“Will Robots inherit the earth? Yes, but they will be our children”said Marvin Lee Minsky, an American Cognitive scientist. 2016 can now be safely declared as the year of the robot, in which the debate about robotics, automation, and AI finally emerged from academic/IT circles and into the public consciousness.
The International Organization of Standardization (ISO) sets a standard for what constitutes a robot. ISO defines an industrial robot as being an “automatically controlled, reprogrammable, multipurpose manipulator” that is “programmable in three or more axes.”Robots are best applied in any fixed and repetitive task where the work involved is predictable and routine.
So, where does a robot fit into the day-to-day life of a marketer
The Holy Grail of customer-centric marketing is to create truly personalized, eloquent and appropriate interactions that nurture long-term, value-generating relationships. More than the “narrow intelligence” of performing repetitive tasks, this is where AI will come into play.
The Los Angeles Times uses robots to report on earthquakes: the organization relies on an algorithm that pulls in data on magnitude, place and time from a US Geological Survey site. NPR has reported on the use of robot sportswriters producing coverage of games.
Robots are part of interactive displays at trade shows where they compete with more traditional marketing tools for attendees’ attention.
Brand bolster by Robots
As important commercial and cultural entities, brands will play an important role in this robot evolution. Our everyday lives are already hard to imagine without brands. The brands we already trust in our homes and offices, or in our interpersonal relations and individual communication, are the ones we will trust when they start using robots to convey a message, provide utility or entertainment.
But let us ask ourselves: where’s the dividing line between what you do, and what a machine could do for you?
If your customers own wearables or smart-home devices, they’ve already handed the management of their fitness, diet, power usage, personal security, and more, to software They don’t even have to drive or park their own cars.
According to Oxford University robotics expert Dr Anders Sandberg, if you can describe your job, then your job can and will be automated. In the future, he claims, 47 per cent of all jobs will be replaced by software, with those that can most easily be described being the first to go.
Hilton Hotels is piloting a Watson-powered concierge, Connie – an Aldebaran humanoid robot – which guests can chat to and ask to recommend local attractions, restaurants, and more.
Kit, the artificially intelligent marketing robot recently acquired by Shopify, is looking to be one of the first robots to successfully plan your eCommerce digital marketing strategy.
Today, most artificial intelligence is referred to as "narrow intelligence," limited to discrete functions and programs on individual devices such as a mobile phone, car or PC. But as AI develops more broadly, it will reach the potential of human-level brain intelligence, that can reason, respond and react like a human being.
An Empathetic Maria?
“There can be no understanding between the hand and the brain unless the heart acts as mediator.” Said Maria, the female robot in the movie Metropolis. Robots, as they move towards the next level of developing empathy and emotion, will truly begin making their mark in marketing.