The robots are coming to South Korea, but do the benefits of AI outweigh the dystopian dangers?
Robotics researchers in South Korea insist that pioneering new AI applications will serve the greater good, although not all are convinced
Departing passengers at Incheon International Airport, on the outskirts of the South Korean capital, Seoul, wave goodbye to friends and loved ones, and say hello to the future. “Please touch my face,” a GuideBot says to one traveller, in English. The robot, which also speaks Korean, Mandarin and Japanese, can recognise boarding passes that are scanned onto its broad touch-screen visage. “Please follow me.”
The robot connects to the airport’s central server to find out boarding times and locations of restaurants and shops. If asked, it will accompany a passenger to their gate, gliding over the airport’s shiny floor.
Nearby, a CleanBotworks without complaint, having taught itself which areas require the most frequent cleaning and how best to navigate between them.
The robots belong to South Korean multinational LG Electronics’ CLOi (pronounced “kloh-ee”) family. Both are prototypes but could be a more common sight in the near future. About a dozen GuideBots currently glide around the airport at Incheon, while similar facilities in the United States, France and the Middle East have placed orders.
Some 35km east of the airport, closer to the centre of Seoul and near the west bank of the Han river, stands LG Science Park, the company’s new research centre. Here, in a futuristic glass building, Choi Hyungjin, LG’s director of robot business development and product planning, demonstrates a range of new models, including the ServBot (designed to deliver room service in hotels, and serve food and drinks at airport lounges), the CartBot (equipped with a barcode reader and designed to assist customers who need a robotic hand at supermarkets) and the PorterBot (carries bag at hotels and airports, and aids check-in and check-out, thus reducing queues).