2018 brought a new wave of technological advances\u2014from facial recognition to metal 3D printing to new artificial intelligence capabilities and applications. And, as technology is always moving forward, we are excited to see what this upcoming year has to offer.<\/p>\n\n
For an overview of what\u2019s to come in 2019, we turn to three of our technology speakers, who have recently discussed predictions for this coming year with various media outlets. Incidentally, almost all of these speakers focused on trends in the realm of artificial intelligence and robotics:<\/p>\n\n
Kate Darling<\/a>\u00a0is a researcher of Robot Ethics at MIT. Known for her work examining the ways robots and humans interact, as well as the social and ethical challenges that will arise as a result of robots increasingly occupying space in our lives, she spoke with\u00a0NBC News MACH<\/a>\u00a0about her predictions for 2019.\u00a0Talking to the outlet, she said, \u201cRobots have been increasing efficiency on assembly lines for decades, and they’re about to bring their skills into new areas: workplaces, households and public spaces.\u201d<\/p>\n\n As chair of the Artificial Intelligence and Robot Track at Singularity University,\u00a0Neil Jacobstein<\/a>\u00a0recently shared his thoughts about robotics innovations with\u00a0SingularityHub<\/a>, saying, \u201cI think one of the most visible improvements in AI [in 2018] was illustrated by the Boston Dynamics Parkour video.” In the video, robots can be seen navigating obstacles and reacting in real time to environmental changes, just as a human would. Exploring the science behind the capability, Jacobstein said,\u00a0\u201cIt was due to improvements in AI algorithms and training data. The fact that it could be accomplished at all in 2018 was a real win for both AI and robotics.\u201d Jacobstein expects to see even more strides in this arena this year.<\/p>\n\n \u00a0<\/p>\n\n2.\u00a0NEIL JACOBSTEIN<\/a>: INNOVATIONS IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE<\/b><\/h2>\n\n