A friend has invested in a robot that cuts your grass for you. You charge it up, put a little barrier around the edge of the lawn and leave it to it.
It floats around all day just skimming the top of the grass so it does not need to be collected or dumped. It is called Robert and has replaced a nice man who was called John.
I use the past tense because basically Robert the robot has taken away the job of the man who used to get paid by the hour, but not anymore.
The reality is that like it or not robots bit by bit are starting to run the show.
Ocado has announced a new generation of robots that will be able to choose your shopping for you. They look a bit like C-3PO from Star Wars.
What is also interesting is that these beasts start to think like you. By realising what you buy, they can assess what you may wish for.
Most of us are creatures of habit. I am, as the staff at Morrisons will tell you; they see me most days after the gym popping in to pick up whatever it is that I need.
The invasion of AI and robotics is beginning to hit home and not surprisingly it is in the driverless auto industry where innovations are getting greater by the week.
The world of connectivity and multiple platform integration are allowing more data and therefore more decision making to become the norm by the car itself rather than the driver.
The implementation of real-world testing and simulation are resulting in unified platforms that cover systems, testing, IT security and regulations.
These are allowing for systems to not only make their own decisions, but to go beyond the car, to car- to car, and car-to-infrastructure communication.
The question is, that at some point when does the machine decide what decision to take compared to the person driving it?
There is little doubt that the myriad of clever technologies are creating the infrastructure that will allow for balanced machine-lead decisions against the human thought process, whatever that happens to be.
The reality is that bit-by-bit just like my friend’s new robotic grass cutter, the slow tide of change is taking place.
