WHAT ROBOTS CAN'T
Robots are awesome. They can process stacks of information and spit out easy answers that make life easy. They can repeat the same boring tasks, day after day without ever complaining. They can even talk back with a joke of the day, “thank you Google”.
And as tech gets twice as fast every two years (Moore’s Law), the robots get faster, smarter and better at what they do. They’re awesome.
But, awesome as robots are, there are things they can’t yet do. So here’s a quick take on what robots can’t – and why humans really like humans.
Robots can’t think
Robots don’t think, they process. Complex robots can process a gazillion things a day. They use data and statistics to ask a set of IF and THEN questions to come up with the most likely answer. It’s a linear process founded on the richness of their data sets. That’s why the A of AI is ‘artificial’. Robot insight is ‘most likely’ math. But human insight is human.
Fun fact: Sign in to a website using Captcha, and you’re helping self-driving cars recognise things like lamp posts. You’re doing the thinking that gives robots data for their math.
Robots can’t feel
Robots don’t have feelings. They’re robots. This is useful in driving consistency of delivery without any ‘good day/bad day’ bias. It also stifles intuition. This is the gut feeling you get when something isn’t right. It’s a critical survival tool in humans and helps us join seemingly irrelevant dots to come to useful conclusions. It’s also why you feel the need to slow down when you drive near a cliff. Robots might sense the drop, but they can’t feel the danger.
Fun fact: Neither Google, Alexa nor Siri recognise ‘thank you’. While they all have an option for manners, it doesn’t actually matter to them, only to us. Because only humans feel.
Robots can’t create
Ever watched a disappointing movie? Like the ones with a great story, but poor actors. Or great actors and a terrible script. Somewhere in the mix, the creativity fell over. What you’re missing is creative spark. And we feel it. Creativity is something only humans can bring. While robots always hit their marks, humans feel what’s right. And when it comes to writing, robots choose from the best of the past, while humans imagine the future. Robots iterate, humans create and humans can feel the difference.
Fun fact: Sophia the robot created a self-portrait that sold at auction for $688,000. Her other pieces all sold for less than $5K. They’re technically fine, but creatively yawn.
Traffic lights and troubles
My favourite example of a hard-working robot is the trusty traffic light. They stand up tall, keep people safe and make sure the traffic moves on time. They’re robots that make life easier. And that’s a great place for robots to play.
Troubles start brewing when we lean on robots for stuff they just can’t do. Robot art is a novelty. People buy the novelty, not the art. Robot conversations are utility. People buy the interface, not the conversation. And robot thinking is processing. People buy the information, not the insight. Robots may be fast and impressive, but they can only ever tell us what we already know. Robots, ironically, can’t imagine the future.
That’s what I reckon, what do you think?
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