In my conversation with Cardenas, we discussed the different ways robots already work alongside us. When I was catching my flight to Texas, for instance, I watched a floor-cleaning machine the size of a garbage bin sweep through Heathrow Airport. An older couple stopped and pointed as it trundled past, but most travelers ignored it. Then, after... See more

“Oh, you can do it harder than that,” says an engineer, and I jab forward again. Nothing. Apollo is still trotting on the spot. Fine, I think, I’ll give it a real push. Drawing back, I grip my makeshift spear and strike the robot hard in the chest. It staggers backward, stamping its feet, flinging its arms toward me in an appealingly human gesture.... See more

These demos also highlight another meaning of the “ChatGPT moment.” Just as many people ascribe human-level intelligence to ChatGPT because it can generate fluent speech, a capability we’d previously encountered only in conversations with conscious beings, we often imagine that humanoid robots are as physically capable as we are just because they... See more

After Prather’s talk, I stay in my seat in the main auditorium. The schedule tells me that next up is a mysterious “theatrical encounter,” which I presume will be some sort of dramatic turn starring humans and robots, a metaphor for our harmonious future with the machines. The lights in the room dim, and the stage is illuminated, revealing a human... See more