Wanted: Humans to build robots for OpenAI – and not everyone is thrilled

Following the disbanding and reinstating of OpenAI’s robotics department over the past years and reports of OpenAI building its own robot, a series of new job listings on the robotics team suggest the company is finally ready to leap into hardware. 

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Last Friday, Caitlin Kalinowski, who joined OpenAI in November to lead the robotics and consumer hardware team, shared the first OpenAI Robotics hardware roles via an X post. These job postings include an EE Sensing Engineer, Robotics Mechanical Design Engineer, and TPM Manager. 

Clicking links to the roles yields a description of a Robotics team that is “focused on unlocking general-purpose robotics and pushing towards AGI-level intelligence in dynamic, real-world setting.” The description also describes the team’s aim to bring robotic systems from prototype to full-scale production. 

Many users are expressing unease about OpenAI delving into the robotics space. However, when one user commented, “The thought of OpenAI with hardware😬”, Kalinowski attempted to diffuse concerns, citing the benefits instead.

 “Yeah, I cannot wait!” replied Kalinowski. “Imagine being able to send a robot to do a job that’s really dangerous for a human.” 

Until now, OpenAI has developed its AI models to streamline workflows, with the next logical step being integration into physical devices to enhance user assistance. However, following examples like Elon Musk’s Tesla, which announced the Optimus humanoid robot in 2021 but has yet to release it, a market-ready robot may still be years away.

Robotics can also mean things outside of humanoid robots, including less flashy robots — such as robot vacuums — that help accomplish everyday functions. Moreover, when asked in the comments if the focus would be humanoid robots, Kalinowski said that is yet to be determined, with the initial team defining and building the roadmap.