Exploring the Frontiers of Autonomy: AI, Robotics and the Next Industrial Revolution

What questions are leaders thinking about now where AI and robotics are concerned?

Last week Amazon Web Services (AWS) teamed up with Harvey Nash to host over 100 digital leaders to engage in a discussion focused on the frontier of autonomy. As we start to grapple with the impact of AI and robotics it feels more important than ever to dive into the topic with our community. 

The afternoon was built around a second public screening of Nash Squared’s film ‘A Near Future You're Not Prepared For’ which explores how organisations are preparing for the disruption caused by emerging technology like AI. It highlights the lack of cohesive AI policies and regulation across organisations and governments, which threatens to stifle innovation and put talent at risk.

In the film academics and leaders discuss how best to ethically implement AI while supporting their workforce through current technological disruption akin to the industrial revolution, especially given the concerns of job losses to automation. The film provides a nuanced perspective: AI can alleviate humans from dangerous or monotonous work, creating new opportunities in an AI-driven economy.

So where does such a broad and knowledgeable group feel we need to spend time really thinking about this technology?

The panel explored the potential of AI-powered "smart cities" to improve urban planning, transportation, utilities and more, but also raised challenges around data privacy and equitable access.

There was reference to AI guilt and the idea that younger members of teams will use AI tools available to them, but they may also hide the fact that they do because it could be frowned upon. If the right guardrails are in place then there is zero reason to feel any guilt, but addressing that emotion is something leaders need to do to stop adoption happening out of sight and with unintended consequences. It will also compound any efforts made to get the workforce GenAI ready.

Data privacy and a particular focus on bias was a recurring theme. How do we address bias present in the data used to train AI models? The need was placed on emphasising diverse data sets and rigorous testing to mitigate discrimination and unintended consequences. One panelist warned that lax data governance might lead to some form of ‘mad cow’ for AI.

The panel took time to consider the current state and future advancements of robotics and automation technology, and the potential for societal change. Are we giving enough thought to the ethical questions posed by building technology? Technology used in the development of a wind farm can be used to propel a rocket. Whilst tech is rarely ever developed with bad intentions we are culpable as an industry if we simply fail to engage in the debate.

That may be the most pertinent take away. Much of the technology innovation to emerge in the past decade has been narrow in it's application, even if it's unlocked huge benefits (Cloud for example). AI is a tool set that's being applied to so many situations that it's hard to assess its impact.

Almost as quickly as we have an understanding of one aspect of the change we face, the picture evolves, and at this point in time debate and community is more important than ever.

About the author:

David Savage is the Group Technology Evangelist for our parent company, Nash Squared. He has a deep understanding of the technology and talent markets and spends his time crafting podcasts, hosting video debates, speaking, moderating conferences, and chairing keynote stages. 

Since 2017, he has been the editor and host of Tech Talks, a show about leadership and technology currently ranked as one of the most popular podcasts in the world.