December 24, 2025

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

58 minutes

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.

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