AI & Robotics: The Main Event 2017

David spoke at the AI & Robotics: The Main Event 2017 conference yesterday. The main emphasis was far more on AI (well machine learning) rather than robotics. David talked delegates through the AI Landscape model before talking about the use of chatbots/virtual characters/AI within the organisation in roles such as teaching, training, simulation, mentoring and knowledge capture and access.

Other highlights from the day included:

• Prof. Noel Sharkey talking about responsible robotics and his survey on robots and sex
• Stephen Metcalfe MP and co-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on AI talking about the APPG and Government role
• Prof. Philip Bond talking about the Government's Council for Science and Technology and its role in promoting investment in AI (apparently there's a lot of it coming!)
• Pete Trainor from BIMA talking about using chatbots to help avoid male suicides by providing SU, a reflective companion - https://www.bima.co.uk/en/Article/05-May-2017/Meet-SU
• Chris Ezekial from Creative Virtual talking about their success with virtual customer service agents (Chris and I were around for the first chatbot boom!)
• Intelligent Assistants showing the 2nd highest growth in interest from major brands in terms of engagement technologies
• Enterprise chat market worth $1.9bn
• 85% of enterprise customer engagement to be without human contact by 2020
• 30% increase in virtual agent use (forecast or historic, timescale - not clear!)
• 69% of consumers reported that they would choose to interact with a chatbot before a human because they wanted instant answers!

There was also a nice 2x2 matrix (below) looking at new/existing jobs and human/machine workers. 

This chimed nicely with a slide by another presenter which showed how as automation comes in workers initially resist, then accept, then as it takes their job over say the job wasn't worth doing and that they've now found a better one - til that starts to be automated. In a coffee chat we were wondering where all the people from the typing pools went when PCs came in. Our guess is that they went (notionally) to call centres - and guess where automation is now striking! Where will they go next?