"When will the 'ChatGPT moment' arrive in the robotics industry? While humanoid robot technology is rapidly advancing, it will be difficult to see robotic assistants that can move freely and help with household chores next year, the year after, or even five years from now. Robots will not replace humans but will play the role of 'intelligence amplifiers' that assist human tasks and enhance capabilities."
Ken Goldberg, a professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research at the University of California, Berkeley, and Chairperson of the AI research institute, delivered a keynote speech on the topic of "The Productivity Revolution Led by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotics" at the country's largest tech conference, SMARTCLOUD SHOW 2025, held at the Westin Josun Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 27th.
Professor Goldberg, an expert in the field of robotics, noted that while there has been remarkable progress in task-specific and humanoid robots due to advancements in generative AI in recent years, it is still a long way off before robots, like the ones seen in science fiction movies such as Star Wars, become popular. He stated, "The robots we dreamed of as children are 'human-like' robots that help with various household chores and errands and sometimes play with us. However, at this stage, the best option is a robot vacuum cleaner that cleans floors, and it will be difficult to see a universal humanoid robot in the coming years."
Big tech corporations predict that the next generation of AI innovations will occur in physical realms, including robotics. Jensen Huang, the CEO of NVIDIA, said, "After generative AI comes physical AI," adding that "a 'ChatGPT moment' will come to the robotics industry." He explained that just as ChatGPT caused seismic shifts in the AI market since its emergence in 2022, the integration of AI with physical systems like robots will lead to a leap in the robotics industry.
Professor Goldberg projected that, for the time being, robots specialized in specific tasks will be utilized to support work. This is mainly because there are currently no robots capable of autonomously performing tasks from start to finish without human intervention. Surgical robots used by surgeons are a prime example. He noted, "So far, there have been over 2 million surgeries utilizing surgical robots, but all were directly operated by humans," adding, "Surgical robots will always play an 'assistive role' for doctors, and complete automation is still a distant goal."
The same applies to the recently spotlighted autonomous vehicles. He stated, "Waymo is operating unmanned autonomous taxis in San Francisco, but in still problematic situations, human intervention occurs remotely," indicating that complete autonomy is still a long way off.
Professor Goldberg emphasized that robot technology specialized in specific tasks holds high potential for applications in the rapidly growing e-commerce field. He mentioned, "When we order products online, corporations like Amazon retrieve and package items from massive logistics center warehouses," stating, "They are currently developing robots that can take over this monotonous task."
Unlike humans, robots do not possess refined capabilities for picking items off shelves or from boxes. To address this issue, Professor Goldberg co-founded Ambi Robotics with doctoral students. Ambi Robotics has been working on the task of picking up and sorting packages of various shapes and sizes, a technology that has attracted interest from Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon. The robot developed by Professor Goldberg's research team successfully demonstrated the ability to pick up and move over 300 items, prompting Bezos to say, "This is a problem we must solve." Amazon has been focusing on robot development for logistics centers, launching its latest robot model, Vulcan, equipped with a 'tactile' function last May.
In this context, Professor Goldberg assessed that the concern about job loss due to the advancement of AI-powered robots is excessive. He stated, "Robots can easily lift heavy loads and are capable in many areas, but humans still excel in empathy, dexterity, agility, and skill." He predicted that, in this aspect, robots and AI will not replace humans but contribute to amplifying their capabilities.
He added, "Robots and humans have a complementary relationship, which I refer to as 'intelligence amplification (IA).' Just as Spock from Star Trek symbolizes logic and reason while Captain Kirk symbolizes empathy and intuition, when the two abilities combine, we can achieve greater advancement."
Finally, Professor Goldberg referenced the Korean expression "complementarity (相補性)" and remarked, "This is precisely the future where robots and humans will walk together."