Famed roboticist says humanoid robot bubble is doomed to burst

Rodney Brooks, a distinguished roboticist and co-founder of iRobot, has issued a stark warning to investors funneling vast amounts of capital into humanoid robot ventures: their investments may be misguided. With decades of experience at MIT, Brooks expresses particular skepticism toward companies such as Tesla and Figure, which are attempting to develop robotic dexterity by teaching machines through human video demonstrations. In a recent essay, Brooks describes this method as 'pure fantasy thinking.' He highlights the inherent complexity of the human hand, which is equipped with approximately 17,000 specialized touch receptors, a level of sensitivity that current robots simply cannot replicate. While advancements in machine learning have revolutionized fields like speech recognition and image processing, Brooks emphasizes that these successes were built upon a strong foundation of existing technology for data collection—something that is lacking in the realm of tactile feedback. Safety concerns also loom large over the development of full-sized humanoid robots. These machines require significant energy to maintain balance, and the risks increase dramatically as their size grows. Brooks notes that a humanoid robot twice the size of existing models would potentially harbor eight times the amount of dangerous energy in the event of a fall. Looking ahead, Brooks predicts that the true evolution of humanoid robots over the next 15 years will diverge significantly from human likeness. Instead of maintaining a human form, he envisions robots that utilize wheels, multiple arms, and specialized sensors to enhance functionality. He remains convinced that the billions currently being invested are, in reality, financing elaborate training experiments unlikely to reach mass production.