Alexa, Siri and friends recta profesr Iasonitpraferal US sateen) Proezor(n) Giparmene [eprtnat) her ate ferent her igang nes of anges (autnmne oy tfrnd2} a Sehabeewende “ieindenagen| Scene: Jack and jill eet on Tinder and arrange a date, They have a wonderful evening ata hip restaurancthat doesan excellent Portuguese-stylechickenfrango and then they go back to Jacks place fora glass of wine The yearis 2018. Is a very modern apartment, and while Jillrakes aseaton the Grazia & Co Agent 86 sofa, Jack goes off ro get the swine, Suddenly, il hears him shout: “Alexa, asked you to order Sauvignon Blanc,not bloody Chenin Blanc!” Alexa the vireual assistant developed by Amazon, replies in her calm voice, “Based on your Joanna Bryson says we shouldn't She's anassociate professor in the department of computer science at the University of Bath in England and the authorofa con- troversial position paper called “Robots Should Be Slaves”. Bryson told Business ‘Spotlight: “Arcficial intelligence is some- thing people are now buying and selling. Alotof people want Alto bea person, but then you'd havea person that you'd own. Butwe shouldn't wantto own people be- ‘cause history showsus tha i’s wiong ro buyandsell people.” Robots are not people, says Bryson. Therefore, purchasing history, [ordered If Alexais they should do what we a boule of Moulin Touchais always in ‘wantthem todo. CoramsdslayonThis1996 the home, bg Should espe own + enin Blanc is a perfect deh am That's an interac- Trlance between honey “SME” AfaMIlY robocnow being used smoothness and a clean, re- member? inclinicsin Germany, Aus- freshing finish.” Should we tria and Switzerland to “Alexa, I'm nov stupi “qwn” Siri? 2 people suering Jack cries. “I know more about wine than you do. I drink the stuff! You don't I told you to get Sauvignon Blanc” ‘As she listens to this conversation, Jill chinks. “I'cha’s the way he treats hi virrual assistants, how does he treat his girlfriends?” So,she picksup hercoatand Jeaves. ‘As we move into a world in which humans and robots with artificial intel- ligence (AN) meet, new questions arise. How should we interact withthe technol ‘ogies that wil replace some jobs,improve ‘othersand, generally playa bigger part in lifeand work? Servantsorfriends? Will these vireual assistants be our ser vvants or our friends? In September 2017, Apple posted a job titled “Siri Software Engineer, Health and Wellness’ This is because so many people who are de pressed or suicidal ask Siri, Apple's viru. alassistant,questions of a“crsis" kind. IF ‘Alexaisalwaysin thehome.is"she"a fam: ily member? Should we own" Siri? from dementia It looks and sounds like a baby seal andit’s popular with those who need anewkind of non-human companion. ‘Right now, we cant really say what the future holds for us. We know that com- puter power, new energy sources and ‘manufacturing will change dramatically by 20S0and we can see the outlines ofthe changes ahead. ‘What we cannot seeare the secondary effects — the business models that will be builton topofthe care technologies to create tomorrow's jobs. That's why it’s so important today to find time forthinking, learning and science fiction. or FOR MORE INFORMATION BOOKS: ‘Change Agent, Danie Suarez Dutton) ‘Mars Tallogy Kin Staley Robinson Spectr) wensire “Robots Soul Be Slaves": wwvwesbuthocuth jb fip/Brsar Saves BockORhnd