When robots meet commercial reality

Implementing automation systems requires a lot of planning, time and money.

- Sarah O'Connor

"The ChatGPT moment for general robotics is just around the corner," Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang said in January 2025. This January, he said the ChatGPT moment for physical artificial intelligence (AI) was "nearly here".

ChatGPT was the fastest-growing consumer app in history, according to a report from UBS, reaching 100 million monthly active users within two months of launch. If that sort of explosive adoption is what Mr Huang meant by a "ChatGPT moment" then I think we have much longer to wait.

There have, of course, been advances in the deployment of robotics over the past year, not least the steady and impressive progress of self-driving cars. But there have also been some retreats.

US supermarket chain Kroger, for example, announced in November that it would close three of its eight robotic warehouses, which pick and dispatch orders to customers. At the same time, it said it was expanding its relationship with gig economy companies like Instacart and DoorDash, which marshal self-employed humans to act as "personal shoppers" for customers.

It's tempting to ask who needs automation when you can just have a low-paid gig worker nip to the shops for you. Although that's not entirely fair, the story does offer an insight into what happens when robots meet commercial realities.