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Forward Analysis

What happens
when robots think.

Forward-looking analysis on humanoid systems, AGI convergence, the economics of automation, and what it all means for how we work and live. Considered, evidence-based, and honest about uncertainty.

Editorial note

Forward-looking analysis is inherently speculative. We try to be transparent about what is grounded in current evidence versus what is extrapolation or informed opinion. Articles in this section are labelled accordingly — Look for "Analysis" (evidence-grounded), "Perspective" (argued opinion), and "Horizon" (longer-range speculation).

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Theme
Humanoid Robots
All humanoid articles
Analysis

The humanoid race: why every major AI lab is now also building bodies

Something shifted in 2024. OpenAI, Google DeepMind, and a wave of well-funded startups all moved from software-only AI products towards physical embodiment. We examine the technical logic behind this convergence — and what it tells us about where general intelligence is heading.

February 2025Intermediate
Explainer

Why is building a humanoid robot so hard? The mechanical and computational challenges

January 2025
Analysis

Tesla Optimus vs Figure 01 vs Atlas: a technical comparison of the leading humanoid platforms

December 2024Intermediate
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Theme
AGI & Robotics Convergence
All convergence articles
Perspective

The embodiment hypothesis: why some researchers believe AGI requires a physical body to function

A growing strand of AI research argues that general intelligence cannot emerge from text prediction alone — that it requires the kind of causal, sensorimotor grounding that comes from interacting with the physical world. We examine the argument and its critics.

January 2025Advanced
Analysis

Foundation models meet physical systems: what RT-2 and its successors actually demonstrate

Google's Robotics Transformer 2 was the first system to show that a model trained on internet-scale text and images could transfer that knowledge to physical manipulation tasks. What it proves, and what it doesn't, is more nuanced than the headlines suggested.

November 2024Advanced
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Theme
Society & Work
All society articles
Analysis

What the economics literature actually says about automation and employment — a clear-eyed summary

The public debate about robots taking jobs generates enormous heat and remarkably little light. We survey the empirical evidence from labour economics — what has happened in industries where automation has already arrived, and what the models predict for what comes next.

January 2025Intermediate
Perspective

Who owns the robots? On the political economy of automation and wealth concentration

December 2024Intermediate
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Careers in robotics

How to enter and build a career in the industry — coming Q2 2025.

Horizon forecasts — 2025–2035
2026

First commercial humanoid deployments in warehouse environments at scale

Multiple competing platforms capable of unstructured pick-and-place tasks in real logistics environments, supervised but not directly operated by humans.

High confidence
2028

Robotic systems performing unsupervised soft tissue surgery for defined procedure classes

Regulatory frameworks in at least two jurisdictions permitting limited autonomous surgical operations for low-risk, well-characterised procedures.

Medium confidence
2030–35

General-purpose domestic robots available as a consumer product category

Not science fiction general-purpose robots — but systems capable of a defined set of household tasks (dishes, laundry, basic cleaning) at a price point below $30,000.

Speculative
Stay Current

The field moves fast. Keep up.

Monthly dispatches on robotics research, industry developments, and educational resources.