Those "Robots Doing Stuff" Videos are Actually of Human-Piloted Robots

This probably wasn’t purposeful deception, just sloppy presentation. Basically there’s 40 different “Robots Doing Stuff” videos on YouTube, showing robots performing complicated tasks like soldering:

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Because the company behind the videos and the robot is called Sanctuary AI, you could be forgiven for assuming this is an AI-driven robot performing the task autonomously. The description only says “Soldering two wires together isn’t as simple as it might look. Achieving a permanent and reliable physical and electrical connection that can stand up to the various environmental considerations takes the right preparation, equipment, technique, and practice.”

It’s only at the bottom of the description that you might spot the fourth hashtag:

“#RobotsDoingStuff #Humanoid #GeneralPurposeRobot #TeleOperation”

Then, if you search through the company’s channel, you’ll find a video entitled “Sanctuary AI Teleoperation Explanatory Video for General-Purpose Robots.” Yes, that robot is piloted by a human:

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So Sanctuary AI has been working on humanoid “general-purpose” robots, which at this point do not appear to be autonomous. You have to suss that out for yourself, as the language on their website is kind of murky, citing their “pioneering AI control system.” They write that in addition to human-piloted functionality, their robots will be “Supervised by people while using the robot’s built-in Carbon™ AI control system to observe, assess, and act on tasks.”

Am I the only one this sounds vague to? They could probably benefit from having another AI, ChatGPT, clarify the copy a bit.

GPT’s reaction to this article:

As an AI language model, I don’t have personal opinions on articles, but based on the information provided, it seems that the article is pointing out that the presentation of the robot’s capabilities may have been misleading, as it was not explicitly stated that the robot was being piloted by a human. The article suggests that the language used by the company on their website is also unclear about the level of autonomy of their robots. Overall, the article highlights the importance of clear communication and transparency in presenting new technologies.