A human-centered future
19th of August, 2021. Tesla presented something that the tech connoisseurs were ready and excited about, the project of a Humanoid Robot. I’m sure for those like me that are just starting to get close to this world, this event brought in our mind the dystopian universes that Hollywood and Science-Fiction have been putting in our minds. Is not the first time we’ve seen something similar and definitely will not be the last one.
Beyond the excitement and the progress, there is a key question that comes to my mind.
As a society, are we ready to face a reality where robots get out of the factories and start to be part of our day-to-day life?
My last job was probably in one of the most exciting companies in my home country, Kiwibot. A last-mile logistic company that uses cute small robots to deliver atoms from point a to point b.
For a drop-out law student that spend the years before working at an NGO, it was an entirely new world full of questions, discoveries, and new perspectives.
During the year that I was working there, I had fascinating conversations with the engineers, designers, and partners that always let me think that the average Joe, like me, is not aware of how fast technology is progressing and how in a couple of years, social interactions will radically change (human to human, robot to human, and even robot to robot) thanks to the fast pace of innovation.
One of the dreams of technological advancement is that someday robots will do all the repetitive, boring, and in some way automatic tasks that are needed for our global society to function, from last-mile logistics to cleaning our house, to actually simulate company to those in need.
And honestly, at a first glance, it sounds absolutely awesome, wasn’t that the dream? That technology will evolve so much that at some point that we will dedicate our lives to more noble pursuits?
But when you sit after the excitement of seeing the presentation of X or Y company and their technology, a thousand questions appear regarding how this will change the way that we even understand what is to be a human.
Technology will continue its way, but the question is where is this way taking us? That is a human, nontechnical question to be answered, that demands a conscious decision of the future that we aim to have.
If we just let the evolution of technology take its north from the big companies and corporations, we will create products and inventions that are not actually focused on improving life, but just are done to create fake needs that profit a small group and do not enhance the experience of being human.
So, is absolutely necessary that we create bridges between these exciting new technologies and the social realities of the majority of people, not just for robotics but also for any new technology being developed inside the Startups, R&D departments and universities.
From what I know we are still not at the point where in some years, everything will look like the 2004 movie of I robot, but I do feel we are getting some way closer and this will demand a huge change in mentality. And the starting point is to open conversations, balancing opinions and focusing any technological advancement on the people, a human-centered technology and not a profit-centered technology.
Recently I heard a new concept that I didn’t know before, Protopia. When we think about the future we usually think either in Dystopia or Utopia (Positive , but this is new concept for me, that instead of just finding a definitive perspective ,it claims that with new technology, new problems will appear that will need new technology to be solved, in a loop that steadily will move us towards a better future.
And this concept allow us to understand that there is not a determined desstination for technology, reminding us that are our decisions as society the ones that guide where we are supposed to go.
One of the best conversations that I had during my time at Kiwibot, was actually with the CEO, Felipe Chavez.
He told me that we are moving towards a new enlightnment era,
This is a big concept, not just for the similarities but also for the profound challenges that differentiate the 18th centruty from 2021. This concept of a New Enlightment have a lot of different perspectives and I don’t have enough information to have a concrete opinion or posture about it, for me it just sounds extremely exciting.
So, in case we are actually moving towards this kind of scenario, my personal contribution is to make sure that in the spaces that I can be part of, I put society over profit, human enhancement over technology disruption and planetary prioritization over stakeholders benefits.
This is a concious decision that each one of us can do in our day to day jobs or labors, specially if you are someone that is working in the tech industry.
Take away:
Today, take 5 minutes of your day and ask yourself:
What I’m doing is moving us towards a human-centered society (Inclusive, Equalitative, In balance with the planet)?
If the answer is yes, great continue pushing, but if the answer is no start by discussing with the people around you, that is already a huge first step.
