The Sequence Opinion - Issue 931: Robotics Is Waiting for Its ChatGPT Moment
Generalist models are expanding what robots can do. The real breakthrough will be how easily we can teach them something new.
TL;DR
- A robot understanding a simple command like 'Help me clean up after dinner' represents significant engineering.
- Generalist robot models are making the idea of teaching robots through conversation and examples more feasible.
- Key challenges for robotics include learning, control, and the economics of implementing new machine capabilities.
- ChatGPT's success lay in its ease of exploring diverse capabilities through conversation.
- Robotics requires a similar experience of versatility, but its 'answers' have physical consequences.