so what the fuck is the market for humanoid robots
* useless in industry (or you'd see 'em long ago)
* sexbots? sure. i get the press release hype. a realdoll that talks (chatGPT) and moves
* waiting staff etc? basically novelties
BIG USE CASE: tech bubble hope
c'mon gimme actual application here
I have good news/bad news!
There is a CLEAR demand for cheap-enough-to-be-affordable humanoid robots in care/nursing homes or other environments requiring hands-on labour interacting with human bodies or human-centric artefacts.
Bad news: cheap-enough approximates to "can compete with modern slavery wages" and the performance threshold is impossibly high—makes safe full-self-driving car software look like a fizzbuzz problem.
@davidgerard @cstross Well, but look. If you see venture capital as the actual business they're in - selling dreams to vampires - then actually solving technical problems is an utter waste of resources and is in fact *counter*productive. A real solution can never be as sexy, and therefore as profitable, as a glorious future with a ground floor to get in at.
Thinking businesses should make things that work is as outmoded as thinking governments should foster broad-based prosperity.
David Gerard
Charlie Stross
Michael Roberts