Robot vs. automation vs. AI

Three words, three definitions

Read side by side, the definitions overlap without being the same. Automation is about operating automatically, a robot is about a machine that moves, and AIComputer systems that do tasks which usually need human judgment, such as recognizing pictures or writing text. is about inferring outputs from input.

• Automation: Merriam-Webster defines it as "the technique of making an apparatus, a process, or a system operate automatically", or the automatic control of a process by devices that take the place of human labor.^[1]
• Robot: the ISO 8373 definition used by the International Federation of Robotics says a robot is "a programmed actuated mechanism with a degree of autonomy to perform locomotion, manipulation or positioning".^[2]
• AI: the OECD defines an AI system as a machine-based system that infers from its input how to generate outputs such as predictions, content, recommendations or decisions, which can influence physical or virtual environments.^[5]

See how they overlap

Pick a region of the diagram to see what belongs there and why.

Robots are one kind of automation

The ISO definition of an industrial robot, quoted by the IFR, describes a manipulator "for use in automation applications". So a factory robot is a piece of automation equipment.^[3]

Not all automation is a robot. The robot definition requires an actuated mechanism that moves itself or objects, while the dictionary definition of automation covers any apparatus, process or system that operates automatically.^{[1] [2]}

Robots without AI

Most of the definition of a robot is about a program, not intelligence. The IFR explains that "reprogrammable" means a robot's programmed motions can be changed without physical alteration.^[3]

The IFR says generative AIComputer systems that do tasks which usually need human judgment, such as recognizing pictures or writing text. now lets humanoids learn from demonstration, and that this could transform the way traditional robots are programmed. That wording implies the traditional way: people write the program.^[4]

Robots with AI

The IFR says commercially available uses of AIComputer systems that do tasks which usually need human judgment, such as recognizing pictures or writing text. in robots include enabling robots to sense and respond to their environment, optimising robot and process performance, and letting robots act as mobile, interactive information systems.^[3]

It gives an example of what sensing adds: sensors and vision systems let robots respond to their surroundings in real time, such as picking and placing unsorted parts.^[3]

AI without a robot

The OECD definition of AIComputer systems that do tasks which usually need human judgment, such as recognizing pictures or writing text. includes outputs that influence virtual environments, so AI does not need a body. Modern Robotics makes the same point from the other side: robotics often includes AI, but an essential feature of any robot is that it moves in the physical world.^{[5] [6]}

A chatbot is a good example: it is AI, but with no actuated mechanism it is not a robot. The Understand AI pages explain how chatbots work.