Figuring out how the 'brain' will work will take a lot of time.
While OpenAI is already busy with the development of AI models and new consumer hardware, CEO Sam Altman and his team apparently have time for one more project: a humanoid robot.
On the Sources podcast, Altman explained that the human form is logical because "the world is very much designed for people." Doors, keyboards and tools are all designed around a certain type of body, and a robot that can move around in the same spaces should probably have a similar form factor. As Altman put it, "matching that form factor seems good."
When asked if OpenAI will actually build one, his response was much more succinct: "We will." However, Altman isn't so concerned with the nitty-gritty details of what that robot looks like. Those questions are "less important than really figuring out ... the brain that makes the robot work," he said. Basically, giving a machine two arms and two legs doesn't get you very far if it doesn't know what to do with them.
This is still some distance from becoming a product. Altman told Fortune: "I think we'll have a cool demo in 2027 ... I don't think there will be robots walking the streets for a few years longer." OpenAI hasn't disclosed what that demo will showcase, what its humanoid will look like or when anyone outside the company will get close to one.
The 'brain' has to make the hardware useful
OpenAI
Calling it a robot "brain" almost makes the problem sound neat, but it isn't.
A capable humanoid must be able to understand what its cameras and sensors are seeing, interpret an instruction, decide how to carry it out, coordinate its body and then correct itself when the real world introduces something inconvenient. When picking up a mug, for instance, it needs to identify the mug, find the handle, estimate the grip and exert the correct amount of force to lift it. Otherwise, you're left with a coffee spill and a floor-cleaning job.
OpenAI is already recruiting people to address those issues. Its robotics roles span motion control, state estimation, actuator control and whole-robot behavior, as well as the machine-learning infrastructure to train physical AI systems.
There's a bit of history here as well. OpenAI's Dactyl research project taught a robotic hand how to manipulate real objects, with its training done entirely in simulation. The company later applied the technique to a Rubik's Cube, an early example of the same headache that plagues robotics companies to this day: a model can learn what should happen through its software, but physics has the final say.
OpenAI still has to build the body
Kevin Frayer/Getty Images
Altman's focus on intelligence shouldn't be mistaken for OpenAI treating the hardware as an afterthought. The company's robotics job listings indicate it is working on custom electromechanical actuators that include motors, transmissions, sensing and thermal systems, while other positions cover manufacturing and the supply chain needed to eventually produce hardware at scale. That's quite a bit of work for the "less important" half of the robot.
OpenAI is also not entering uncharted territory. Tesla has been working on Optimus for years, and XPENG recently had its IRON humanoid autonomously walk off the production line after being assembled. Both are good reminders that even smart software has to coax a very complex set of motors and joints into action.
OpenAI's own plans seem to begin at a more down-to-earth level than placing a robotic roommate in every home. One of its robotics job postings states that the company's short-term objective is to create general-purpose robots that can help skilled workers build infrastructure, and its long-term goal is to develop a personal robot that can help with a much wider variety of tasks.
If you're already imagining a physical form of ChatGPT with knees doing the dishes, you may not need to remove your dishwasher just yet. OpenAI hasn't announced an actual robot yet, or a consumer price, subscription model, release date or robot-specific privacy framework. Those questions get a bit more real-world if a future OpenAI machine is equipped with cameras and microphones and allowed to roam around someone's house.
That said, OpenAI's careers page currently lists 27 robotics openings.