Robot: Why human-shaped robots?

Generated Title: Humanoid Robots: The Dumbest Idea Ever?

Okay, let's get one thing straight: I'm already tired of hearing about humanoid robots. Elon Musk posing with Kim K and promising a million of these things by 2030? Give me a break. This isn't innovation; it's a tech bro's midlife crisis manifested in metal and plastic.

The Hype Train is Leaving the Station... Again

So, apparently, Morgan Stanley thinks Apple could make $133 billion a year from these things by 2040. $133 billion? Are you kidding me? What are these robots gonna be doing, printing money? I'm all for future tech, but some of these predictions are so far-fetched they're insulting.

Foxconn is deploying them at its Nvidia factory in Texas, huh? Fine. Let 'em. Let's see how long it takes before one of those things gets stuck in an assembly line or, even better, starts a union. (Okay, maybe that would be useful.)

This whole "advanced AI within a human-shaped shell" thing is just…creepy. They want these things interacting with the physical world, which, offcourse, includes us. I don't know about you, but I'm not thrilled about the idea of a robot butler judging my life choices while it folds my laundry.

And 1X's Neo, slated to launch in 2026 for a mere $20,000? Emptying the dishwasher? Folding clothes? Here's the kicker: The WSJ reported it's actually controlled by a person wearing a VR headset. So, it's not even a real robot; it's just a glorified, overpriced remote control. Seriously? We're supposed to be impressed by this?

Ukraine's Battlefield Bots: A Glimmer of Hope?

Okay, fine, maybe there's one somewhat useful application for robots: war. Apparently, Ukrainian forces used a casket-shaped robot to rescue a wounded soldier trapped behind Russian lines. Now that's something I can get behind.

This MAUL ground drone, designed by the 1st Medical Battalion, navigated minefields and drone attacks to retrieve a soldier. It even took a hit from an anti-personnel mine and kept going. That's some serious dedication. Props to the Ukrainian engineers for figuring out a way to save lives with this technology. According to CBS News, the Robot rescues Ukrainian soldier trapped 33 days behind Russian lines, navigating minefields and mortar strikes.

Zelenskyy wants to "scale up exactly this kind of technological backbone" for the army. More ground robotic systems, more drones. He's right, actually. If robots can help evacuate wounded soldiers and provide supplies to the front line, then maybe they're not completely useless.

But let's be real, this is one specific application in an extremely specific context. It doesn't suddenly make the idea of humanoid robots doing household chores any less ridiculous.

Musk's Delusions of Grandeur

Musk thinks these robots could be "the biggest product of all time by far, bigger than cell phones, bigger than anything." He also thinks they might boost Tesla's AI ambitions. Okay, Elon, whatever you say.

He also wrote on X in 2022 that "Tesla AI might play a role in AGI, given that it trains against the outside world, especially with the advent of Optimus." Training against the outside world? Is that what we're calling it now? Sounds more like "collecting data to sell to advertisers" to me. According to the BBC, human-shaped robots loom large in Musk's Tesla plans.

Boston Dynamics' Atlas can do gymnastics and dance routines. Great. So can a trained monkey. The real question is, can it do my taxes? Can it fix my leaky faucet? Can it hold a conversation without sounding like a chatbot from hell? I'm guessing the answer is no.

So, What's the Real Story Here?

It all boils down to this: Humanoid robots are a solution to a problem that doesn't exist. We don't need robots to fold our laundry or empty our dishwashers. What we need is affordable housing, universal healthcare, and a planet that isn't on fire. But hey, maybe I'm just a Luddite stuck in the past. Maybe I'm missing the big picture. Nah, I'm pretty sure I'm right. This is a bad idea. A really, really bad idea.