No fewer than seven out of ten Belgians are in favour of technologies such as robots and artificial intelligence (AI), emerges from a Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) survey among 1,000 Belgians on smart technologies in daily life. This study was conducted in the context of the publication of Homo Roboticus, a book that will be presented Thursday afternoon at La Monnaie by university professors.
Belgians appreciate robots and AI because they can perform routine tasks at both work and home. The majority of respondents (8 out of 10) even believe that robots are indispensable to perform tasks that are too dangerous or too heavy for man.
However, Belgians are also skeptical: over half believe that a robot can do his/her job and two out of three think that robots and AI will cause more jobs to disappear than they will create.
"It is contradictory, because people fear for their own work, but many believe that there are also benefits in certain areas, such as housework or tedious tasks. Being aware is essential to grasp both opportunities and dangers, and to implement the right business models," VUB robotics Professor Bram Vanderborgh explains.
O. Apelblat
The Brussels Times
