Meet the founder and managing director of Fun Robotics

What have been the challenges of setting up a STEM start-up as a woman and breaking into a predominantly male industry?

The challenge of setting up a STEM-centric business is that STEM, including robotics, is not yet well established in the region. Being a woman in this field was not a challenge – the attention and support women get in the region in general is growing, and women entrepreneurs are no exception. As a woman who started this STEM-centric business I received a lot of encouragement and support from people around me. People tend to appreciate it more and they’re always happy to offer help.

Will coding and robotics become the defining skills for future generations?

Coding and robotics, among others, are crucial skills for the new generation to acquire. But what is more important are the 21st century skills like problem solving, collaboration, computational and critical thinking that STEM-related education brings to the scene.

What are the pros and cons of artificial intelligence? Is the fear of AI taking over the world rooted in any facts?

One of the main positive impacts of AI is how it has elevated the conventional programming concepts into a new area of data processing and now everything ranging from machines, electronics and applications host human-like behaviours and we have systems that can predict the future and make pivotal decision in areas like medicine and military. In the long run, the biggest challenge is to ensure these systems never realise that they can operate and improve without the need of a human. So we always need to be in control of that red ‘switch off’ button.

Over the last few months Amazon’s Alexa has been in the news for unprompted, creepy laughter. What will happen if AIs and smart devices ever develop emotions?

There’s an Arabic saying which means those who laugh without reason must be mad. My first thought when I heard the news of Alexa randomly laughing was that she’s probably going mad. Research is currently moving towards implementing emotions in artificial intelligence system and its purpose depends on situations. For example, a patient who is being diagnosed or treated by an AI system can benefit from empathy and comfort, which are characteristics of a good doctor. Emotional AIs can improve the quality of life as long as they’re regulated and monitored. Regulating AIs has already started in the UAE – it’s the first country to establish a ministry for AI that will regulate this technology and systemise its development.

Concepts of mechatronics, engineering and computers seem far from fun. How do the courses at Fun Robotics make these interactive and engaging?

At Fun Robotics, we want to defy this perception by introducing topics related to science in an interactive way with hands-on activities. People in general like to work with their hands like they do with Lego bricks and play dough, through which difficult and rigid concepts become easy to comprehend and adopt. We use interactive and engaging platforms and get them to create functional models of cars, fidget spinners, smart home devices or even a torch using Lego bricks, electronic components and crafting materials. This makes learning science topics appealing and rewarding to them.

Fun Robotics came first at the 2017 Champions Award in the FLL competition and qualified among the top teams in Robotics category for the UAE AI & Robotics Award for Good. How does it feel to bag these accolades?

It is very rewarding, but it also comes with big responsibility; expectations are always high from our teams by both organisers and other contestants, and we must be up to the challenge all the time. We make sure we learn from our mistakes, and we celebrate our failures in a positive way. Our message to students is that learning is more important than the award itself.