From automation to autonomy: The next frontier in robotics

The OECD Global Forum on Technology (GFTech) is organising a series of Horizon Scanning Dialogues, each hosted online and focused on a specific emerging technology. Each dialogue aims to explore potential technology opportunities and risks to generate forward-looking insights on possible impacts for economies and societies, as well as related policy implications.

This webinar will explore the most exciting breakthroughs in advanced robotics. It aims to bring together experts, government officials and policymakers looking to leverage new technologies for economic and social benefit while managing risks. The event will examine what it will take to move promising systems from research and pilots to reliable and safe deployment at scale, and what the associated social and political impacts are likely to be, including the future of key industries. The dialogue will also include a deep dive into the safety and security considerations that these developments in robotics raise, including for human health and livelihoods, the future of work, and for human-robot interaction, including new forms of human augmentation.

Master of Ceremony: David Winickoff, Head of the Emerging Technologies Unit, Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Digital Technologies Division, OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation

13:30-13:35. Opening remarks 

• Audrey Plonk, Deputy Director, OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation

13:35-13:45. Keynote

• Sukti Dasgupta, Director of the Employment, Skills and Sustainable Enterprises Department, ILO 

13:45-14:55. Panel 1: Emerging frontiers in robotics: capabilities, limits and pathways to scale

Robots are moving beyond the factory floor: advances in AI, sensing, soft and adaptive design, and multi-robot coordination are enabling machines to handle delicate materials, work more closely alongside people and operate in unpredictable real-world settings. Yet impressive demonstrations are not the same as dependable, affordable deployment. What separates the two?

Moderator: Douglas Robinson, Policy Advisor - Strategic Intelligence, Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Digital Technologies Division, OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation

Panellists:

• Engineering a swarm: Toward real-world applications
  Sabine Hauert, Professor of Swarm Engineering, Bristol Robotics Laboratory, University of Bristol 
• AI-enabled soft robotics that interact physically with people
  Egidio Falotico, Associate Professor, The BioRobotics Institute
  
• Human-robot interaction in the space sector
  Sant Brinkman, Robotics Software Engineer, European Space Agency
• Dexterity and automation in the textile industry
  Michael Fraede, CEO and Founder, Robotextile and Sales Director, Wittenstein Group 
• Robotics for sustainable agriculture in Africa
  Kenechukwu C. Mbanisi, Assistant Professor of Robotics, Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering and Executive Director, African Robotics Network 

14:55-15:55. Panel 2: Robotics and society: Key policy issues and societal implications

This panel will explore the opportunities and challenges of STI policy for shaping a better future for robotics in society, including contributions to the economy, assurance of safety, the protection of human agency and the promotion of public trust in the face of impacts on work, productivity and job quality. 

Moderator: Glenda Quintini, Head of the Skills and Future Readiness Division, OECD Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs

Panellists:

• Omar Arias, Deputy Chief Economist, East Asia and Pacific, World Bank
• Manal Azzi, Head of Occupational Safety and Health Policy, Evidence and Advocacy Unit, International Labour Organization
• Cécile Huet, Head of Unit for Excellence in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, European Commission AI Office
• Matthew Studley, Professor of Ethics and Technology, Director of Research and Enterprise, School of Engineering, University of the West of England
• Elizabeth Wiltshire, Senior Policy Manager for AI, Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA)

15:55-16:00. Closing remarks

• Sara Rendtorff-Smith, Head of the Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Digital Technologies Division, OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation