PODCAST: A Woman's Place episode six. Jana, Iolanda, and the future of robots
'People think 'social robots' will steal all our jobs. I get lots of disaster questions like, 'When will robots take over the world?''
For Jana Tumova and Iolanda Leite, a woman's place is in the lab. Both of the assistant professors moved to Stockholm to work in the Department of Robotics at the esteemed KTH Royal Institute of Technology, exploring the many possibilities of robots.
From helping the elderly to live independently to the humble vacuum cleaner, robots are predicted to play an increasingly significant role in the future. And Jana and Iolanda are two women shaping that future.
Unfortunately, the STEM sciences are still heavily male-dominated, an issue the women in KTH's Department of Robotics are trying to change. For two years, Jana and Iolanda have been involved in an initiative aimed at encouraging more women to apply to KTH. It's working, they add, describing it as 'magical' when just one young girl changes her mind and decides to pursue STEM studies.
And in case you're wondering: No, say Jana and Iolanda, robots are not going to take over the world anytime soon.
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A Woman's Place is produced by The Local in partnership with Invest Stockholm.
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