Just when you thought your workspace was safe from the AI revolution, Apple’s Machine Learning Research team has gone and unveiled a rather expressive robotic lamp. This tabletop companion is designed to wiggle and nod its way into your heart, ostensibly solving the “crisis” of our inanimate objects lacking emotional range. We’re still waiting for a robot that’ll actually tackle the washing up—much like the more industrious concepts we’ve seen recently This AI Lamp Promises to Do Your Chores. We Have Questions. —but for now, it seems the future of robotics is more “adorable desk toy” than “mechanical butler”. It’s charming, certainly, but it’s not exactly going to help with the spring cleaning.
