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What my robot mop taught me about the future of AI
As the 'sentience' debate over Google's AI shows, we can't decide whether robots are too clever or too stupid.
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Robots are being equipped with evermore potent intelligence, raising big philosophical and ethical questions.
PHOTO: UNSPLASH.COM
Gillian Tett
(FINANCIAL TIMES) - A couple of months ago, a friend noticed the state of my kitchen floor and decided to stage an intervention. I could see her point although, in my defence, I do have two teenagers and a large dog. My friend gifted me a matching robotic mop and vacuum cleaner, programmed to manoeuvre around a room, cleaning as they go.
When the boxes arrived, I recoiled at the sight of the iRobot logo. I'm slow at figuring out new tech and was worried the devices might spy on me, hoovering up data along with the dog hairs. But the instructions were simple, and I eventually decided that I did not really care if someone was studying the secrets of my kitchen floor.
