AI robots should not look like us, says Ex-Google robotics moonshot boss as he explains what he learnt at the company

• Hans Peter Brondmo, ex-CEO of Google's Everyday Robots, talks about AI-powered robots
• He says that versatile robots are far away in future
• He also added that robots shouldn't look like humans

Tesla and Space X chief Elon Musk has often talked about how robots will be common in the near future. Tesla is also developing a humanoid robot that has been talked about on many occasions by Musk. While Musk expects that robots will be among us soon, the former head of Google's ambitious robotics project Everyday Robots thinks otherwise.

Hans Peter Brondmo, who used to be the CEO of Everyday Robots, has shed light on the complex journey of developing AI-powered robots capable of operating in real-world environments. In an authored piece for Wired, Brondmo shared his belief that building versatile robots will take far longer than Silicon Valley expects. He also said that robots should not look like humans and revealed what he learnt at the company while he was at its helm for 7 years.

Brondmo, who joined Google's secretive innovation lab X (formerly Google X) in 2016, was tasked with overseeing a bold venture to create robots that could assist humans in everyday tasks. Google's founder, Larry Page, envisioned a future where robots could use end-to-end learning—essentially figuring out how to complete tasks on their own with minimal guidance. However, this ambitious vision proved to be more difficult to achieve than expected.

Reflecting on his time leading the project, Brondmo explained that one of the most significant challenges was teaching robots to function in complex, unpredictable environments. While AI systems have made strides in learning from large datasets, robots require even more data to understand and respond to the real world effectively. Brondmo said that it may take "many thousands, maybe even millions of robots" collecting data in diverse settings before we reach a point where AI models can perform tasks beyond narrow, well-defined roles.

One of Brondmo's personal motivations for developing AI robots came from his mother, who suffered from advanced Parkinson's disease. He had long hoped that robots could one day assist her and others with similar conditions. This personal connection fueled his belief in the potential of robots to make a positive impact on people's lives.

Despite the closure of Everyday Robots in 2023, Brondmo remains optimistic about the future of robotics. He wrote in the piece that he believes robots are essential and their development is inevitable, but he worries that Silicon Valley's focus on quick solutions and its reluctance to invest in hardware could hinder progress. He added that he is afraid investors might not have the patience to support the long-term development required to build truly capable robots.

Brondmo also cautioned that the current focus on creating humanoid robots is misguided. Instead of mimicking human form, he feels that robots should be designed with practicality and functionality in mind. By focusing on robots that can effectively assist humans in everyday life, rather than on their appearance, Brondmo believes we can unlock the true potential of robotics.

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