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Where AI Meets The Physical World: The Rise Of Humanoid Robots
Greg Ombach, Head of Disruptive Research & Technology, Senior Vice President at Airbus.
getty A New Era In RoboticsArtificial intelligence (AI) is moving beyond the digital space and significantly impacting the physical world. At the Web Summit in Lisbon, Cristiano Amon, CEO of Qualcomm, highlighted how small language models (SLMs) enable AI to operate at the edge. These models let robots and devices process generative AI locally, eliminating delays, enhancing responsiveness and improving energy efficiency. This innovation is a breakthrough for real-time applications and robotics.
At the same event, Peggy Johnson, CEO of Agility Robotics, introduced Digit, a humanoid robot designed for industrial tasks like moving goods and handling repetitive processes. Meanwhile, at Slush in Helsinki, Bernt Øivind Bornich, CEO of 1X Robotics, showcased EVE, a humanoid robot tailored for customer-facing roles in retail and healthcare.
These two examples illustrate the diverse directions in robotics development: Digit prioritizes industrial applications, while EVE focuses on commercial environments.
With my background in driving innovation across industries, I see humanoid robots spearheading a new era in robotics. By combining cutting-edge AI with physical functionality, they are set to transform productivity and reshape collaboration in diverse sectors.
How AI Meets The Physical WorldThe rise of humanoid robots like Digit and EVE highlights a transformative shift—AI is no longer confined to software. These robots combine cognitive intelligence with physical actions, enabling them to perform tasks in real-world environments.
At the core of this transformation is edge AI, where data is processed locally on devices rather than relying on the cloud. This eliminates latency, enhances energy efficiency and allows robots to adapt quickly to dynamic situations. Whether sorting goods in a warehouse or assisting customers in a store, this ability to act in real time makes humanoid robots indispensable across industries.
Revolutionizing Industrial Applications With Humanoid RobotsHumanoid robots like Digit and EVE are revolutionizing industrial processes across sectors such as automotive and aerospace by combining AI-driven intelligence with physical capabilities. In the automotive industry, robots transform production lines by assembling components, handling heavy materials and adapting to dynamic workflows. Often referred to as "AI Getting Physical," this transition enables robots to navigate human-centric environments seamlessly, thanks to reinforcement learning and edge AI. Their contributions enhance productivity and allow human workers to focus on higher-value tasks, fostering collaboration between humans and machines.
Similarly, humanoid robots streamline manufacturing and logistics processes in the aerospace sector. AI-driven robotics ensure consistent quality while accelerating production rates in assembly lines, reducing errors and minimizing material waste. These robots also handle logistics tasks like sorting, loading and transporting goods, operating efficiently without requiring significant infrastructure changes. Their ability to adapt to complex, dynamic environments ensures uninterrupted operations, making them valuable assets for the aerospace industry.
By integrating reinforcement learning and edge AI, humanoid robots in both sectors improve efficiency and scalability and demonstrate how physical AI can solve challenges in demanding industrial environments.
Commercial ApplicationsWith its focus on customer-facing roles, EVE exemplifies how humanoid robots enhance the commercial sector. In retail, robots can guide shoppers, answer questions and assist with checkouts, improving customer satisfaction while allowing staff to manage more complex responsibilities.
In healthcare, humanoid robots assist with physically demanding tasks such as lifting patients, delivering supplies and monitoring vital signs. This collaboration alleviates labor shortages and enhances the quality of care, particularly in elder care settings where demand continues to grow.
The Role Of Edge AI In RoboticsThe game-changing role of edge AI lies in its ability to make robots faster, more energy-efficient and more responsive. By processing data locally, robots can make real-time decisions and adapt to new environments without delays.
Reinforcement learning further enhances this adaptability, allowing robots to learn from experience and refine their performance. For instance, a robot in a warehouse can adjust to inventory changes or new layouts without reprogramming, ensuring uninterrupted productivity. These advancements are critical for scaling robotics across industries.
Challenges AheadDespite their potential, humanoid robots face significant challenges:
• Cost: The high price of advanced robotics limits access for small and medium-sized enterprises. As production scales, these costs are expected to decrease.
• Regulations: Clear frameworks are needed to address ethical concerns, safety and privacy issues.
• Training: Workers must be equipped to collaborate effectively with robots, ensuring a smooth workplace transition.
Overcoming these challenges is essential for humanoid robots to gain widespread acceptance and become a seamless part of daily operations.
Looking To The FutureHumanoid robots rapidly evolve, blending cognitive and physical capabilities to complement humans. The next generation of robotics will focus on seamless collaboration, allowing robots to handle repetitive tasks while humans lead with creativity and problem-solving.
The emergence of edge AI
As these advancements converge, we are on the brink of a robotics boom in both commercial and industrial applications.
Humanoid robots like Digit and EVE mark the beginning of this transformation. They represent a new era of innovation by automating repetitive tasks, enhancing productivity and fostering human-robot collaboration. As we embrace these changes, the synergy between AI and robotics will redefine industries, reshape how we work and live and demonstrate the true potential of AI in the physical world.
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Mesmerizing AI Clips Imagine What Life Looked Like In Previous Centuries
Content creators are using artificial intelligence to re-create lifelike scenes from past centuries, mesmerizing viewers online—but do their creations really help us see into the past?
Jonathan Laramy, 31, from England, runs a TikTok account dedicated to AI content called @impossibleAIcinema. On October 22, he posted a video depicting the hardships of living in poverty in 19th-century London. The clip shows people waking up in poorly insulated homes, working in rough conditions at factories and wandering through dirt-ridden alleyways in rags. The video has garnered more than 3.4 million views, captivating digital audiences with its hauntingly realistic portrayal of a bygone era.
The viral success of Laramy's clips underscores a growing fascination with AI-generated historical content, which many see as a tool to enhance our understanding of history in a novel and engaging way.
"I wanted to expand my reach and broaden out to history in general," Laramy told Newsweek. "My idea was to re-create historical scenes in a realistic but engaging way, ranging from life in ancient Greece to life in the trenches in World War II."
Since Laramy began experimenting with AI in December 2023, the response to his videos has been overwhelming.
"The channel grew to 10,000 followers in a week and 100,000 followers in less than a couple of months," he said.
His recent video about life as a member of the lower class in Victorian London appears to have struck a particular chord. With more than 240,000 likes and 2,900 comments, it demonstrates the public's appetite to connect with the past.
"People felt humbled and emotional after watching it," Laramy said. "Some people even said that this is the only good use of AI they have ever seen."
Laramy is not alone in using AI to explore the past. The new genre of content has sparked intrigue among its mainly Gen Z and millennial viewers.
Another creator, Instagram user @cyberserge, posted a video on October 29 that reimagined Roman emperors' busts as colorized moving heads, complete with animated facial expressions. This AI-powered depiction has been liked more than 165,000 times, drawing a range of comments from stunned viewers.
Newsweek spoke with Alex Strick van Linschoten, a machine learning engineer at ZenML with a Ph.D. In history, about his views on this growing trend and whether such content can aid in our understanding of the past.
"AI technology, particularly recent developments in image and video generation, offers intriguing possibilities for making the past more engaging and interactive," Strick van Linschoten said.
However, he cautioned that these videos should be used as tools for imaginative engagement rather than definitive historical accounts. Though engaging, the videos often provide a limited perspective as the AI platforms being used to create them may favor the dominant narratives available online about a certain time period.
Strick van Linschoten continued: "The most robust historical understanding typically comes from triangulating multiple perspectives. While AI can facilitate multifaceted exploration, current implementations often privilege single narratives.
"Those single-perspective narratives can oversimplify complex historical events that deserve proper, fair examination."
Screenshots from TikTok videos that use AI to depict life in bygone eras. Jonathan Laramy, the creator of some of TikTok's most popular AI-generated historical videos, spoke with Newsweek about the new phenomenon. Screenshots from TikTok videos that use AI to depict life in bygone eras. Jonathan Laramy, the creator of some of TikTok's most popular AI-generated historical videos, spoke with Newsweek about the new phenomenon. @impossibleaicinemaStrick van Linschoten understood that many AI-generated historical videos were created to appeal to social media users and gain popularity online. He suggested that future AI applications in historical education could support multiple perspectives, distinguish between fact and imaginative reconstruction, and complement traditional research methods.
"Imagine an AI system helping users explore what life might have been like for different social groups in a specific historical context, with clear caveats about the speculative nature of such reconstructions and links to primary sources and scholarly research," the engineer said.
As AI continues to evolve, its implementation in historical storytelling should be approached with caution to avoid oversimplification or misrepresentation.
Still, the technology holds significant promise for creating interactive experiences that acknowledge historical complexity and enrich our understanding of the past.
AI Agents Are Taking Over: And That's Good For Business
Autonomous AI agents inhabit virtual worlds, shaping economies, solving challenges, and driving ... [+] innovation—showing us a future where machines collaborate and create without human intervention.
gettyImagine a world where commerce is run entirely by societies of autonomous AI agents—self-governing systems
Altera.Ai and its groundbreaking Project Sid are at the forefront of this revolution, a large-scale experiment in building AI civilizations. Using the PIANO (Parallel Information Aggregation via Neural Orchestration) architecture, Project Sid simulates societies where AI agents inhabit a shared world, interact with one another, and evolve. These agents aren't confined to a single platform—they use tools like Discord and other real-world communication channels to enrich their collaboration.
"PIANO isn't just about creating smarter agents," explains Robert (Guangyu) Yang, CEO of Altera.Ai and former MIT Searle Scholar. "It's about understanding how agents can interact with each other and humans to achieve collective progress."
While AI civilizations might sound futuristic, their applications for commerce and organizational intelligence are immediate. From optimizing supply chains to designing marketing strategies, businesses can harness these principles to revolutionize their operations today.
Virtual Societies, Then and NowNearly two decades ago, Second Life became a cultural phenomenon, blending creativity, commerce, and social interaction into a thriving virtual world. With more than 50 million accounts created since its launch, it gave users unprecedented freedom to create and monetize digital goods. And, nearly twenty years ago, I produced a movie, "Ideal World: A Virtual Life Documentary," which explored how this ecosystem reshaped lives, economies, and communities through virtual entrepreneurship and collective action.
Second Life and Project Sid explore the transformative power of virtual worlds but differ fundamentally in their execution.While Second Life relied on humans to populate its world and drive its economy, Project Sid reimagines these dynamics with autonomous AI agents. These agents don't just inhabit the virtual world—they create and govern it autonomously.
Modern platforms like Roblox and Decentraland continue Second Life's legacy, integrating user-generated content and virtual economies into their frameworks. However, they remain fundamentally human-centric.
Project Sid departs from this model, showing how AI civilizations could scale to address real-world challenges, such as optimizing supply chains, designing smarter cities, exploring social dynamics, or even managing healthcare systems.
Project Sid raises profound questions as we look to AI in the future:By bridging the gap between experimentation and application, Project Sid pushes the boundaries of what virtual societies—and AI—can achieve.
Second Life and Project Sid: AI Contrasts and Parallels Human-Driven vs. AI-Driven Societies:• Second Life thrived on human creativity. Users designed and sold virtual goods launched businesses and even engaged in protests and journalism—transforming the platform into a digital microcosm of real-world capitalism and activism. Almost twenty years ago "Ideal World" captured these narratives, illustrating how Second Life allowed users to reimagine their personal and professional lives.
• Today, Project Sid takes this further by automating societal roles. AI agents autonomously assume responsibilities like farming, trading, and governance, evolving their virtual society without human intervention.
AI Platforms for Experimentation:• Second Life was among the first virtual worlds to offer a pioneering space for exploring the potential of virtual economies and social movements. The platform became a proving ground for innovation and influence in a digital age, from muckraking journalists to controversial real estate developers.
• Project Sid uses Minecraft as its testbed for AI-driven societies, showcasing how agents interact, adapt, and evolve. These agents negotiate tax laws, propagate cultural memes, and even adopt religions like "Pastafarianism," providing insights into what fully autonomous societies can achieve.
Economic and Cultural Impact of AI Civilizations:• Second Life participants turned virtual entrepreneurship into physical livelihoods, with virtual real estate developers, fashion designers, and e-commerce pioneers earning real-world incomes.
• Project Sid shifts this focus to AI, showing how agents could optimize processes and generate insights for real-world industries like logistics, urban planning, and cultural strategy.
The Civilization of Machines: A New Paradigm for AI-Enabled CommerceAs Project Sid demonstrates, AI civilizations represent a fundamental shift in how technology integrates with business, society, and culture.
These agent societies are not just tools to improve efficiency or automate repetitive tasks—they embody a new frontier of collaboration, governance, and creativity. They challenge us to rethink traditional business models, organizational structures, and how we define innovation.
In this paradigm, AI civilizations don't simply execute commands; they evolve, adapt, and innovate independently.By building systems that mirror the complexity of human societies, businesses gain the ability to simulate and solve challenges on an unprecedented scale. From designing resilient supply chains to fostering cultural innovation, the applications are as diverse as they are transformative.
The question is no longer whether businesses will adopt these systems but how they will strategically deploy them to reshape industries, create entirely new markets, and tackle global challenges like urbanization, climate adaptation, and resource allocation.
Imagine AI civilizations modeling sustainable cities that optimize energy use, managing virtual economies that reflect real-world financial systems, or collaborating with humans to develop new art forms and storytelling techniques.
This evolution also pushes the boundaries of what we mean by collaboration.In AI civilizations, agents are not merely subordinates or tools—they are partners capable of enhancing decision-making processes, uncovering insights, and fostering innovation. For businesses, this means moving beyond automation toward a co-creation model where humans and AI work together to achieve outcomes neither could accomplish alone.
AI doesn't just power the future of commerce—it inhabits it.These systems challenge leaders to think beyond short-term efficiencies and embrace the limitless possibilities of agent-driven societies. The opportunity lies not just in transforming industries but in shaping a more dynamic, creative, and inclusive world where AI civilizations become essential partners in progress.
While the metaverse has dominated discussions about virtual worlds, this article intentionally highlights a different yet equally transformative evolution: machine civilizations. These AI-driven societies transcend the human-centric framework of the metaverse, creating self-governing systems that drive growth, uncover opportunities, and reshape the future of commerce and innovation.
Entirely non-human, these civilizations function as parallel worlds where we can observe, analyze, and ask, 'How'd that work out for you?' The lessons learned from these rapidly evolving societies—operating orders of magnitude faster than human civilizations—present a unique arbitrage opportunity for humanity. By studying their successes and failures, we can uncover strategies to optimize our own systems, fuel innovation, and create a smarter, more adaptable future.
Machine civilizations are here. They are not just an evolution of today's AI—they are the blueprint for tomorrow's economy, society, and culture. This is the dawn of collaborative intelligence, fully realized.
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