A Polish liquor company has brought on a robot CEO. The executive, named Mika, doesn’t take weekends and is always working, 24/7.
“My decision-making process relies on extensive data analysis and aligning with the company’s strategic objectives,” Mika announced. “It’s devoid of personal bias, ensuring unbiased and strategic choices that prioritize the organization’s best interests.”
Mika was built by Hanson Robotics, the people who made Sophia, the humanoid robot famous for saying things like, “Okay, I will destroy humans.”
She was only kidding.
“She will be the official face of Dictador,” the company’s website explains. “This bold move consolidates the company’s position as one of the most advanced and thought-leading organizations globally. It underlines the brand’s passion for new technology and offers a positive disruption by bringing the future to what can still be a very traditional world.”
Do robots make good CEOs?
A recent study found that 93% of those asked would be willing to take orders from robots. Managers are usually on the list of jobs that are threatened by automation.
Managers are not CEOs. Their work is more likely top involve overseeing human workers (which can now be done automatically), keeping track of facilities (which can now be done automatically), and providing leadership. A CEO needs to develop a vision and communicate it.
If AI can take care of vision and decision-making, then an appealing and charismatic robot might be adequate as a CEO. Mika, who wears glasses in some of her photos, is apparently willing to fake vulnerability in order to be more relatable. With the support of her human colleagues, she may be popular as a CEO.
But robots lack personal experiences, emotions, and subjective judgment. Human CEOs require a complex set of skills, including leadership, strategic thinking, emotional intelligence, and the ability to navigate complex social and business landscapes, which are beyond the capabilities of a machine learning model.