

In particular, David Smith claims that robots will "make many middle management and clerical jobs redundant and make people's lives easier by doing menial tasks. They will also become companions."

Although I agree that assistive technologies will be extremely big in the next decade, I feel that robotics are not yet where they need to be. Although locomotion, grasping, speech and vision recognition has come a long way, and companies like IBM are promising great advances in the near future, they are still not yet ready to be placed in the home or workplace.

Let me try my hand at futurology and predict a brief reign of the intelligent agent before the rise of the machines. The majority of the advances in artificial intelligence and personal assistant technology will first reside within computers, consumer devices and appliances. This is where most consumers will first interact with them and the majority of their initial development will take place. Once the robotics are ready, they will quickly find themselves embodied inside, able to move and more actively interact within the world.

Articles:

BBC NEWS | The business of future gazing
Financial Mail | March of the Machines