Ryan Julian is a research scientist in embodied AI. He worked on large-scale robotics foundation models at DeepMind and got his PhD in machine learning at USC in 2021.

In our conversation today, we discuss…

What makes a robot a robot, and what makes robotics so difficult,
The promise of robotic foundation models and strategies to overcome the data bottleneck,
Why full labor replacement is far less likely than human-robot synergy,
China’s top players in the robotic industry, and what sets them apart from American companies and research institutions,
How robots will impact manufacturing, and how quickly we can expect to see robotics take off.

O*NET’s ontology of labor: http://onetcenter.org/database.html

ChinaTalk's Unitree coverage: https://www.chinatalk.media/p/unitree-ceo-on-chinas-robot-revolution

Robotics reading recommendations: Chris Paxton, Ted Xiao, C Zhang, and The Humanoid Hub on X. You can also check out the General Robots and Learning and Control Substacks, Vincent Vanhoucke on Medium, and IEEE’s robotics coverage.

Today’s podcast is brought to you by 80,000 Hours, a nonprofit that helps people find fulfilling careers that do good. 80,000 Hours — named for the average length of a career — has been doing in-depth research on AI issues for over a decade, producing reports on how the US and China can manage existential risk, scenarios for potential AI catastrophe, and examining the concrete steps you can take to help ensure AI development goes well.

Their research suggests that working to reduce risks from advanced AI could be one of the most impactful ways to make a positive difference in the world.

They provide free resources to help you contribute, including:

Detailed career reviews for paths like AI safety technical research, AI governance, information security, and AI hardware,
A job board with hundreds of high-impact opportunities,
A podcast featuring deep conversations with experts like Carl Shulman, Ajeya Cotra, and Tom Davidson,
Free, one-on-one career advising to help you find your best fit.

To learn more and access their research-backed career guides, visit 80000hours.org/ChinaTalk.

To read their report about AI coordination between the US and China, visit http://80000hours.org/chinatalkcoord.

Outro music: Daft Punk - Motherboard (⁠YouTube Link⁠)

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