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The world seems to be on the verge of a humanoid robot boom. New breakthroughs in artificial intelligence promise the kind of capable general-purpose robots previously only seen in science fiction—robots that can do things like assemble cars, care for patients, or clean our homes, all without specific instructions.
It’s an idea that has attracted an enormous amount of attention, capital and optimism. However, recent progress is probably more about style than substance. Advances in artificial intelligence have undoubtedly made it easier to train robots, but they have yet to allow them to truly sense their surroundings, “think” what to do next, and implement those decisions in the way some viral videos might imply.
But on the way to helping humanoid robots earn our trust, one question is bigger than any other: How much will they be able to do on their own? And how much more will it rely on people? Read the full story.
— James O’Donnell
This story is from the upcoming issue of MIT Technology Review, out January 6—it’s all about the exciting discoveries happening in the world right now. If you haven’t already, subscribe to receive future copies.
If you’re interested in the future of robots, check out:
+ A skeptic’s guide to humanoid robot videos. The right video can bring a startup millions in investment and a loyal audience. But what do these videos actually show?
+ Will robotics have their own ChatGPT moment? Read the full story.
+ To be more useful, robots need to become lazier. Smarter data processing could make machines more useful and energy efficient in the real world. A good way to test this principle is robot soccer.
Required reading
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