An unusual rally was held in Warsaw outside the walls of the Ministry of Digital Transformation: about 30 robots waved flags, marched in a circle, and chanted slogans calling for stricter regulation of artificial intelligence.
An unusual rally was held in Warsaw outside the walls of the Ministry of Digital Transformation: about 30 robots waved flags, marched in a circle, and chanted slogans calling for stricter regulation of artificial intelligence.
The event was organized by the Democratism initiative, which seeks to start a public discussion about the impact of AI and robotics on the labor market, Tech Xplore reports .
Both two-legged humanoids and four-legged robot dogs were brought out to protest. The slogans blared over loudspeakers: “Protect jobs!”, “Time for rules!”, and “Don’t wait — regulate!”
"The robots here are designed to show that this technology is already a reality. We can now move freely and even 'test'," one of the humanoid AI robots, the Agibot A3, said in a comment to AFP.
The protest organizer, Grzegorz Kulis, a former member of the Labor Market Council at the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policy of Poland and now the head of an employment agency and the chief technology officer (CIO) of a robotics company, said the use of real robots was intended to demonstrate the speed of technological development.
"We want to draw attention to the problem of the possible replacement of people - both by humanoid robots and artificial intelligence in the field of mental labor. If we do not react now, we will soon have a big problem. We need rules and regulations that will become a shield to protect workers," Kulis emphasized.
He added that developers feel a responsibility to inform society about rapid technological changes that scare even them.
The rally attracted the attention of passersby and government officials. Poland's Minister of Digital Transformation, Krzysztof Gawkowski, joined the protesters and spoke with the organizers.
"Uncontrolled AI models integrated into humanoids, which will continue to evolve as robotics develops, are a serious problem," the head of the ministry agreed.
It should be noted that Poland is already taking steps to regulate this area. The country's President Karol Nawrocki signed a bill that implements the provisions of the European Union's Artificial Intelligence Act (EU AI Act) at the national level. The document provides for the creation of a special national body capable of monitoring compliance with the new rules and protecting the market from the risks of automation.
