Worldwide spending on robotics and related services is predicted to reach $135.4 billion by 2019 – but one thing hindering AI's progress is the 'uncanny valley'. This describes the unsettling feeling one experiences when a robot looks or acts too much like a human.

As our lives become more automated, the consumer robotics industry is only set to grow. But something is holding the market back – people find it difficult to trust these machines, especially in their homes and offices. Why do they make us uneasy, and what will convince people to trust robots?

Whether in entertainment or the news, robots have a history of bad press in the media that hasn’t let up in recent years. In response, a Japanese robotics team has made an artificially intelligent dance teacher, giving people exposure to bots in a situation that’s vulnerable, rather than threatening.

If your driverless car accidentally ran somebody over, who’s fault would it be? As tech takes on a growing body of human tasks, its moral compass is increasingly coming under scrutiny. Canvas8 sat down with technology ethicist Blay Whitby to find out if ethical tech is even possible.