An AI Robotics company called Figure AI has made significant progress in enhancing human capabilities through advanced AI. They have demonstrated their artificial intelligence’s ability to perform a crucial human task: making coffee.
Figure focuses on training robots to do everyday tasks that humans do at home and work. They claim that there are 10 million unfilled jobs in the US in sectors such as logistics, retail, and transportation, which could be filled by robot workers in the future.
Although robotic workers at scale are not yet a reality, the company is moving in the right direction.
Brett Adcock, the founder of Figure AI, revealed that their robot, Figure-01, has successfully learned how to make coffee by observing humans. Adcock explained that this achievement is groundbreaking because “if you can get human data for an application (making coffee, folding laundry, warehouse work, etc.), you can then train an AI system end-to-end on Figure-01.”
According to Adcock, it took 10 hours to train Figure-01 to use a coffee machine to make a cup of coffee, including placing the coffee pod and pressing the start button, simply by asking, “can you make me a cup of coffee?” The video posted by Adcock also shows how Figure-01 learned to correct its mistakes in the process, such as placing the coffee pod incorrectly.
Figure-01 has learned to make coffee ☕️
Our AI learned this after watching humans make coffee
This is end-to-end AI: our neural networks are taking video in, trajectories out
Join us to train our robot fleet: https://t.co/egQy3iz3Kypic.twitter.com/Y0ksEoHZsW
— Brett Adcock (@adcock_brett) January 7, 2024
Who is Figure AI?
As the debate on the ethical dilemmas of AI continues, Figure AI’s founder, Adcock, aims to use AI solely for the benefit of humanity. In what is labeled the “Master Plan” on the business’s website, Adcock writes: “I believe that positively affecting the future of humanity is the moral priority of our time.”
“In the coming age, we will see greater advancements in AI and robotics, and by contributing in the early stages, we can set the course for a positive AI future for humanity.”
The company envisions a future where AI-powered robots that can learn, reason, and interact with their environments will eventually be capable of performing tasks better than humans. They anticipate that humanoids will revolutionize various industries, from caring for the elderly to “building new worlds on other planets.”
Figure AI acknowledges that in the early stages, their applications will be in industries on Earth where labor shortages are most severe, with no immediate plans for robot workers on Mars. The company reassures everyone by confirming that their focus is on providing resources for jobs that humans don’t want to perform.
Featured Image: Figure AI, via X
