ISSUE387|COMPUTER SHOPPER|MAY2020 111
At the end of 2019,investors were lining
up to throw millions of dollars at a
pizzeria in Silicon Valley, with Zume
Pizza valued at $2bn. Why? It used a
robotic arm to pull pizzas out of hot
ovens. No-one needs to payarobot to
do the work that ahuman pizza chef
–who still needs to be employed –can
do in aflash. Only afew months later,
the company was out of business.
Other robots work, but the
limitations reveal they’re little more
than agimmick. An $82,000 robot
bartender by QBIT Robotics in Tokyo
sounds like the future of cocktails, but
watch ademovideo of it in operation
and it’s merely an automated arm that
moves acup between an ice dispenser,
one of five spirits, and your mix of
choice –it’s hardly advanced mixology.
If this is the future of bartending, then
we’d better not order anything fancier
than agin and tonic.
FIXINGTHE FEAR
While the ‘killer robot’ cliche persists –
even if it’s just about automation
killing jobs –we’ve also learned the
reality that robots can be alittle
foolish, pointless and often ineffective.
Still, overcoming long-held fears may
take some work.
“Overall, Ithink that robotics has
apoor public image; traditionally
people have feared them due to sci-fi
(Terminator) or the fear of losing their
jobs,”saysWatson.
Those are valid concerns, he says,
but are also challenges seen in previous
technological revolutions. While the
former mayrequire government treaties
to keep killer robots in line,those
worriedabout the job situation should
look to history forsolutions.
“During the Industrial Revolution,
thegovernment of the time and
industry realised that to capitalise onthe new technologies being developed,
theyneeded to re-skill or upskill the
workforce,” Watson adds.
“There was significant investment,
both from the government and the
privatesector,inthe education and
retraining of the workforce,which
ultimately led to the formation of the
‘red-brick’ universities.”
In short, if we want people to stop
fearing robots, we should make sure
theyhavenothing to fear.⬆The Knightscope K5 security robot found
unwanted fame when it fell intoafountain
⬆ Arobot can put
toppings on your
pizza, but what’s
the point of that?