Programme 2025

As part of the GFU Insights & Trends panel discussion ‘Binary Hearts: When Algorithms Become Companions,’ we ask how emotional our relationship with household robots really is – and what that means for our future. An international survey conducted by industry organisation GFU in collaboration with strategy consultancy Oliver Wyman examines whether and how people form attachments to their smart helpers: Will the robot vacuum cleaner be christened? Do users react differently when the machine speaks, moves or has a ‘face’? Following the presentation, representatives from politics, business and psychology will discuss the role that artificial intelligence, in combination with robotics, will play in the future for social acceptance and human-machine interaction. Because where machines no longer just perform tasks, but simulate closeness, our expectations of technology are also changing. What does it mean when systems learn, remember personal things – and eventually give emotional ‘feedback’? What opportunities, risks and ethical questions does this raise?