We are heading into a world where robots will be an increasingly important part of our lives. This won’t just have an impact on the future of work, but on the future of everything. What will it mean if robots are our toys, our pets, our friends and our partners? If robots can be everything from carers to warriors, what does this mean not just for human lives, but for the way we understand human intelligence, human values, and humanity itself? If we want technology to create a better future for people all over the world, what do we need to do right now to make sure that we can steer these extraordinary developments in the right direction and avoid a dystopian future?

Hear from a panel of experts including Toby Walsh, Scientia Professor of Artificial Intelligence at UNSW; Ellen Broad, Head of Policy at the Open Data Institute; and Hae Won Park, research scientist in the Personal Robots Group at MIT Media Lab.

One day I hope AI isn’t artificial intelligence, but augmented intelligence… that we use it to do better than we do on our own.

Toby Walsh

In an ideal world, what we want is robots taking our jobs, so we can spend our time in a more meaningful way.

Hae Won Park

Chaired by Paul Willis, former Director of the Royal Institution of Australia, presenter on ABC TV's Catalyst program and science communicator.

This conversation was presented as part of Sydney Science Festival and National Science Week, and was co-presented with the Sydney Opera House.