Robotic Future – David Ewing Duncan

David Ewing Duncan, journalist, researcher, and author of many books, including the celebrated, Talking to Robots: Tales from Our Human-Robot Futures, provides an interesting overview of his work and life.

Duncan's written work is focused on new discoveries and their many important implications in the life sciences. He has a particular interest in artificial intelligence and robotics. Duncan has authored ten books, and they have been published in 21 languages to date.

Duncan talks about his background in writing and media in general. He gives an overview of his book, Talking to Robots: Tales from Our Human-Robot Futures. He provides details on the topics his book covers, including how robot and AI systems are built, what they say about us as a society and as creators, and what we might expect in the bold new future that is coming. As an author he takes a visionary look into possible futures—24 possible visions of human-robot futures to be exact. Duncan contemplates a future, with highly-detailed, incredible scenarios, considering the concept of Politician Bots, Teddy Bots, Warrior Bots, and even Sex Bots—all based in technology and in respect to how the future will adapt to our creations.

Duncan talks about smart technology, discussing where we are now in society in terms of utilizing technology such as Uber and others. He explains the ways that we interact with robots, and the importance of bringing ethics and morality into the development. Duncan expounds upon his view of where we are heading in terms of programming of systems, government regulation, etc. He provides his thoughts on the various kinds of bots that could exist in the near future. Duncan provides information about the subtle issues that relate to robotics, such as companionship. As he explains, many people like to connect with technology as a means of communicating or connecting, but the irony is we often connect with our technology more intimately than we do with real humans.

Duncan is a renowned science journalist for print, television, and radio and a regular contributor to Vanity Fair, Wired, The New York Times, Atlantic, and many others. In addition, he has been published in Fortune, Discover, National Geographic, Newsweek, and Outside. And Duncan was a special correspondent and producer for ABC's popular show, Nightline, amongst his many other accomplishments.