AI startups are raising billions of dollars to develop “brains” for robots that could work everywhere from oil rigs to construction sites. Blue-collar workers may have as much to fear from AI job disruption as do white-collar workers. The basic idea is that these software “brains” would understand physics and other real-world conditions — helping the robots adapt to changing environments.
Some of these AI-powered robots may be humanoids, others may not — form is less important than functionality.
If a robot has the physical capability to do a task, it could have the flexible knowledge.
Plumbing, electrical, welding, roofing, fixing cars, making meals — there really isn’t much of a limit. Think about it a bit like C-3PO and R2-D2, but without the snarky personalities. There isn’t yet agreement on the smartest way to apply AI to robotics.
Big Tech giants and startups are gathering gobs of real-world data to train their AI models. Others are employing “world models,” which are trained on simulated physical world data.
They’re cheaper — relying on an understanding of things like gravity — and have been championed by Yann LeCun, the former chief AI scientist at Meta who recently formed a new company called AMI Labs.
Toronto-based Waabi last week raised up to $1 billion in what could be the largest funding ever for a Canadian startup, with an initial focus on robo-taxis and self-driving trucks.
“It’s obvious that the physical AI moment is here,” Waabi founder and CEO Raquel Urtasun tells Axios’ Joann Muller. “Autonomy is the first application where scale is going to happen. Pittsburgh-based Skild AI just raised around $1.4 billion at a $14 billion valuation. Its motto: “Any robot. Any task. One brain.” READ MORE
End Time Headlines is a ministry founded, owned, and operated by Ricky Scaparo, established in 2010 to equip believers and inform discerning individuals about the “Signs and Seasons” of the times in which we live. Ricky authors original articles and curates news from mainstream sources, carefully selecting topics, verifying information, and utilizing artificial intelligence tools to ensure content is both timely and accurate. Every piece is personally reviewed and edited by Ricky to align with the ministry’s mission of providing a prophetic perspective on current events.
