Can we learn to stop worrying and love the machine? 🔊

What do we have to fear from the rise of robots, automation and artificial intelligence?

Darl Kolb, a pioneering theorist on social and technical connectivity, argues that we should rethink the relationship between humans and machines as one of co-evolution and interdependence, rather than one of contest and competition. If we think about machines and smart technologies as our collaborators rather than an existential threat, we can begin to focus on the distinctive attributes of humans and the important roles we will play in a highly automated future.

Professor Darl Kolb is from the University of Auckland’s Graduate School of Management and is the first Professor of Connectivity in the world.

Podcast:

This is the first episode of a new podcast series entitled What IF? (Imagined Futures). In this series of conversations with scholars, researchers and experts from a wide range of disciplines, we explore some of the big challenges and opportunities that the future presents.

What IF? (Imagined Futures) is hosted by Luke Goode.

For more of our audio and visual content, check out our YouTube channel, or head to the University of Auckland’s manuscripts and archives collection.

Disclaimer: The ideas expressed in this podcast reflect the views of the guest and not necessarily the views of The Big Q.