Humanoid Robot Startups Are Hot. This AI Expert Cuts Through the Hype.

Bold Names

The Wall Street Journal

Technology

4.4 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 28 February 2025

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Ayanna Howard is dean of The Ohio State University’s College of Engineering and a top expert on two of the most hyped fields in tech: humanoid robots and artificial intelligence. Combining these technologies could allow advanced bots to take on all sorts of tasks, from helping pack boxes at warehouses, to taking care of the elderly, or even doing the dishes. But what will it take to get there, and how close are we to getting everyday robot helpers? Howard speaks to WSJ’s Christopher Mims and Tim Higgins on the Bold Names podcast. Check Out Past Episodes: Reid Hoffman Says AI Isn’t an ‘Arms Race,’ But America Needs to Win Why Bilt’s CEO Wants You To Pay Your Mortgage With a Credit Card Why This Tesla Pioneer Says the Cheap EV Market 'Sucks' Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and the AI ‘Fantasy Land’ Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at [email protected] Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Americans love using their credit cards, the most secure and hassle-free way to pay.
0:04.0	But DC politicians want to change that with the Durban Marshall Credit Card Bill.
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0:18.0	Corporate megastores will make more money and you pay the price.
0:22.1	Tell Congress to guard your card because Americans lose when politicians choose. Learn more at
0:28.1	guard your card.com.
0:31.5	Ayanna Howard is the dean at the Ohio State University College of Engineering, a former robotics
0:37.0	researcher at NASA's
0:38.3	Jet Propulsion Lab, a startup founder, and an advisor to our nation's highest officials on
0:43.8	artificial intelligence and competitiveness. She has been working on humanoid robots and the software
0:49.2	brains that power them for longer than almost anyone else in the U.S. These people-shaped bots could assist short-handed warehouse crews by packing goods
0:57.9	and delivery boxes.
0:59.3	They could help take care of the elderly or even do your dishes.
1:02.6	But think more C-3PO than R2D2.
1:06.2	Don't get technical with me.
1:08.4	That makes her an expert at the intersection of two of the most hyped areas in tech right now,
1:14.0	an insider with a unique view of what's happening in these fields.
1:17.9	Humanoid robots is the next shiny penny that's out there that tech folks and VCs, venture
1:25.0	capitals, can invest in. But I think it's also this logical, for those who aren't in robotics,
1:32.3	it seems like the next logical step around artificial intelligence and generative AI
1:37.3	is, oh, let's think about generative AI with a physical embodiment.
	...

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