Tech Diaries|| 6/04/2022 || How do social robots intermingle with humans? ||

Humanoids are coming for your job in the near future, and with that comes a whole range of new possibilities in business and life. As far as we know, they can’t really be much different from us from day to day, but now they are becoming smarter. A recent study by McKinsey and MIT found that 55% of companies believe their jobs will be “completely replaced” by machines.

Source:https://shortest.link/3oBI

While it is true that many other businesses have the same fear, there has been some huge progress made in making our workplaces more human, so why should you worry about being left behind? The good news is that we’ve already started to create technologies that mimic human behavior, so let’s explore how these technologies interact with humans. Here, I’ll describe three ways that this has occurred, including Facebook/Cambridge Analytica scandal, Google Assistant, and Alexa. These examples were analyzed after studying their interactions with five participants to find who is best at using them, and what their skills are. So that means every employee of Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, or Alphabet got to try out an interface from a company that created one too.

Facebook & Cambridge Analytica Scandal

For starters, let’s talk about Facebook. After all, this social media giant has become synonymous with sharing personal data. In fact, I hate to admit it, my family uses it; it’s part of the reason we’re here, after all.” Facebook isn’t the only corporation to benefit from this; just last year, LinkedIn saw its growth drop drastically after employees realized they weren’t being looked at by managers with similar qualifications to those used by Facebook.

And it turns out that when people share personal details on Facebook, they sometimes don’t get that information back, which is exactly why Mark Zuckerberg decided to take down all of his own data to avoid such a disaster later on. Unfortunately for him, everyone knows Cambridge Analytica was one of the biggest scandals of 2014 and he had many accusations coming his way for stealing that data, using it to help politicians win.

A few days ago, the Wall Street Journal reported an alleged insider trading scandal that led investors looking into whether Facebook may be selling off its entire stake. What makes things worse than bad is that Facebook has known about this problem for quite some time, even after people like me started using it. Of course, I didn’t know about these things, but it does make sense since Facebook owns Instagram and WhatsApp. It also has over 1,500 pages worth billions of dollars from advertisers. Even though no one directly tells my employer about it, I am aware of whatever the matter might be and do not have to wonder what it could mean for me if someone buys something I used.

In fact, according to Wired, Facebook did a deal with two former law firms, called Sherman Jackson Law Group and Morgan Stanley, to pay $130 million each to stop telling others where their info resides if they wish to sue. According to documents obtained by WSJ, Facebook took advantage of clients’ fears of retaliation, even making deals to keep a lid on what was going on. This was a mistake for Facebook, but that doesn’t change the fact that both of these lawyers lost their first bids rather quickly. Some people even argue that Facebook was guilty of stealing the emails of people who had not yet consented, even though Facebook disagreed.

No doubt, people are afraid of big tech corporations ruining lives, especially when it comes to advertising personal data or creating algorithms or something that affects you. But that’s the truth, not everyone is going to be willing to give up their personal data, so if you do notice anything strange in your dealings with Facebook or something similar, it’s definitely something to be concerned about.

Google Assistant & AI-Powered Voice Commands

In addition, we also have Google Assistant, voice control technology that allows us to command devices and things to talk to us via speaking to a virtual assistant. One of the most exciting developments with Google Assistant is actually voice control functionality, thanks in large part to advances in artificial intelligence. Now, Google Assistant sounds pretty great — but there are still issues.

For example, Google Assistant is just starting to work as well as it can and has already proven effective at completing repetitive tasks for us. However, Google Assistant has always been under fire for getting out of your car. According to Wired, while most people would think that having to go to a Google website is easier, this is actually not the case. Although once you’ve bought a device that lets you ask Google Assistant via voice commands, it’s not necessarily easy to figure out where that device is.

If we wanted to look up directions, we’d have to go to Google Maps, but since we want to figure out if we need to drive somewhere, we can start typing the address into Google Maps and asking the search bar to display the results. All the while, Google has got to listen and respond, since Google Assistant is simply doing what’s needed to be able to help us get what we need. This is a major flaw of Google Assistant, but it seems that Google wants it to work more efficiently like it did with Cortana when she was first created.

This shows that Google Assistant has gotten better at doing what a normal person would need to do, and there are obvious problems that arise with the lack of direction it gives us. There are only a handful of companies using Google Assistant, but the number will grow in the long run, because it sounds very useful, plus, as usual, Google gets to sell us things without ever talking to us. Plus, it’s a fantastic way to earn money at the moment, after all.

Amazon Echo Dot + Humanoid Action Recognition

Amazon’s Echo Dot is another great opportunity to see how well Amazon interacts with others. That’s right, once again, we’re seeing how Amazon has managed to evolve its Echo smart speakers into something new. Thanks to Amazon’s Echo Dot, consumers don’t have to turn on their TVs, open the garage door or get ready to watch TV anymore. They can simply select their favorite channel and then ask for it in the form of an Echo Dot, and it’s done. This means that instead of watching TV, people can play games, listen to music and check up on movies.

Amazon’s customers seem to love the ability to use various devices that aren’t usually used, as it adds to flexibility. For example, Amazon’s Echo Smart Button allows anyone to set an alarm on their calendar as they see fit. Furthermore, Amazon's Echo Bud (Amazon's version of an MP3 player) turns soundtracks into real albums. Finally, customers are currently able to add Alexa to apps.

Since Amazon’s Echo has a microphone that picks up voices, it’s possible that users will be able to ask questions and interact with Alexa in a way that would otherwise require other methods.

I think it’s safe to say that Amazon has come leaps and bounds along the way. From giving people the ability to control their homes, check out sites over the internet, play music, stream videos, buy groceries online, etc. Amazon’s customer base looks like it’s expanding pretty rapidly and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon, so this is a truly intriguing project for us as a country to see how it all works together:

How are social robots going to affect the workplace in the next decade?

Now that we have more understanding of how social robots interact with humans, I hope everyone enjoys reading this article as much as possible. Who knows, you might end up living in your own world after all!