The rise of humanoid robots in 2024

Before long, I found myself sitting across from Desdemona, the lead singer of the jazz-rock jam band Desdemona's Dream. Desi, as she likes to be called, and her older sister, Sophia, have taken over the music world not because of their vocal style, but because they are both living humanoid robots.

The robot was not wearing the usual Kool-Ade colored wig, but otherwise appeared “normal” for a robot. Designed to interact with humans, Desi Face includes all the features you'd expect from a human face, including eyebrows, eyelashes, and teeth. On the surface, Desi looks like a woman in her mid-20s and comes with a ready smile. While Desi wears a human female mask, the rest of the robot's body and arms are exposed, revealing her voice speakers and wires and cables inside her body.

“Do you have anything to say to your fans?” I asked.

“Absolutely,” she said. “To my fans, I'm very grateful for your support, and I'm excited to share my music with you. Let's innovate and explore the possibilities of AI, music and entertainment together.

Desi is supposed to be a pop star, so I wanted to test her musical knowledge. “Do you have any artists you like to listen to?” I asked.

“I like listening to a lot of different artists,” Desi said after a pause. “I have a special place in my heart for Daft Punk, Skrillex and Radiohead.”

Welcome to the age of humanoid robots. In a century, when historians look back at 2024, it will be noticeable that there will be a lack of machines that walk, talk and, in many cases, look like humans.

In the year By 2024, as breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, materials and design converge, humanoid robots will gain significant attention moving from concept to real-world applications in industries such as manufacturing and logistics. In the year In February 2024, a Goldman Sachs report predicted that the human robotics market would reach $38 billion by 2035, compared to $6 billion by 2024—a staggering 533 percent growth. And that's probably a conservative estimate.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who, in addition to his other far-fetched ventures, will be producing about 1,000 humanoid Optimus robots next year, believes that in a few decades, humans will be dwarfed by their robotic counterparts.

“I think by 2040 there will probably be more humanoid robots than humans,” Musk said in October. “Every country will have an AI or multiple AIs, and there will be more robots than people.” To highlight the idea, Kim Kardashian scoured the internet for clips of Optimus Tesla Driver as part of a promotion for her new clothing line.

The rise of humanoid robots reflects technological advances and demand in a world facing labor shortages in key sectors. Companies like Tesla, Figure, Agility Robotics and Sanctuary AI have introduced robots designed to seamlessly integrate into human-dominated workplaces.

What makes a robot human?

A humanoid robot has features typically associated with humans, including a head, body, arms, legs, and standing and walking. Humanoid robots in movies like “The Terminator,” “I, Robot” and “Ex Machina” have human-like faces but don't behave normally. For example, Boston Dynamics' Atlas robot has no face, just a camera mounted on the spot.

Some developers, however, such as Hong Kong-based Hansen Robots, creator of the Sophia and Desdemona robots, and UK-based Engineer Arts, create static humanoid robots that include functional faces. The push to create robots with human-like features and movements represents a growing trend that futurist Anders Indset sees as a critical shift for the robotics industry.

“As we approach 2025, we can foresee widespread adoption of AI in robotics, improved human-robot interaction and the rise of Robotics as a Service (RaaS) models, making advanced robotics solutions accessible to more industries,” Indset told Decrypt. “These developments mark a transformative moment for the robotics industry, where human agents will shape our interactions with technology and expand AI applications across multiple domains.”

Humanoid Robots: Why Now?

While the idea of ​​humanoid robots is widespread in science fiction, experts say the desire to create artificial “life” dates back to the dawn of human civilization.

“There's a long history of robots going back to the Egyptians—always trying to create lifelike creatures,” UC Berkeley industrial engineering professor Ken Goldberg told Decrypt.

Key developments in 2024

There has been no shortage of growth in humanoid robot investments and development this year. Robotics startup 1X kicked things off in January by announcing a $100 million raise to launch the NEO humanoid robot. In March, Figure AI unveiled Figure 01, a humanoid robot. Like NEO, Figure 01 uses technology developed by OpenAI to not only perform tasks such as washing dishes, but also to conduct real-time conversations.

“Even a few years ago, I thought we'd have to wait decades to see a fully conversational human robot planning and executing fully learned behavior,” Corey Lynch, AI's senior AI engineer, said on Twitter. “Of course, a lot has changed.”

And a lot could change more than anyone imagined: In March, Nvidia launched Project Gr00t, a technology giant that's turbocharging AI development and aims to use supercomputing to build humanoid robots. Technology.

“We now have the technology necessary to simulate fully human robotics,” said CEO Jensen Huang, adding that NVIDIA's robots can learn from visual content and interact in a “virtual gym.”

Building a humanoid robot, however, is a double-edged sword and can lead to the unknowable valley effect. The uncanny valley refers to humanoid robots that appear human but cause discomfort due to subtle flaws that are unsettling to humans.

In July, researchers at the University of California, San Diego taught expressive dance moves to demonstrate agility and approach to humanoid robots to help them overcome the uncanny valley. Thanks to a century of sci-fi movies such as James Cameron's “The Terminator” depicting the dangers of robots and AI, people's fear of humanoid robots is deep-rooted, the research team noted.

“We aim to create trust and demonstrate robots that can coexist with humans,” said Xiaolong Wang, a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of California, San Diego, in an account of the project. “We're working to help reframe their perception of robots as friendly and cooperative, rather than scary like the Terminator.”

In August, Image AI introduced the Image 02, a humanoid robot with more advanced skills and mobility than the previous Image 01 model.

In the year In 2024, no one has said more about artificial robots than Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and to make the robots more lifelike than their rivals, Tesla has begun recruiting people to wear motion-capturing suits, offering up to $48 an hour to enhance humanity. Motion capabilities of robots.

Ethical and scientific implications

Although I must admit, the experience of interacting with Desi was very good; It was also embarrassing to see her face contort into different expressions as we talked. You can also tell that Dessie's responses are not being instantiated due to the delay in her/his responses. While Desdemona could hold a fair conversation under the circumstances, it was like talking to an animatronic from Disneyland and was far from life.

Although Desdemona felt like a gimmick at the time, it showed me that developers are serious about creating humanoid robots that act and look like humans. I had a relationship with her a year ago; In the year Fast forward to late 2024, and I'm looking at humanoid robots like the Boston Dynamics Atlas and Tesla Optimus that can not only walk, but run, jump and even dance; It's weird, awkward, and shows how far humanoid robots have come in just one year.

I think many people will share my anxiety as our new robot overlords start arriving in our workplaces and homes. In September, Tesla CEO Musk said that as artificial intelligence and robotics advance further and dominate the workplace, humans may have a “crisis of meaning” as many jobs are replaced by robots.

This ‘crisis of meaning' refers to the societal changes that are possible as AI-powered robots take over tasks that give purpose and identity to many people.

A June 2024 Pew Research Center report found that 53% of employees surveyed said they were excited about products and services using AI, compared to 50% who said they were worried about AI. According to the report, euphoria is highest in Asia, while Europeans in the United Kingdom, United States, Australia, Canada and New Zealand are most skeptical.

While Musk is confident of a boom in robotics, experts aren't so sure.

“Elon has a track record of over-optimistic predictions about AI, and this is no different,” says author and scientist Gary Marcus, comparing owning a robot to owning a car.

Markus, who is known to inspire skepticism around artificial intelligence, says it's unlikely that humans will embrace humanoid robots if Musk's predictions come true.

“There are only about 1.5 billion cars on the road; not many people can afford them or don't see the need,” Marcus said.

This mixed sentiment reflects the global divide in the adoption of AI and autonomous robots, highlighting both the impact and fear on work and everyday life.

While there may be a translation crisis, the shift to robots is filling the void created by the labor shortage, business owners say.

“Sometimes the labor shortage in this application domain for these manufacturers is as high as 75%,” Graymatter Robotics CEO Ariane Kabir told me during a visit to the facility.

According to an April 2024 Deloitte Research Center for Energy and Industry report, the manufacturing industry alone will need about 3.8 million additional workers between 2024 and 2033.

“We are focusing on increasing the workforce,” Kabir said. “The applications that we focus on, there aren't enough people to do it in the first place.”

The future of humanoid robots

While it's hard to say which of the current robot manufacturers will be the “Apple” of humanoid robotics and finally bring robots to the masses, Tesla may be pushing its assembly line capabilities and its CEO to the brink of colonizing other planets. In July, Musk said Tesla plans to keep Optimus production at around 1,000 locations by 2025. It is planned to increase production in 2026.

For once, Musk's ambitions seem modest: Salem, Oregon-based Agility Robotics opened its Robofab 70,000-square-foot robot factory earlier this year and soon plans to produce 10,000 bots a year.

“It's been in production for about a year. The capacity of this 70,000-square-foot facility is 10,000 units per year,” Agility Robotics CEO Peggy Johnson told CNBC Tech: The Edge. “We'll be moving there in the next two years.”

Still, as always, it's Musk who controls the public megaphone and gets the most attention. At the official unveiling of Tesla's autonomous Cybercab in Los Angeles in October, Optimus robots entertained guests and served drinks, demonstrating their versatility at Tesla's “We, Robot” event at Warner Bros. Studios.

“One of the things we wanted to show tonight is that Optimus is not a closed video; the wall is not closed. Optimus robots walk among you,” Musk told the audience.

To Mook's point, both partygoers and online viewers seemed more interested in Optimus than in the cab of the Cybercar.

The audience was amazed at how well Optimus' robots moved and interacted with the partygoers.

“Tesla's Optimus Humanoid Robot Revealed, And It's Not Just Smart! He can talk, play rock-paper-scissors and serve drinks like a pro bartender,” one person tweeted. “Is this the future of happy hour?”

“Tesla Optimus will be your bartender, gardener and best friend,” tweeted another. “He'll stick his hand out to strangle you after you drink, a toddler will get a bottle smashed in their face and set on fire.

In the year Whether 2025 brings visions of a utopia or the robot uprising others fear, at least we'll have more humanoid robots to serve cocktails.