Skip to main content

Robyn ready for the future

Published Nov 14, 2013

Hi Robyn. You have been awarded the KTH Great Prize. How do you feel about the pomp at Stadshuset where you will receive the award?

“It will be fun to see how it works and how the KTH spirit is manifested at one of these ceremonies. I have heard that it will be a pretty long event, but I think it will be moving. It will also be exciting to see my fiancé in tails for the first time.”

Robyn performs on stage. (Photo: Pontus Lundahl)

The prize is 1.2 million kronor. What will you do with the money?

“I will donate part of the prize money, because it feels good when I'm being honoured with such a great award. I am still considering how. I have many great leads and I want to explore them thoroughly before I decide. But I am looking a little extra close at research that is related to pedagogy and communication. As soon as I know, I’ll let you know!"

Technology and music go together, especially in many of your songs and your artistry. What is the most important technological invention?

"Without electricity, many other things we consider important would not have been invented. But the same could be said of the wheel. It’s hard to say what the most important technological invention is, because it’s a chain of discoveries that has led to the new ones and helped others along the way. I personally like the internet, and I also like to think about how people with poor eyesight were affected by the invention of eyeglasses, and what that made possible. The condom is also an incredibly important invention, without which the world would look very different. The most important invention of them all will be a sustainable energy source."

There is a student project at KTH in which they built a robot in your honour and named it after you. What do you think robots will be able to do in 50 years’ time?

"I hope they will be able to clean like they can in sci-fi movies!"

In your artistry, you push the boundaries. What issue is most important for you/humanity in the future?

"The environment and a sustainable approach to how we live on this planet. But it concerns so much more than nature. It’s also about how we treat each other and see each other as people. How can we take advantage of all the energy we produce in our lives? When we have robots that will be able to do all the things that we don’t want to do ourselves, will we then have more room for dealing with questions than we do now? Why are we here? What is the meaning of life? I don’t think that it’s to have the latest iPhone, in any case. I think that it would be fantastic if one could develop a sustainable system for business development in the world. How can it be legal to mass produce products without providing a solution for how the products will be recycled?"

Jill Klackenberg

Page responsible:redaktion@kth.se
Belongs to: About KTH
Last changed: Nov 14, 2013