The Robots Are Coming

"AI capabilities [are] now doubling every 3.5 months—a 100x annual improvement." – Peter H. Diamandis

Previously, we analyzed the rapid growth of #ArtificialIntelligence and how we can adapt as individuals, companies, and society.

This month, we explore the advancement of robotic technology, which is quietly aligning with and capitalizing upon AI’s momentum. #Robotics has the potential to quickly impact our work and our lives as we look at the lowering prices and human-like AI interfaces coming online.

3 Market Insights

I. Robotaxis are rapidly advancing. According to NBC News, Waymo has doubled its weekly paid robotaxi trips to 100,000 since May. Alphabet/Google clearly believe in this technology; they recently added another USD$5 billion of investment in Waymo, which says that “over 14.8 million rider-only miles driven, the Waymo Driver was 3.5x better in avoiding crashes that caused injuries and 3x better in avoiding police-reported crashes than human drivers”.

II. Humanoid robots promise to help us at home and work. Imagine a Tuesday morning with the family getting ready for the day; your robot has prepared healthy breakfast smoothies and lunches for the kids. Humanoid robotics companies such as Unitree are getting ready to launch a mass production robot for just USD$16,000.  At work and in the built environment, we may see robots without legs like the Boardwalk Robotics robot that promises to help with the "workforce transition".

III. This is only the beginning. How could our world look when robots are commonplace? One vision is AI Atlantis: "Imagine waking up tomorrow to find a new continent that has emerged overnight. Not a landmass — a digital realm populated by 100 billion AI agents, and a billion robots. All ready to go. Welcome to AI Atlantis: a seemingly far-off utopia which is actually a vivid reality unfolding before our very eyes. Here's an incredible idea: you can now hire digital offshore talent and robotic workers for a salary lower than what you spend on coffee — yet they have the same skills as an average university graduate. This is a monumental shift that will alter economic and social structures.”

Figure AI just raised another $2.6 billion from major investors like Microsoft and NVIDIA. Watch this video of the Figure 2 robot in action.

2 Ideas from Me

I. Robots need a public acceptance tipping point. The technology is getting close, but people and companies need to see the value clearly and obviously. Consider it this way: who is the first person you know in your world who will have a personal robot? And then how long until you consider one for yourself, especially if the cost is less than a car?

II.  Meaning and purpose are important to individuals and society. As AI and robots peek around the corner, we have interesting questions. Are we ready to give up the joy of driving, cooking, and creating in general? Will we find fulfilling outlets?

1 Question

Where and when will we see the first impacts of robots in our work, play and living time?

Chris Runde is our global Director, Corporate Strategy + Innovation. This is an edited version of his monthly LinkedIn newsletter, Future Builders.

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