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On March 18 Nvidia, the U.S. maker of advanced AI chips, systems, and software, announced GROOT, a foundation model for humanoid robots, a development that underscores how quickly human-like robots that include generative artificial intelligence features are advancing.

The worldwide market for humanoid robots is forecast to be bigger than analysts in Goldman Sachs Research expected even a year ago. The prospects for machines that help with everything from folding laundry to handling hazardous waste have improved as progress in artificial intelligence accelerates and investment in the sector grows faster than anticipated. The total addressable market for humanoid robots is projected to reach $38 billion by 2035, up more than sixfold from a previous projection of $6 billion, according to the Goldman Sachs report.

“I think we are still a little way from the tipping point since we don’t yet have a low-cost platform at scale,” says robotics and AI expert Dr. Ayanna Howard, the Dean of Engineering at Ohio State University. “I think we are about a year to three years away from that. When we get there, these robots will begin to displace the factory floor’s lower skill manual jobs, but it will not yet replace the knowledge worker, at least not immediately.” (For more of Howard’s views on the evolution of AI-powered robotics read The Innovator’s Interview Of The Week.)

Given the potential impact on jobs its no surprise that on March 28 the Robotics4EU project published a Responsible Robotics Advocacy Report that outlines a strategy for promoting responsible robotics development in the European Union. The report talks about the impact on the workforce and underscores the need for a distinct approach to physically embedding intelligent systems into robotics solution as there are fundamental differences between robotics and AI systems, particularly in areas such as safety, privacy, cyber-security, and sustainability.

Cisco commercials that ran in 2000 asked, “Are you ready?” for the Internet, a transformative technology that truly changed the way we work, live, learn and play. Today, the question companies ought to be asking themselves is, “Are you ready?” for the next disruptor in technology – AI.
After Microsoft announced it was investing $10 billion in OpenAI in January 2023, the world quickly realized the potential for this technology to disrupt everything it touches – and as such, companies had to declare their stance on AI and their plans to embrace it. In the months following, leaders had to report where they were in the implementation of AI, and decide whether their organization was going to be a beneficiary or a victim of this transformation.
Now, we are at the crossroads of a gold rush and a fear rush. AI is essential to every company’s strategy, regardless of size; but despite the universal need for an AI strategy, there is not a clear roadmap for how companies should deploy it. As we encounter a speed of change unlike anything we’ve ever seen, there will undoubtedly be plenty of opportunities and challenges – how leaders navigate will determine who wins and who loses in the Age of AI.

Paying subscribers can access the rest of former Cisco Executive Chairman John Chambers' exclusive column for The Innovator to learn how he advises leaders to not only survive but thrive during this period of transformation.

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Valuation of advertising start-up The Brandtech Group after raising new funds to disrupt the traditional advertising industry by using artificial intelligence to create marketing campaigns. Advertising agencies such as WPP and Publicis are now investing hundreds of millions in developing AI services to offer to clients, which can dramatically reduce the cost and time taken to create advertising campaigns. However, the shift to using generative AI threatens thousands of jobs in the industry, and investors in these companies are concerned over the impact on their businesses from its use. “The mobile phone made everyone a creator — gen AI makes everyone an ad agency — that may not be very good news for traditional legacy agencies with 100,000 employees, but it’s going to be great for the world of marketing in general,” Brandtech Group CEO David Jones, a former Havas chief executive, told the Financial Times.