4. Wider impacts 32 Artificial intelligence and robotics Potential cyber-risks, including hacking and data theft Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a core technology in the from systems as well as when devices are future development of robotics. Much of research in AI, communicating give rise to concerns about malicious such as deep learning for vision, speech recognition in tampering. There are concerns that processes could be interface design and the transition from supervised to changed, or a systematic defect could be introduced, unsupervised learning, are central to the future while factories and workspaces could be held at application of cobots. ransom; for instance with threats to shut down robots on a farm during peak picking seasons and hence Several leading robot and cobot experts we interviewed allowing crops to rot. There is also the potential for revealed important recent developments in AI research. deliberate unethical training of a cobot, although it Interviewee #9 identified significant developments would be the responsibility of the robot installer/systems taking place in sensing for safety, for example, where a integrator to minimise the likelihood of this occurring. knife is used on the end of a robot arm. Interviewee #2 The experts we spoke to say such incidents of using pointed out how important vision systems and predictive robots to cause damage are rare, but that the greater analysis are for ensuring worker safety where heavy risk lies in the theft of the IP and ideas by disgruntled loads are being moved around a farm or retail site, employees, particularly when they have a good while Interviewee #5 noted the challenges in developing understanding of how the systems function and how AI for interpreting images on a conveyor. different components such as the sensors work. Interviewee #8 emphasised the importance of AI for Future developments in robotics are closely linked to developing improved interface design, crucial for robotic those in AI. Indeed, all our interviewees highlighted that use in all locations but particularly in the home. the future of robotics is really constrained by the future Interviewee #8, who conducts research on of AI. The developments in AI and their potential conversational interfaces, highlighted the challenges impacts on the insurance industry are discussed in around designing an interface to minimise safety further detail in Lloyd’s report Taking control: artificial concerns where speech may be misheard or intelligence and insurance. misunderstood and could lead to potentially life- threatening situations. A second problem is making the Box 4: Developing conversational AI interface engaging and entertaining so that people will The risk with conversational AI is the potential for continue to interact with the device. Interviewee #8 systems to misunderstand the user (either through emphasised that “we are nowhere near a humanoid poor speech recognition, environmental noise, or robot” and “it is still science fiction”. Finally, although we language understanding), thus likely leading to an might be able to instruct a robot to stack a dishwasher unintended action (wrong health information or do the ironing, it would do so very slowly and only for delivered, unintended purchase, driver distraction). that specific home. It would also very unlikely be able to These factors can be somewhat mitigated by good perform any other domestic chores. conversational AI design, for example, explicitly Interviewee #10 discussed future cobots in confirming user requests at crucial moments. This unsupervised learning within a factory or home, is currently the subject of much ongoing research. highlighting the issue as to who owns any new In 2017, Amazon launched the annual Alexa Prize, Intellectual Property (IP) that is developed: the firm, the inviting teams of university students to develop a owner, the systems integrator or even the robot itself? chatbot capable of conversing with humans on a As far-fetched as it may sound, it does raise the wider variety of subjects. Building on existing Amazon issue of AI-enabled cobots becoming independent Alexa software, the teams would create a socialbot, actors. Interviewee #10 also foresees security and advancing knowledge acquisition, natural language privacy concerns for firms whose IP lies in understanding, natural language generation, manufacturing. Having a device that can understand context modelling, common sense reasoning and how their entire factory/supply chain works and dialogue planning. analysing that data remotely might limit its adoption. The tech giant believes the way humans interact with machines is at an inflection point, and that conversational AI is at the centre of the transformation (Amazon, 2018). Hence it is investing substantially in the prize which it hopes will help advance the field. Taking control: robots and risk