Sci-fi has shaped our imagination to see robots as threats destined to go rogue. Robocop, Terminator, Black Mirror. Ava. The list goes on. This narrative has done us a disservice. It has over-alienated us from the idea that robots can be companions, not just tools – interaction becomes dystopian. Uncanny faces, exposed joints, and movements that feel human, but not quite right.
Most humanoid robots still look unnatural. They remind us more of mechanical factory arms or military hardware than anything we'd want in our homes. But that's starting to change. The flagship robot, "Yogi", from Cartwheel Robotics features friendlier, softer aesthetics that make people want to engage. A cute cartoon character, not the Terminator. Big eyes, rounded shapes, intentional cuteness1. Apple is releasing lamps with character. Emotional intelligence is being explicitly trained2.
We've witnessed this shift at Ludus Labs. When we take Lennon, our robot dog, for a Saturday walk, people don't run away. They smile. They stop. They ask questions. Sure, we hear the occasional "What about Black Mirror?", but it's often with a laugh, not fear. The real reaction is curiosity. You can see it in their faces: "Wait... what's her name? Can I pet him?"
And that curiosity is the antidote to decades of sci-fi-induced skepticism.
It's a pattern with precedent. When elevators first got rid of operators and went fully automatic, people were terrified. Some refused to ride them. It took decades (and a labor strike3) for push-button elevators to become normal4. Same with cars: early automobiles were so frightening that some cities required them to have someone walk ahead waving a red flag5. And yet today, we don't just accept cars, we are amazed by them. There are entire subcultures and sports like Formula 1 built around speed and engineering.
Humans resist at first, but over time, we adapt, we embrace, and occasionally, we fall in love.
This is exaggerated in the physical realm. We've embraced electricity, phones, and the internet without much trepidation. But when machines move, mimic us, or act autonomously, we experience a visceral response. Embodiment makes it real. Embodiment makes it exciting.
Interestingly, this cycle seems to be more prevalent with physical tech. People have largely embraced electricity, phones, and the internet without much hesitation. But when machines move, mimic us, or act autonomously, they trigger a visceral response like elevators or cars did. Embodiment makes it real. Embodiment makes it exciting.
We believe that as humanoids go through this cycle and concern fades people will naturally want to see what's possible. AI sports will be that outlet. In the physical world, there is a thousand-year history celebrating peak human performance with the Olympics. Now there is room for intelligent, autonomous agents competing in entirely new ways. We will cheer the engineers pushing the frontier of physical intelligence and, eventually, the AI athletes themselves. That's the promise of AI sports.
This is the focus of Ludus Labs: not robots that work for us, but ones that play, compete, and entertain. A world in which AI becomes part of culture, not as a threat, but as a spectacle.
Sci-fi skepticism is already fading for curiosity. AI sports is where the curiosity will thrive.