3 ms·
It's not only going to be "connection maker". If and when robotics advance to a point where the LLMs are embodied, they can run experiments in the physical worl
by putlake 2mo ago
It's not only going to be "connection maker". If and when robotics advance to a point where the LLMs are embodied, they can run experiments in the physical world and find new knowledge.
- EA-3167 2mo agoRobots in labs already exist, but mercifully they're not hooked up to anything as unpredictable as an LLM. Robots tend to work best as specialists doing high-throughput, extremely repetitive tasks which nonetheless require a degree of precision. Giving a robot a "human" body makes very little sense if we're talking about the needs and productivity of a non-human; humanoid robots are marketing for humans.
- AustinDev 2mo agoHumanoid robots are obviously more than marketing. The entirety of human civilization is human shaped. Making robots that are human shaped is easier and more efficient than redesigning and rebuilding everything that exists.
- tsimionescu 2mo ago> Making robots that are human shaped is easier and more efficient than redesigning and rebuilding everything that exists. In the last 100-200 years, that has been proven wrong at every single step.
- red75prime 2mo agoGeneralist humanoid robots that are able to operate in unstructured environments weren't an option (they still aren't an option for the majority of operations). The humanity had no ways of building them. Anyway, it's true that replacing an automated production line with a crowd of generalist robots doesn't make sense. Generalist humanoid robots are intended to replace the remaining human workers.
- tsimionescu 2mo agoThey weren't an option because they are much harder to build, that's my point. Fat from being the easy option, they are still the unlikely option, compared to purpose designed machines.
- EA-3167 2mo agoOutside of sci-fi, marketing proposals, and niches like "Elder care in Japan" there are very few humanoid robots. By contrast non-humanoid robots have been mass produced and used in industry for decades. Arms. Carts. Trollies. No people. If you want something with fine motor control and dexterity, it's easier to make that the robot and then have another robot bring the workpiece to the arm than it is to build a single robot that can walk around and do it. There are compromises in human features because we're generalists.
- andai 2mo ago>elder care is niche The 2030s have some bad news for us... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-gYFcVx-8Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-gYFcVx-8Y
- vulcan01 2mo agoCounterpoint: cars. It takes sustained effort to prevent civilization from being modified to accommodate new technology, e.g. Stop Kindermoord.
- ben_w 2mo ago> The entirety of human civilization is human shaped. That's the marketing pitch. A plumbing robot doesn't need to be humanoid, an octopus shape may well be better for all the awkward corners. A robot police officer could be the municipality itself for sensory nodes (essentially the sales pitch of Flock etc.), plus some drones or robot dogs to perform arrests*. The robot vacuum cleaners and lawnmowers we already have are nothing like a human. A robot taxi driver can be just the car. Robot dogs are already used for maintenance and security sweeps. If you've got wheelchair access, you've got wheeled robot access. If you've got guide dog access, you've got access for Boston Dynamics' Spot. * this may be a bad idea with current robotics, but I aver it's not improved by making those robotics humanoid.
- rowanG077 2mo agoYou are not understanding what humanoid robots are about. Those are specialist robots you are describing. The promise is of course one robot that can do the plumbing, clean your house, do the dishes, build a house, and basically every physical job a human can do. It's extreme lly likely that at least a somewhat humanoid shape is required for that.
- whythismatters 2mo agoMy octopus will outperform your humanoid by doing the dishes, fixing the plumbing, and preparing a Caesar salad, all at the same time!
- fragmede 2mo agoYeah. Can't wait to see three or four armed robots. Or five or six! How do you train a robot to use three hands effectively when we only have two? Then again, why is the robot limited to being one robot? If two humanoid robots are in the same area, they don't have to be distinctly controlled. If they're both controlled by the same AI, a third arm on one body is the same as that arm being attached to another body.
- andai 2mo agoAh, but my "five guys" will outperform your one octopus!
- OroPla 2mo agoHistorically this has never been correct. Turns out you get more efficient systems when designing them without how a human would accomplish a task in mind.
- combobyte 2mo agoBeing embodied is not the important barrier to running experiments. It's having access to a body of resources (i.e. funding and infrastructure).
- ForHackernews 2mo agoyeah but LLMs might be even cheaper than grad students
- rowanG077 2mo agoFor some research funding is mostly the salaries of the people doing the research.
- EA-3167 2mo agoWhat research works that way?
- rowanG077 2mo agolarge parts of Computer science, mathematics, theoretical physics, economics, some humanities research and I'm probably missing a ton.
- EA-3167 2mo agoSo applied math, math, applied math, applied math, and maybe some others. That makes sense, although I'd argue that at least in the realm of HEP theoretical physics has extraordinarily expensive kit compared to what scientists make. See: The LHC.
- rowanG077 2mo agoReducing all these fields to mathematics is incredibly reductive. I don't think it's in good faith.
- 2mo ago