The rise of the robots

The rise of the robots
By Euronews
Share this articleComments
Share this articleClose Button

The rise of the robots.

ADVERTISEMENT

The rise of the robots. Maybe it won’t be science fiction for much longer.

Technological progress has often changed the world of work.

And now, these machines are doing jobs that humans normally do.

The use of robots is also booming in industry.

Two thirds of EU countries have an above-average number of industrial robots per 10,000 employees, according to data from the International Federation of Robotics.

Some political actors blame free trade and immigration for jobs loss, reports euronews’ Isabel Marques da Silva.

It is automation that is changing the labour market, our correspondent adds, according to the World Bank, up to two-thirds of jobs in the manufacturing industry can be taken by robots in the near future

MEPs say new rules are needed on giving robots legal status as “electronic persons”.

They want robots to have a kill switch so that their functions can be completely shut down.

The EP proposal also asks for safety, liability and privacy rules, including a Code of Ethical Conduct and an European Agency for Robotics.

The co-founder of Zorabots, that created “Zora”, says regulation should be drawn up in a dialogue with the industry players.

“Technology is evolving really, really fast and what we see is that governments cannot follow. So there must be a code of conduct that everybody abides to so that we follow that ethical code and it can be changed if all the players come together, “ said Tommy Deblieck in an interview.

But given that recent political upheaval suggests many workers feel left behind, is this new development a good thing?

Share this articleComments

You might also like

EU reaches 'political agreement' to sanction extremist Israeli settlers, says Josep Borrell

Biotech strategy launch, Newsletter

In the EU, continued rule of law backsliding keeps weakening our democracies