What is the ultimate goal of creating humanoid robots? Is it solely for productivity, or to fulfill our 'creator's' desire?

Hello! This question immediately transports us into a sci-fi movie scene, yet it's truly a core issue that all robotics scientists and enthusiasts have been pondering. I believe the two points you raised – "productivity" and "creator's desire" – are spot on, but they might only represent two facets of the answer.

Let's consider this from a more multi-dimensional perspective.

First, the Most Direct Goal: Integrating Robots into Our World

The productivity you mentioned is the most practical and grounded aspect here. But why make them "humanoid"?

Imagine our current world: from the height of stair steps and the design of doorknobs to car driver's seats and factory tools, everything is designed for the human body structure.

• If a robot looks like a tank, how would it climb stairs?
• If a robot resembles an industrial robotic arm, how would it open doors or use our existing hammers and screwdrivers?

Redesigning the entire world for robots would be too costly. So, the simplest approach is to have robots adapt to our world. By building a robot roughly our height, with two legs, two arms, and ten fingers, it can directly use all our tools, navigate all our paths, and seamlessly integrate into our lives. This isn't just about replacing repetitive labor in factories; it's also about enabling them to assist in more complex environments like home services, disaster relief (e.g., walking through rubble), and healthcare.

Second, the Need for Emotion and Interaction: We Need a "Kindred Spirit"

This point goes beyond pure productivity. Humans are social animals; we naturally tend to interact with forms that resemble us.

• Companionship and Care: Imagine, in a nursing home, a robot that can converse with you face-to-face, gently pat your shoulder, or even give you a hug – wouldn't that feel much warmer than a cold, square speaker? The humanoid design inherently lowers our psychological barrier to interacting with machines.
• Intuitive Communication: We can interact with humanoid robots using body language like nodding, shaking our heads, or waving – this is the most intuitive way for us. If you point at something and say, "Give me that," a robot with a human-like body and vision can immediately understand your intention.

Therefore, the humanoid design aims to make robots better companions and assistants, not just tools.

Finally, That Ultimate Philosophical Question: Who Are We?

This is what you referred to as the "creator's" desire, but I believe it runs deeper. From the ancient Greek myth of Pygmalion to various sci-fi stories, humanity has always harbored immense curiosity and passion for "creating life" and "creating ourselves."

Behind this is essentially an ultimate form of self-exploration.

• To Understand Ourselves: For robots to walk like humans, scientists must first thoroughly understand the biomechanics of human walking. For robots to think like humans, we must delve deeper into the mysteries of the brain and consciousness. The process of creating humanoid robots is like reverse-engineering the most complex design: humanity itself. Every time we successfully replicate a human characteristic in a robot, it means our understanding of ourselves deepens a step further.
• To Explore the Boundaries of Life: What is intelligence? What is consciousness? Can machines possess emotions? These questions, once confined to philosophy and theology, have now become engineering problems that can be practiced and tested through code and hardware. Our creation of humanoid robots is akin to searching for extraterrestrial life in the universe; it's an exploration of another possibility for the phenomenon of "life."

To Summarize

Therefore, the ultimate goal of creating humanoid robots is certainly not singular. It's like a three-layered cake:

1. The Foundation (Most Practical): For productivity and utility, allowing machines to seamlessly integrate into a world designed for humans.
2. The Middle Layer (Connecting Humans and Machines): For emotional interaction and sociality, making machines companions and assistants that we can naturally accept.
3. The Top Layer (The Most Distant Dream): For philosophical exploration and self-understanding, ultimately comprehending "ourselves" by creating "them."

What you called the "creator's" desire is more like the fuel driving us to ascend to that top-layer dream. So, these two aspects are not opposing but rather represent a progressive relationship from reality to aspiration. We begin because we need a useful tool, but ultimately, we might find answers about who we are along this path.