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We may be just months away from an influx of embodied AI robots (EAI). Those are, in many cases, humanoid bots powered by autonomous AI.

Generative AI (GenAI) continues to advance with reasoning power, competing with Ph.D.-level knowledge in math and several of the science fields. We are beginning to see autonomous agents that can perform tasks that require multiple steps as well as stacked tasks that are increasingly complex. The next step seems to be to embody that knowledge and those skills.

Shaoshan Liu and Shuang Wu write in the Communications of the ACM, “Embodied Artificial Intelligence (EAI) integrates artificial intelligence into physical entities like robots, endowing them with the ability to perceive, learn from, and dynamically interact with their environment.” Liu and Wu go on to describe that the “foundational studies highlight three principles for developing EAI systems. First, EAI systems must not rely on predefined, complex logic to manage specific scenarios. Second, it is essential that EAI systems incorporate evolutionary learning mechanisms, enabling them to adapt continuously to their operational environments. Lastly, the environment plays a pivotal role in shaping not just physical behaviors, but also cognitive structures.”

Certainly, we have had robots on the assembly line, across cities providing key transportation functions, and even some designed to provide limited services in our homes. Principal Engineer Taco Cohen of Qualcomm, explains we are poised to expand the capabilities of EAI through enhanced awareness of their environment:

“While robots have proliferated in recent years in smart cities, factories and homes, we are mostly interacting with robots controlled by classical handcrafted algorithms. These are robots that have a narrow goal and don’t learn from their surroundings very much. In contrast, artificial intelligence (AI) agents — robots, virtual assistants or other intelligent systems — that can interact with and learn from a physical environment are referred to as embodied AI. These agents are equipped with sensors (cameras, pressure sensors, accelerometers, etc.) that capture data from their surroundings, along with AI systems that can analyze and “learn” from the acquired data.”

The Lamarr Institute for Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence is focused on the merging of the research and development of high-performance, trustworthy, and resource-efficient applications of Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Regarding EAI, the Institute publishes on its website: “Just as human learning is based on exploration and interaction with the environment, embodied agents must improve their behavior from experience. Thus, embodied AI brings together multiple fields, such as computer vision, environment modeling, and prediction, planning, and control, reinforcement learning, physics-based simulation, and robotics.” And, that’s just what we are seeing today.

Notably, Elon Musk earlier this month featured “Optimus,” saying of the $20,000 to $30,000 robot, “It’ll basically do anything you want. So, it can be a teacher or babysit your kids. It can walk your dog, mow your lawn, get the groceries, just be your friend, serve drinks, whatever you can think of, it will do.” That “be a teacher” caught my eye. Forbes’ Dan Fitzpatrick observed in the article “Could Elon Musk’s AI Robots Save a Troubled Education System?”:

“Could Optimus change how classrooms operate? As a teaching assistant, it could handle tasks like preparing materials and supervising students during activities. This could reduce the administrative burden on teachers, allowing them to engage more with students. In special needs education, Optimus could provide personalized instruction and physical assistance, improving the learning experience for students requiring extra support.”

In short, Fitzpatrick envisions the we in education may soon be working shoulder to shoulder with EAI in teaching, research, administration and related duties.

I would add to that list, library services. I can imagine EAI staffing the Reference Desk. Interpreting and responding to patron requests for data, pulling the relevant resources, and assisting in identifying the specific information that is sought. With multi-lingual capabilities, there is the potential for EAI to communicate effectively with those students for whom English is not their first language.

Would EAI be equally, or more effective in some cases with such services that are now provided by the Web-bound Khanmigo? In some cases, I think so. There is the potential for EAI, with careful visual and auditory observation, to interpret the level of frustration and the specific sticking point in understanding, of the students it is tutoring. Those observation abilities can elevate the engagement and quality of service beyond that of text-based apps.

In research, not only does the EAI work 24 hours a day, 365 days a year affording much greater productivity, but it can also conduct follow-up with direct phone, Zoom, or in-person interviews. The additional recorded, non-verbal information that can be gathered by such engagements may have the potential to add significantly to many research projects. Further, the multi-lingual capabilities may be useful in more complete communication than we might be able to acquire on our own.

In two or three years, I can imagine that such EAI in person or video-mediated engagements will be as commonplace as our Zoom and phone communications today. Elon Musk envisions the price-point in the neighborhood of a modest new car today will be appealing for many in the middle class. His Optimus “coming-out” party earlier this month included multiple Optimus units circulating among those attending the event as described in AI Business:

“I think this will be the greatest product ever of any kind because I think every one of the 8 billion people on Earth, everyone is going to want their own Optimus buddy, maybe two. ”Thursday night he gave attendees a first-hand experience with humanoid robots. We’re going to show tonight that Optimus is not a canned video,” he said. “It’s not walled off. The Optimus robots will walk among you. Please be nice to the Optimus robots. You will be able to walk right up to them, they’ll serve drinks at the bar … it’s a wild experience just to have a humanoid robot there in front of you.”

While Optimus is currently gaining much of the publicity, it is important to note that the largest of AI companies, including OpenAI, Google and Meta are progressing with their own research in this area. If the price point holds in the range Musk suggests, we are likely to see these EAI units in higher education even sooner than they populate private homes. Have you begun making plans for how you might most effectively use such an intelligent robot to enhance your work in higher education? Is this a topic that should be addressed by your institution before competing universities feature their use of EAI units in recruiting students to their campus?

This article was originally published in Inside Higher Ed’s Transforming Teaching & Learning blog.