Axios reports that we are in a robot-and-artificial intelligence bubble, and experts are starting to push back. Among their gripes: over-the-top hype of AI’s capabilities and its near-term danger to society.

One of those grumbling is Rodney Brooks, a father of modern robotics. He tells Axios that we are not near an age of super-human machines — robots are here, but not about to take over:

• “AI is not inherently powerful. In hundreds of years, it could be different. But we aren’t on the cusp of this.”
• Some companies are making exaggerated claims of AI capability in their products.
• “AI washing is very, very prevalent,” Brooks says, forecasting “some disappointments ahead — a bubble that bursts.”

Where we are now: In terms of commercial products, we are in an age of simple robots doing the simplest of tasks again and again, mainly because no one has yet invented one that reliably does something more complicated that is actually in demand. We are talking machines like the Roomba, the robot vacuum cleaner of which Brooks is a co-inventor. “Customers want something that out of the box will just work, at a price they want to pay,” he says. “And they don’t want to read a manual.”

Where we’re going: The greatest near-term need is robots that will help the elderly stay in their homes, he says. “We will be lucky if we have enough robots to fill the gaps needed for the aging population. They will be dumb robots.”

Source: Future of Work –