Britain's 'Robot Generation' excited for a future with androids in the workplace and classroom
"Education has an important role to play in equipping young people with the skills to navigate AI, and increasingly robotics, responsibly."
Children are growing up excited about a future in which they work alongside robots, new research has shown, heralding the arrival of the world's first "Robot Generation".
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The global research, conducted by Hexagon, revealed that children are growing up with fundamentally different expectations of robots compared to adults, as their experiences are shaped by growing up alongside artificial intelligence (AI).
Nearly two-thirds of children across the world see value in accessing AI through robots, compared to 47 per cent of adults - possibly because, for adults, their understanding of androids largely comes from films, television, and books.
Children are growing up around robotics, with 58 per cent having encountered one first-hand.
Ferdinand Doepel, Deputy Head Academic and Innovation at Wimbledon High School, believes that as children anticipate a future increasingly shaped by robots, education will be critical to preparing them for it.
He said: "The most surprising finding isn't that children are excited about robots, but that they're already imagining how they'll work alongside them.
"But just because young people have grown up with technology, including AI, and they know how to use it at a surface level, doesn’t mean they instinctively understand its implications.”
"Students can prompt a chatbot fluently and still not see its limitations, or what leaning on it does to their own thinking, or what happens to the data they put into it.
"Education has an important role to play in equipping young people with the skills to navigate AI, and increasingly robotics, responsibly. To do this successfully, collaboration amongst educators, policy makers, and industry experts is essential."
In the UK, 58 per cent of children say they would be excited to work alongside a robot, whereas just 28 per cent of adults feel this way.
On a global scale, around 20 per cent of children believe robots could be the boss.
Adults typically see robots taking on less collaborative roles, viewing them more as workplace assistants that help with research, capturing information, and diary and meeting management.
Children view them as learning partners, with 60 per cent wanting help in understanding lessons and 48 per cent wanting help with homework.
Burkhard Boeckem, CTO of Hexagon, said: “This isn't about preparing for a world where robots replace people. It's about preparing for one where people work alongside intelligent machines every day.
"The biggest barrier to that future may not be the technology, but whether today's adults are ready for it.
"Children are already growing up comfortable with AI and increasingly familiar with robotics, and we need to make sure the rest of society isn't left behind."