TECH010: The Real Robotics Timeline w/ Ken Goldberg (Tech Podcast)

The Investor's Podcast (We Study Billionaires) - The Investor’s Podcast Network

Stig Brodersen

Business, Education, Investing

4.6 • 3.6K Ratings

🗓️ 24 December 2025

⏱️ 63 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Ken and Preston examine whether robotics has lost its way, echoing Rodney Brooks’ concerns. They dissect the gap between AI language models and physical robotics, focusing on dexterous manipulation, tactile sensing, and visual feedback. IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:02:37 - Why Ken agrees that robotics may have “lost its way” 00:03:37 - The critical gap between AI language skills and robotic manipulation 00:04:33 - How robot mobility is advancing, but dexterity still lags 00:08:15 - Why tying shoelaces is still too complex for robots 00:12:37 - The role of tactile sensing vs. vision in robotic surgery 00:14:45 - How camera placement in robotic hands affects manipulation 00:20:18 - Why the robot data gap could be 100,000 years behind language models 00:25:13 - Why simpler grippers often outperform human-like robotic hands 00:27:03 - The engineering behind Dex-Net and Ambi Robotics’ success 00:34:37 - How real-world testing exposed unexpected robotic limitations Disclaimer: Slight discrepancies in the timestamps may occur due to podcast platform differences. BOOKS AND RESOURCES Official website: Ken Goldberg. Website mentioned: Ambi Robotics. Research Article: Dex-Net in Science Robotics January 2019. Executive Education profile: Prof. Ken Goldberg. Ken Goldberg interview by Kara Manke: Are We Truly on the Verge of the Humanoid Robot Revolution? Goldberg on Moravec's Paradox. Goldberg on AI and Creativity. TEDx Talk: "Robots: What's Taking So Long?" Op-Ed by Ken Goldberg, Boston Globe: Let's Give AI a Chance. Research Papers are available for download. Related⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ books⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ mentioned in the podcast. Ad-free episodes on our⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Premium Feed⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. NEW TO THE SHOW? Join the exclusive ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TIP Mastermind Community⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to engage in meaningful stock investing discussions with Stig, Clay, Kyle, and the other community members. Follow our official social media accounts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X (Twitter)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Check out our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bitcoin Fundamentals Starter Packs⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Browse through all our episodes (complete with transcripts) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Try our tool for picking stock winners and managing our portfolios: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TIP Finance Tool⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Enjoy exclusive perks from our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠favorite Apps and Services⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Get smarter about valuing businesses in just a few minutes each week through our newsletter, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Intrinsic Value Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn how to better start, manage, and grow your business with the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠best business podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. SPONSORS Support our free podcast by supporting our sponsors: Simple Mining Linkedin Talent Solutions HardBlock Alexa+ Unchained Amazon Ads Vanta Shopify Abundant Mines Horizon Public.com - see the full disclaimer here. References to any third-party products, services, or advertisers do not constitute endorsements, and The Investor’s Podcast Network is not responsible for any claims made by them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	You're listening to TIP.
0:02.7	Hey everyone, welcome to this Wednesday's release of Infinite Tech.
0:06.2	Today, we're talking AI and robotics and where there's still key areas of development that
0:11.3	need some work. My guest is Ken Goldberg, a leading robotics researcher whose work bridges
0:16.6	academic AI, real-world automation, and large-scale commercial robotic systems. One of the things
0:22.7	we discuss that's super interesting is the assumption that large language models automatically
0:27.5	unlock physical intelligence. And this is an area where Ken is really well-versed and does a great
0:33.3	job explaining what that actually means. We cover what has improved like mobility and automation,
0:39.2	and what's still painfully hard, like dexterity, sensing, and real-world manipulation. This
0:44.2	is a grounded conversation about engineering reality versus expectation, and Ken is a true
0:49.1	expert in this field as you'll see in the conversation. So without further delay, I hope you guys enjoy this chat.
0:59.4	You're listening to Infinite Tech by the Investors Podcast Network, hosted by Preston Pish. We explore
1:06.1	Bitcoin, AI, robotics, longevity, and other exponential technologies through a lens of abundance and sound money.
1:14.3	Join us as we connect the breakthroughs shaping the next decade and beyond,
1:18.5	empowering you to harness the future today.
1:21.4	And now, here's your host, Preston Pish.
1:33.3	Thank you. Preston Pish. Hey, everyone, welcome to the show.
1:35.1	I am here with Ken Goldberg, and I am so excited to have this conversation because you
1:39.7	are an expert in this field of robotics and AI, and it's something that we talk about all the time on the
1:45.9	show. And it's just exciting to have somebody like yourself here today to talk about it. So welcome
1:50.4	to the show, Ken. Thank you, Preston. I'm excited to talk to you too. So before we started chat,
1:55.2	and you sent over an article that I think is very pertinent to kind of set the stage for probably most of the conversation
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Stig Brodersen, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Stig Brodersen and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.