Roboticist Warns of Robot Bubble - CleanTechnica

The article discusses a recent warning from Rodney Brooks, a renowned roboticist and cofounder of iRobot, about a potential "robot bubble" fueled by excessive hype and investment in humanoid robots. In his article “Why Today’s Humanoids Won’t Learn Dexterity,” Brooks argues that despite significant funding from venture capitalists and major tech companies, current humanoid robots will not achieve human-like dexterity anytime soon. He emphasizes that while he remains optimistic about the future of robotics, the ambitious timelines proposed by figures like Tesla’s Elon Musk and Figure’s Mike Cagney—predicting significant humanoid robot capabilities within a few years—are unrealistic and reflect fantasy thinking. Brooks provides a historical overview of robotics, highlighting that humanoid robots are still in the early stages of the hype cycle, while AI is transitioning from peak hype toward a period of disillusionment. He discusses the technical challenges remaining, particularly in developing safe, two-legged humanoid robots and human-like dexterity in robotic