By Viveca M. Woods, manager of Content Marketing for Xerox
Will robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) take your job?
That’s not the question you should ask. Instead, your inquiry should look at how the nature of our jobs will change.
PARC CEO Dr. Tolga Kurtoglu (photo, right) believes the next generation of work will be defined by computational agents that function “… with robots and [artificial intelligence], and put them with humans in collaborative ways to solve increasingly complex tasks together.” He’s talking about the interface between human and machine, which remains a major focus of PARC’s research.
That’s one of the points Dr. Kurtoglu made in a profile published in the April 2017 issue of The Engineer. PARC researchers also see opportunities in advanced digital manufacturing, such as additive manufacturing (3D printing) technologies.
Dr. Kurtoglu embarked on a press tour in the United Kingdom to discuss PARC’s role in transformative innovation. He focused on PARC developments that meet people at the intersection of physical and digital worlds. Not surprisingly, the internet of things and artificial intelligence lead the revolution.
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The innovation journey is about “probing the market, and validating and confirming that a given idea solves real problems,” Dr. Kurtoglu noted.
In a TechRepublic interview, he highlighted the evolution of artificial intelligence and the importance of making information available in real time, along with the penetration of machine learning in consumer and enterprise industries. Keys to success, according to Dr. Kurtoglu, rely on creating a trusted and transparent relationship between humans and machines, because increasing numbers of people will rely on these technologies.
Dr. Kurtoglu is also featured in a profile in this BBC Tech Tent podcast, and Computer Weekly Magazine.
In the business of breakthroughs
PARC continues to deliver breakthrough technology platforms for many different government agencies and commercial companies worldwide, including Xerox. About half of the company’s research is Xerox related.
Many innovations that we use today originated at PARC, including the world’s first personal computer with a graphical user interface, the laser printer, object oriented programming, and local area networking (LAN) Ethernet. While PARC ideas and innovations from the past are an integral part of your daily experience with technology, you will continue to find PARC behind the way you will work in the not-too-distant future.
