The Artificial Intelligence Versus Robotics Race

Imagine you were the owner of a business.  Then imagine a world where you could choose weather or not you wanted to have an assistant as a robot or an assistant as a hologram via artificial intelligence. Which of the two would you choose?  I came up with the realization that one day business owners will have to choose which is right for their business.  Granted this day won’t come for many years but still, it is inevitable.  Both aspects have their pros and their cons however ultimately the user will have to make the decision on which route to take.

Here is a photo concept courtesy of Mitch Downey.  In the picture we see Denise in a electronics store as a hologram at the end of the aisle. 

It is assumed if this were real that customers could approach Denise and ask questions.  This would save money in the end due to the fact that it would replace the need for having as many human counterparts employed who roughly do the same thing.

What about having a robot do the exact same thing?  With a robot you could have him/her walk around the store assisting customers.  You could also possibly have the robot assist with heavy items or helping customers take their purchases to their car.  It is likely that the robot would also have the same amount of artificial intelligence that the hologram does because having a dumb robot that is able to walk, talk, and represent your business would not be very practical.  So why wouldn’t someone rather have the robot versus the hologram?  Well, there seem to be several factors involved on which a business owner would have to consider before making that decision.  One major problem is, not everyone will accept robotic assistants and may feel uncomfortable and reluctant to use them.

Artificial Intelligent Pros:

• Would cost less than expensive robotic assistants
• Would be available at anytime the customer needed them
• Can point customers in right direction or help search for item

Artificial Intelligent Cons:

• Relies on electricity and cannot be used in a power blackout
• Cannot interact with the real world
• Stuck in the same place 24/7 unless hologram base is moved

Robot Pros:

• Robots are mobile and can walk around the store helping customers like a human
• Can likely work if a power outage occurred until battery ran out of charge
• Can assist with heavy lifting

Robot Cons:

• Can be expensive to maintain or upgrade 
• Has to be in general vicinity to help customers much like a human
• Might make humans uncomfortable

 

Both of these advancements are well on their way to becoming a reality. All we can do in 2013 is speculate on how it would be if these tools were at our expense right now. It will be very interesting how far artificial intelligence and robotics both advance in the next 20 years. 

In my personal opinion, in a business situation I would rather have the hologram.  It is less expensive plus is readily available at any given time.  In my home I would rather have the robot since it would be able to do household chores such as cut the grass or clean the house.  Either way, the future is looking extremely bright.