Why we don’t need Sophia the Robot for 4IR in SA - Don't let PR become the focus instead of real transformational strategy

"In the same week that the deputy president stumbled his way through an attempt to define the fourth industrial revolution, it was announced that a robot would headline the annual government technology conference called GovTech. However, using Sophia the Robot as the symbol of 4IR is probably as big a faux pas as our leaders not being able to explain the first three industrial revolutions, or define the fourth. “She” is really a public relations exercise by artificial intelligence firm Hanson Robotics to show off its engineering brilliance".

The article highlights some valid points about being cautious not to associate too much marketing hype around concepts that are not really ready to do what they present. I have heard many times of humans sitting behind chatbots and actually proving the artificial "intelligence" and we've heard the same with Facebook. In many cases, real robotics and imaging are already being used in health and agriculture. Too many times we see executives and leaders being caught up in the AI and other hype without truly understanding it themselves, and in many cases, those with their own agendas are the ones feeding the marketing hype.

My personal opinion is much in alignment with Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs - first master the #3IR before tackling #4IR. Throwing more technology at a basic problem you could not solve, is not going to magically solve the problem We must be careful not to keep moving the goalposts further out from problems we need to solve today.

See https://gadget.co.za/why-we-dont-need-sophia-the-robot/

#4IR #robotics #technology
#^Why we don’t need Sophia the Robot for 4IR in SA

Image/photo

A robot headlined a government tech conference in South Africa this week, highlighting SA’s disconnect with the 4th industrial revolution, writes ARTHUR GOLDSTUCK



source https://gadgeteer.co.za/why-we-dont-need-sophia-robot-4ir-sa-dont-let-pr-become-focus-instead-real-transformational

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