Artificial intelligence
fromFast Company
1 hour agoAI is about to invade the real world
In 2026 AI transitions from virtual information tools to physical systems, expanding real-world impact and raising stakes when those systems fail.
We're at a rare inflection point. Robots are moving from research labs and factory floors into everyday life. Right now, they're being dropped into human spaces and, often, missing the mark. Yet embodied AI is becoming more intelligent, manipulation more capable, and perception more attuned. These shifts are giving robotics a new expressive range, the ability to move, interact, and take shape in ways that feel natural in human environments. It's a moment full of possibility.
The "Butter-Bench" test, as detailed in a yet-to-be-peer-reviewed paper, is a "benchmark that evaluates practical intelligence in embodied LLM." In the test, the robot had to navigate to an office kitchen, have butter be placed on a tray attached to its back, confirm the pickup, deliver it to a marked location, and finally return to its charging dock. The results of the Butter-Bench experiment, the researchers conceded, were dubious.