The robot is no longer the future, it's a colleague — round table, Ptuj

We attended Dan obrti in podjetništva 2026 (Craft & Entrepreneurship Day; 28 May 2026, Stara steklarska, Ptuj), organised for the chamber's 55th anniversary by the Ptuj Regional Chamber of Crafts and Small Business together with the Štajerska Chamber of Commerce and ZRS Bistra Ptuj.

The round table

The centrepiece was the round table “The robot is no longer the future – it's a colleague: how automation is changing crafts and business.” It revolved around three questions:

• How are automation, robotics and AI already changing companies today?
• How can small businesses make use of these technologies?
• Do robots take work away — or create it?

Panellists came from leading Slovenian companies: HiProject, Talum Kidričevo, Dorssen IMS and Tenzor.

Robot demonstration

The discussion was followed by a live demonstration of a humanoid robot and a quadruped (industrial) robot — a tangible look at technology that is already here.

Our take

The title matches how we work: automation as a colleague, not a replacement. In practice that means AI integrations and MCP agents wired into existing business systems — taking over repetitive tasks so people can focus on the work that matters.

Thanks to the Ptuj Chamber of Crafts, the Štajerska Chamber of Commerce and ZRS Bistra Ptuj for organising it.