Meta might be building a 4.5ft-tall, 106lb humanoid robot that could look you in the eye, mimic human expression, and be a help around the home — a description that would fit almost any consumer-grade, humanoid robot from almost half a dozen companies. The report from The Information adds, though, that this bot will be ” a physical embodiment of Muse.”
Rarely has anyone put a finer point on why companies like Tesla, Meta, Unitree, Figure, X1, and Boston Dynamics are now racing to deliver home companion, assistant, and janitorial robots into homes.
These robots will essentially be Trojan horses for the increasingly unpopular AI systems these robotics companies, and their frontier and LLM partners, desperately need consumers to adopt to justify the hundreds of billions of dollars they are pouring into every part of the AI sector.
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In the US, we sit on the precipice of a midterm election in which AI and data centers are, mostly indirectly, on the ballot. Voters are all but asking for an AI litmus test for candidates: where do they stand on the rapid expansion of data center construction? Obviously, it’s not just the data centers. Voters are concerned about AI’s role in misinformation, infrastructure security, as well as its role in the rapid deconstruction of the job market and workplace.
In short, AI is, for many (though certainly not all), if not a villain, then certainly something to be examined critically.
If more than half of Americans are at least “concerned” about AI, companies like OpenAI, Meta, Claude, and others may soon face a backlash that results in people pulling away from the use of chatbots and AI agents like Meta Muse.
AI and robotics — perfect together
Perhaps robotics faces some of the same challenges. Science fiction has played its role in making many fear the robot uprising. Still, social media is lately filled with humanoid robotics feats of dexterity, dancing, and even terrifying fighting skills. People might be worried about Terminator, but can’t help but be intrigued by a tireless android ready to take on all your least favorite chores.
It can be easy to forget that AI is the thing that’s supercharging robotics development or that Nvidia, the most valuable company in the world, is the one most responsible for the chips powering the AI inside many data centers.
Partnerships between AI and robotics companies are everywhere. Meta’s rumored robot is reportedly using Nvidia’s Jetson Thor chip. That platform can also be found in Figure AI robots and Agility Robotics, among others. Google‘s DeepMind is partnered with Boston Dynamics. Over the years, Amazon has bought its share of robotics companies, often redirecting them to work in its vast supply chain and inventory operations.
For any of these companies, though, I think it’s safe to assume that the potential home robotics revolution is an attractive target for their AI aspirations.
Even Apple has reportedly looked to combine robotics with Siri AI. Its new HomeView 7-inch desktop display will arrive with Siri AI baked in, and a rumored follow-up might include an animated head that can look at and track you as you, say, move about the kitchen and consider your next Siri AI prompt.
What’s really inside your robot
If any of these companies succeed in integrating home-targeted AI systems and delivering them in useful humanoid robotics, it will not only be a game-changer for consumers, but will also open the door for what I assume is the ultimate goal: locking consumers into long-term AI and robotics subscription programs.
After all, most of these robots will be far too expensive for any consumer to buy outright, but monthly leasing fees that might wrap in model access and even AI tokens would likely appear more approachable for most consumers.
Instead of paying for access to Meta Muse, Claude, ChatGPT, Alexa+, or SiriAI, they’d be paying for cleaning and assistant services that come with their friendly neighborhood humanoid maid.
Getting real about humanoid robots
Assuming that’s the plan, it suffers from one major flaw: the readiness of any of these humanoid robots for the home.
Don’t be misled by those aforementioned viral videos. Boxing robots, for instance, are almost entirely teleoperated. Most of the best stuff many of these robots do is still via remote control (or is canned programming and not true autonomy).
I’m not arguing whether these robots can walk, run (quite fast), and dash up a flight of stairs, but they remain unpredictable and, I think, potentially unsafe in the average home.
That will, of course, change. Five years from now, the first safe and reliable humanoid robots may be ready to clean your home, walk your dog, and even look after you and your children. And you’ll be paying pricey monthly fees that will funnel back to AI companies building more data centers and developing AIs that are, themselves, building better models.
The robots are coming, and they’re bringing the future of AI with them. Just be ready to pay for it.
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lance.ulanoff@futurenet.com (Lance Ulanoff)
