Stat: 20 percent. The share of Americans who find the concept of machines doing most human jobs in the future extremely realistic.
Story: Will robots take our jobs? They’ll need a key human skill first—the ability to think. To find out just how near such a future is, we visited Ashley J. Llorens, chief of the Intelligent Systems Center at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. There, researchers are bridging the gap between machines programmed by humans and those that can teach themselves.
How do you define intelligence? ISaaC, a humanoid robot that is seen by staff and visitors as they enter the Intelligent Systems Center at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, has been programmed to detect and assign labels to specific objects. For instance, it can look at a teddy bear and label it as an object that makes people happy. But when it comes to thinking for itself—the way a human can—ISaaC and systems like it have more work ahead.
Greg Kahn/GRAIN for The Pew Charitable Trusts
“After the Fact” host Dan LeDuc, left, and Ashley J. Llorens discuss ISaaC, a robot “concierge” at the Intelligent Systems Center at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. The humanoid robot has been programmed to detect and assign labels to specific objects. Can robots like ISaaC be taught to think? That’s a question Llorens’ lab is continuing to explore.
Greg Kahn/GRAIN for The Pew Charitable Trusts
Senior roboticist David Handelman uses virtual reality controls to manipulate robotic arms at the Intelligent Systems Center at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. Roboticists such as Handelman are teaching robots to perform physical tasks with greater degrees of autonomy. Twenty percent of Americans find the concept of machines doing most human jobs in the future to be “extremely realistic,” according to the Pew Research Center.
Greg Kahn/GRAIN for The Pew Charitable Trusts
Ashley J. Llorens, chief of the Intelligent Systems Center at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL), discusses technology designed at the facility with “After the Fact” host Dan LeDuc. This perching drone, developed by researchers at JHU/APL, has the ability to locate and acquire perches in new environments. To carry out challenging tasks in new environments, robots need to be intelligent—that is, they need to be able to perceive and respond to the world around them and make decisions amid uncertainty.
Greg Kahn/GRAIN for The Pew Charitable Trusts
Ashley J. Llorens, left, and “After the Fact” host Dan LeDuc discuss how robots can be taught to think during a recording session at the Intelligent Systems Center at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. Thirty percent of Americans believe their own job or profession is at risk of automation, according to the Pew Research Center.
Greg Kahn/GRAIN for The Pew Charitable Trusts
We want to hear from you. Reach us with your suggestions and thoughts at [email protected] or @pewtrusts on Twitter. You can also rate our show or post a brief review on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and anywhere else you listen or subscribe to the podcast.
'After the Fact' Guests
Ashley J. Llorens
Chief, Intelligent Systems Center
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
Sign Up
Receive our best conservation research bi-weekly—stunning photos, wins, and action alerts.
Sign Up
Exclusive state-policy research, infographics, and stats every two weeks.
How does broadband internet reach our homes, phones, and tablets? What kind of infrastructure connects us all together? What are the major barriers to broadband access for American communities?
