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Is OpenAI Developing Robotics?

Is OpenAI Developing Robotics?

AI Breakfast
January 13, 2025

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Good morning. It’s Monday, January 13th.

Did you know: On this day in 2000, Steve Ballmer became CEO of Microsoft?

In today’s email:

OpenAI Developing Robotics
Zuck Predicts AI Engineers at Meta
Apps May Be Used By AI Agents More Than People
4 New AI Tools
Latest AI Research Papers

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Today’s trending AI news stories

New OpenAI job listings reveal the company's robotics plans

OpenAI is making a calculated return to robotics, four years after disbanding its original program. It is currently recruiting for three roles: an electrical sensing engineer, a robotics mechanical engineer, and a technical project manager. These hires will spearhead the creation of adaptive robotic systems designed to function in dynamic, real-world environments, progressing beyond simulation through iterative refinement.

Really excited to be posting our FIRST Robotics hardware roles for @OpenAI, including two very senior tech lead engineering (IC) roles and a TPM Manager.
The first role is for an **EE Sensing Engineer** to help us design the sensor suite for our robots.
The second role is for a… x.com/i/web/status/1…
— Caitlin Kalinowski 🇺🇸 (@kalinowski007)
8:07 PM • Jan 10, 2025

This shift follows OpenAI’s 2020 exit from robotics due to data constraints. However, advancements in synthetic datasets, simulation fidelity, and generative AI now provide fertile ground for innovation. OpenAI envisions robots capable of navigating the complexities of unstructured scenarios. Early partnerships, like the one with Figure AI, suggest a calculated strategy to blend hardware innovation with scalable AI systems, advancing the path toward AGI. Read more.

Mark Zuckerberg Predicts AI Will Soon Replace Meta's Midlevel Engineers

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has outlined plans to automate the work of mid level software engineers using AI, potentially transitioning coding from a highly sought-after skill to a fully automated process. Speaking on a podcast, Zuckerberg predicted that AI systems capable of performing mid level engineering tasks could become operational by 2025.

🚨 Mark Zuckerberg on the Joe Rogan podcast
in 2025, AI systems at Meta and other companies will be capable of writing code like mid-level engineers.
at first, it's costly, but the systems will become more efficient as time passes.
eventually, AI engineers will build most of… x.com/i/web/status/1…
— Haider. (@slow_developer)
7:24 PM • Jan 10, 2025

Meta also announced significant changes to its operational strategies, including replacing third-party fact-checkers with community notes and scaling back its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. While these measures highlight Meta’s push for efficiency, they have drawn criticism from fact-checking groups. Read more.

AI agents may soon surpass people as primary application users

XH4D/Getty Images

In the near future, AI agents could outpace humans as the dominant users of applications, according to recent projections. Accenture’s report highlights the seismic shift driven by AI-powered autonomy, which will see these agents taking over most enterprises' internal digital systems by 2030.

This shift, dubbed the "Binary Big Bang," began when AI foundation models broke the natural language barrier, leading to a transformation in how technology is designed, deployed, and used. The advent of agentic systems, combined with advancements in generative user interfaces and digital core infrastructure, will enable AI agents to carry out tasks once reserved for humans, amplifying the speed and scale of innovation. Read more.