DUBAI —

For the first time, a robot will initiate the proceedings at HITEC Dubai 2018, the Middle East’s largest hospitality technology exhibition and conference taking place at the Madinat Jumeirah Dubai on Dec. 5-6, 2018. Taking center stage at the show will be a Promobot, an intelligent humanoid robot.

Frank Wolfe CAE, CEO of HFTP, said “hospitality robots are clearly at a tipping point. They’re now cost-effective to build, are attaining cultural acceptance, and use sophisticated technology to safely live and work among us. We are delighted to have a robot leading the conference at HITEC Dubai.”

Amro Kamel, the group owner, said “we took the lead in understanding the need of introducing the essence of Robotic Technology in the region. Today we are the largest distributor of Promobot, Techmetics, LEA and are delighted to showcase our latest products at the HITEC Dubai.”

A report released by McKinsey & Company recently suggested that by 2030, as many as 800 million workers globally could be replaced by robots. Even if automation adoption is slower than anticipated, as many as 400 million people could still be affected. However, according to World Economic Forum (WEF), robots in workplace could create double the jobs they destroy. It said about 133 million jobs could be created worldwide with the help of rapid technological advances in the workplace over the next decade, compared with 75 million that could be displaced.

Automation of activities can enable businesses to improve performance, by reducing errors and improving quality and speed, and in some cases achieving outcomes that go beyond human capabilities. Automation also contributes to productivity, as it has done historically. At a time of lackluster productivity growth, this would give a needed boost to economic growth and prosperity and help offset the impact of a declining share of the working-age population in many countries. Based on our scenario modeling, we estimate automation could raise productivity growth globally by 0.8 to 1.4 percent annually.

Almost half the activities people are paid almost $16 trillion in wages to do in the global economy have the potential to be automated by adapting currently demonstrated technology, according to our analysis of more than 2,000 work activities across 800 occupations. While less than 5 percent of all occupations can be automated entirely using demonstrated technologies, about 60 percent of all occupations have at least 30 percent of constituent activities that could be automated. More occupations will change than will be automated away.

People will need to continue working alongside machines to produce the growth in per capita GDP to which countries around the world aspire. Our productivity estimates assume that people displaced by automation will find other employment. For business, the performance benefits of automation are relatively clear, but the issues are more complicated for policy-makers. They should embrace the opportunity for their economies to benefit from the productivity growth potential and put in place policies to encourage investment and market incentives to encourage continued progress and innovation. At the same time, they must evolve and innovate policies that help workers and institutions adapt to the impact on employment. This will likely include rethinking education and training, income support and safety nets, as well as transition support for those dislocated. Individuals in the workplace will need to engage more comprehensively with machines as part of their everyday activities, and acquire new skills that will be in demand in the new automation age.

HITEC Dubai’s Advisory Council Chairperson Laurent A. Voivenel, Senior Vice President, Operations and Development for the Middle East, Africa and India for Swiss-Belhotel International, said “over the last decade technology has led to drastic transformation in the hospitality sector globally as well as regionally which has boosted competitiveness and efficiency in our industry while creating new opportunities. There’s no denying that robots are becoming common helpers in hospitality, showing up in hotels and restaurants around the world – from Japan’s all-robot hotel to other parts of the globe. It a growing trend and extremely useful in certain areas and we are excited to see the new developments in the field at HITEC.”

HITEC Dubai will be inaugurated by Dubai Tourism and will give Middle East buyers, currently worth over $75 billion, access to the world’s leading technology solution providers and experts in the hospitality sector. The two-day trade show is co-produced by Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP) and Naseba. — SG

Robots and humans to work together at HITEC