Yesterday, in this post, I listed three reasons why I felt the prospect for “robotic therapists” was good. I am now even more confident of this prediction because of this fascinating article from EE Times which suggests that within a few years a “synthetic character”—based on artifical intelligence—will be able to pass the Turing Test. (An artifical intelligence agent will be deemed to have passed the “test” when a human can’t tell he or she is conversing with a computer.)
This, then, brings me back to why I think robotic therapists will eventually be a reality. If people can’t tell whether they are speaking with a real person or a robot—and the advice they are receiving is effective—will it matter if the therapist is real or not?
Jack Uldrich is a writer, futurist, public speaker and host of jumpthecurve.net. He is the author of seven books, including Jump the Curve and The Next Big Thing is Really Small: How Nanotechnology Will Change the Future of Your Business. He is also a frequent speaker on future technology and future trends, nanotechnology, innovation, change management and executive leadership to a variety of businesses, industries and non-profit organizations and trade associations.
