Phil Smeeton's Tech Thinking Blog

  Is there any particular reason why humanoids are not commonplace within our society? Is it because they are a new technology and we have yet to place them and accept their place in society? Or is it because we feel that the humanoids currently lack intelligence and capability and therefore would not be of sufficient use to us? Is it because humans do not want rival-like objects in circulation potentially confusing or interfering with our human lives? What would a world with intermingled humanoids look and feel like? One positive implementation would comprise of humanoid helpers carrying stuff, helping people find things, providing prompt medical assistance, guarding people’s possessions, caring for vulnerable people, maintaining , cleaning and tidying in any environment.

Smartphones were not always as popular as they are today, in fact it took decades from initial launch to the ubiquitousness we see today, and this popularity is not fixed. Thinking about the latest versions of humanoid robots I see them being particularly useful as domestic helpers with unlimited energy and enthusiasm. As the human user sees how useful the humanoids are they will become more interested in owning and enjoying the benefits of them. I also think that extensibility is a key element of the popularity of humanoids as adding new skills will be a valuable feature. If the popularity curve for humanoids is similar to smartphones, it’s going to take 50+ years for them to become commonplace.

A self-driving car is not some sort of little knob on a dashboard, it is a mobile supercomputer that happens to look like a car.

Humanoid robots are likely to become very useful to human owners as the humanoid robot’s capabilities increase and improve. For example, how about a humanoid robot that can do all your housework, prepare meals, groom your family and any pets, gardening, cleaning windows, fixing stuff, playing ball with little johnny and babysitting whilst you are out at the opera? Once you are the owner of a humanoid robot you will probably become interested in extending the skills of the robot, having some new ones developed or downloaded into the humanoid robot’s memory.  Examples of additional skills might include, high end cooking skills, make up application, mixing drinks, playing musical instruments, creating portrait art paintings, photography, movie creation, playing card games.

Human relationships are important, human relationships can vary in terms of success and problems, challenges etc. All these facts make the idea of a perfectly behaved intelligent humanoid robot relationship partner very appealing in today’s society.   Given the myriads of challenges faced by humans today, humanoid companions can potentially provide help, support, therapy, friendship, entertainment, practical help. Humanoid’s will not judge, criticise, hate, annoy or irritate once the user’s requirements have been uploaded into the processor. A bigger picture view is to use humanoids to provide therapy services in the home. The humanoid could say something like: I notice from your health data today you are having a great day today, well done.

AI first approach to the mobile OS One possible and potentially highly desirable implementation is to have a permanent Gen AI prompt experience on the home screen of the mobile os. Another potential improvement is to have gen ai dynamically create the homescreen of the mobile os, a phone os that learns and becomes smarter and more effective as the user in effect trains the device. In terms of screen real estate for a permanent Gen AI prompt, I would say 50% with the other half devoted to a dynamic ai generated gui. The philosophy of the mobile os is 'it's almost never the same interface twice, but learns about the apps I want to use and when I want to use them'.