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Matt and Val explore what happens when humanoid robots move from sci-fi to your living room. From the 1926 Czech play that invented the word robot to Tesla Optimus and Figure 03, they dig into why we are hardwired to distrust humanoids, the uncanny valley, and whether kids should say please to machines.
Two Factor Parenting is a conversation between two parents navigating technology's role in raising kids. He's the early adopter and tech optimist. She's the skeptic who asks "but should we?" Together they tackle screen time, AI, social media, and all the parenting decisions that don't come with a manual.
Two parents. Two perspectives. Raising kids in the age of screens, AI, and chaos.
April 5, 2026
00:00:13 Matt: All right, we'll get started here. Hey everybody. Welcome again to episode four of the Two Factor Parenting podcast. And we wanted to do things a little bit differently this time. how we wanted to do this was we wanted to pick a theme introduce the topic. And then Val and I have pulled together some, some questions we want to ask each other, right? it's going to be really interesting. We have not shared these questions with each other whatsoever. Right? Mhm. And, and then we're going to start kind of talking through things. so I'll introduce the topic we're talking about, robots in the home, essentially humanoids, whatever you want to call it. I'm not talking about the roombas. I'm talking about. C-3po in the room, looking at it, Human cyborg relations, whatever.
00:01:06 Val: Looking at you. Can we keep it, like, real for a minute? Because we we are a married couple. And, um, the reason we started doing this is because we approach things very differently and realized that, we had to prep really differently.
00:01:26 Matt: Yeah.
00:01:27 Val: And so once we started doing our own prep work, it kind of started becoming like not competitive, but it was like, hey, look what I'm looking at. Oh yeah, get ready. This is what my research is for.
00:01:40 Matt: Are you ready for the show? Get ready for the show. Yeah, I know So yeah, so we're hoping that comes through. Um, so we're kind of excited for this. We hope you are excited as well. so we're going to kind of dive into that. That's our topic.
00:01:56 Val: Yeah.
00:01:56 Matt: Right. So I kind of want to have an episode on this one about the thing at the white House. Whatever they're doing there with, the humanoid, the robots in there.
00:02:05 Val: That to me more. I saw the video.
00:02:07 Matt: Right? Okay. So it was really about kind of technology and education. So that was kind of the start. That was a little bit of the premise. I haven't investigated beyond that. I just saw the thing. I mean, they kicked it off with this, robot really awkward red carpet. I always love those because it feels like it's, it's like they give us the picture of right when they walk in there and it's like, we're waiting. I'm like, just roll credits or like, it's just like the longest movie ever. And we're just sitting there like any minute now. So anyway, so that robot there that we saw in that white House thing, that was the figure three. And that's what that company has done. They've done a pretty good work on us from a, you know, a US perspective of having this. And there's a couple of videos, I'll put them in the show notes so people can see what those videos look like. And of course, the other one is the Tesla Optimus, And so that one is again, same kind of thing, human sized, five foot eight, one hundred and twenty five pounds. That's what this thing looks like, and the thing that's interesting about a lot of these is they start talking about price, So this thing is about around like thirty thousand. So kind of getting up there with the Honda Civic right, of a humanoid thing in your house. and that's kind of the price point. And then honestly, if I'm being blunt, they're trying to make it even cheaper than that. Right? And I'm blanking on the name, but, Um, the advancements in China as well they're doing a lot. And there, there's another video that I'll share in here that shows them doing the chores around the house. So it's clear that there's a lot happening here. Um, now the reality too, that's really important about this one. Is there some are teleoperated as well sometimes to do this. So there's actually human control on the other side. Now they're trying to get away from that. but that's something that I'm just going to kind of kick it, kick that off is that these things are here. They're slowly coming. And I mean, we think about just kind of the advancement we've seen with other products. So like the pace is, is going. Right. So we got to start kind of thinking about this is okay. So what, what is that that that's, that's where I'm kind of starting out here. Well of like, okay, this is what's going on. I picked out two, maybe three, if you will, if you include that, the Chinese one that I'm kind of thinking about, I can't remember the name. Um, but that that's, that's what we're seeing. So not these little, little things on the floor and these little robots, um, actual humanoid things in the home.
00:04:50 Val: So this is going to be my take my immediate thought is absolutely not.
00:04:59 Matt: Yeah, I know there's.
00:05:02 Val: There is absolutely no way you're going to get me to have a robot in our house because it's going to kill us. Like, that's just. That's what they do. Like I don't. And I said this since the first minute you talked about putting a robot in the house. I was like, no, it's gonna murder us.
00:05:23 Matt: C-3po would never do that.
00:05:25 Val: You know what?
00:05:27 Matt: Human cyborg.
00:05:28 Val: Relations.
00:05:29 Matt: My breath.
00:05:30 Val: Okay. I was racking my brain trying to think about friendly robots. C-3po. Wall-E
00:05:39 Matt: Let's go. Let's go down the list. And who? The friendly ones?
00:05:43 Val: Um, the wild robot, which is.
00:05:45 Matt: Yeah.
00:05:46 Val: Which is, like iffy. Mainly because that, like, took learning for her to be. I mean, she is friendly, but.
00:05:54 Matt: Right.
00:05:55 Val: She's meant to be a helper robot. Yeah. And Rosie from the Jetsons, like, like three robots that I could think of that never once in their storyline attempted to murder their people? That was it. Every other robot I could think of that was part of the story. That robot's turning on their human people.
00:06:20 Matt: Yeah.
00:06:21 Val: Is so ingrained in science fiction. It just it's like, it just is in my brain. I'm like, that robot in our house is going to murder us. Yeah. And so that led me to my question of why do I think that? Why would I think that? Yeah. So I found a really, really, really cool podcast from the History Channel that actually answers that question.
00:06:49 Matt: Oh, well, it's like that. That's a cool one.
00:06:52 Val: Yeah, really goes into the history of it. It's really wonderful. Um, you can find it on YouTube. It is an audio podcast, but on YouTube, it kind of just scrolls almost like a PowerPoint of just kind of the same pictures over and over again.
00:07:07 Matt: Oh, okay.
00:07:08 Val: But it is an audio podcast. And so it's from the History Channel. The name of it on YouTube is called the First Robot and the Start of AI anxiety. And I guess the podcast is called history this week. So you can look it up on YouTube. We'll link it to.
00:07:24 Matt: Sounds so fascinating. I'm it's killing me that I will.
00:07:28 Val: Honestly, you should go back and listen to it. So it talks about the first iteration of the word robot, which is from a Czech word, Robotnik, which means and comes from this idea of like a serf worker, like a person who works in this like serfdom
00:07:45 Matt: I was honestly, I was waiting for you to go. A robot, a machine that kills so well.
00:07:50 Val: And so that's what they talk about in the podcast. They talk about the history because the person who invented the word robot was a Czech playwright.
00:08:00 Matt: Oh, fascinating.
00:08:01 Val: Yes. And he invented it for this play called R.U.R., which is Rossum's Universal Robots. And that was the first time that the word robot appeared in literature or any kind of like, pop culture.
00:08:15 Matt: Oh, I love it. Yes.
00:08:17 Val: And so they talk about the play. And in the play, the play is literally about.
00:08:23 Matt: Oh, good Lord.
00:08:24 Val: A robot workforce uprising. This play is one hundred years old, nineteen twenty six. It is one hundred years old. The first time we ever invent the word robots. It's about their uprising now.
00:08:41 Matt: Wait wait wait wait wait. What year was that? I'm sorry. Say it again.
00:08:44 Val: Nineteen twenty six.
00:08:45 Matt: Nineteen twenty six. Okay, so this is. This is after the Bolshevik Revolution, right? within. Definitely within that space though.
00:08:54 Val: And after World War One, right? Okay. Now, so something that you have to think about too, is literature from the twenties and early thirties to often times has themes of either like incorporating or criticizing, um, technology and industrialization.
00:09:15 Matt: Okay. If you're following along at home, this is where Val whips out her English degree. Like I was like, oh, here it comes.
00:09:23 Val: Um, which is why this play is so interesting.
00:09:26 Matt: Yeah.
00:09:26 Val: No kidding. Um, because not only do you have the industrial revolution happening, this like globally, really the invention of steel and things like that. So you have all over the place, this huge shift from farming to industry and moving to cities, things like that. So you have this huge industrial revolution and then almost on the tail end of that. Not too far afterward, you have World War One, which, as you know, Matt is a huge history buff. Um, this huge mechanisation and technology incorporating into that as well. And not only that too, you have the invention of the assembly line.
00:10:10 Matt: Yeah. I was gonna say Feeds into.
00:10:12 Val: Um, so the idea that he is writing a play about a robot workforce as a like technological, mechanized kind of thing is not really too far off the mark, but the fact that it's the first time that he literally invents this word is, is pretty significant because they're not metal machines. They're actually synthetic beings that look exactly like people. So you have the humans in the play, and then you have the robots in the play, but the robots in the play are synthetically made, and they look exactly like people, and they start off as a workforce and then they become a soldier force. Like they become utilized in this army sense. And then it jumps further along in the play. It doesn't actually show you the robot uprising, but it jumps to after. And the robots have completely taken over and it's now this like huge dystopia. And then the third act of the play is humanity has like ended. There's one human left and the robots are having this issue of repopulation. And so they are now having to deal with how do they carry on. And like I said, the podcast is really great. Um, it goes into a lot of the themes. It goes into the history of it. It goes into like global impacts.
00:11:44 Matt: This is fascinating. I mean, like that just blows my mind because I'm just like, and you know, and that playwright was the, you know, the grandfather of James Cameron. You know.
00:11:54 Val: Funny you should mention that James Cameron's. Well, James Cameron.
00:11:58 Val: Ends up in the end of the podcast because they related to Isaac Asimov, which I.
00:12:03 Matt: Don't. Right, right. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. But yeah, foundation series and all that kind of stuff. Yeah.
00:12:08 Val: And what they talk about specifically about Asimov, he writes I robot, which is a short story about robots And they talk about how influential it was because he created and they say he actually didn't like this play. He actually, which I think is so funny.
00:12:30 Val: He didn't like this play.
00:12:32 Val: But I mean, he calls his book, his short story, I robot. He's like, I don't like this play, but I'm going to use this word and talk about these robots, you know, like, so it's anyway, yeah. And in this short story, I robot, that's where Asimov creates the rules of robotics, right? Yeah. You know, robots can't hurt people.
00:12:56 Matt: Robots can't hurt.
00:12:58 Val: Themselves. Whatever. Um, and what they talk about is that like, this was a, this was a work of fiction, you know, this, this was just a work of fiction, but it has impacted Actual roboticists.
00:13:13 Matt: Absolutely.
00:13:14 Val: To where it's called Asimov's. Law and actual roboticists now will cite this as Asimov's Law of Robotics. And the guy in the podcast is like it, the law of robotics. Like he just made it up.
00:13:31 Matt: I'm curious then, like, I think about things like Arthur C Clarke and some of the stuff that, you know, are we, are we going to pull things from that as, I mean, because.
00:13:42 Val: one hundred thousand percent.
00:13:43 Matt: Because people were talking about things of, hey, we should, you know, I mean, we had the Artemis two launch and it's like, hey, we want to start thinking about, you know, a moon base now, right? And what's going to be on that moon base? A whole bunch of humanoids, right? Like, because you don't want to throw a huge chunk of humans on there. Like you wouldn't know. It's going to be mostly these robots up there doing work just to help, right?
00:14:11 Val: So, so I just kind of think about it in terms of I immediately had this reaction, no robots are going to kill us, obviously, But the idea has been so ingrained in literature, you know, TV movies like The Matrix, like come on, like it's 2001: A Space Oddessy Like I, I was thinking just back and back and back and back and back. And I was like, this idea is so ingrained that I can't help but think that, um, and not only that, there's also a psychological basis for it too, um, called the uncanny valley. And if you don't know what that is, I would actually really suggest looking at the Wikipedia article.
00:15:02 Matt: Yeah, we can decide all these.
00:15:04 Val: Yeah, I'm going to because I was, I was actually very surprised at how thorough the Wikipedia article was on the uncanny valley.
00:15:10 Matt: You get those golden nuggets.
00:15:11 Val: Yeah.
00:15:12 Matt: Golden nuggets there. There.
00:15:14 Val: I was familiar with the Uncanny Valley concept before this, but it was really interesting actually. You know, again, going through and reading the history of it, like, how did this idea start? You know, what was the research on it? And I didn't realize this, but the idea, the concept of the uncanny valley actually was originally through the context of robots. I thought it had a much further psychological, evolutionary kind of path, but it was only coined in the nineteen seventies and studied, um, as how humans relate to robots. So if you, if you don't know what the uncanny valley is, it's basically a graph and they call it the uncanny valley because as you're looking at the graph, it kind of slowly rises until it's its peak, and then it just plummets to the bottom. And then all of a sudden it kind of like dips up again. And so what it's measuring is human's ability to recognize and empathize with robots. And what they found is the less human a robot looks, the more and more a human is able to empathize with it.
00:16:36 Val: Yeah.
00:16:37 Val: And the closer and closer it gets to looking human, the more and more we start to empathize with it until. And that's where that huge plummet happens.
00:16:49 Matt: We're like.
00:16:50 Val: It looks.
00:16:51 Val: Just a little bit too human, but not quite human enough. And there's something that happens in our brains that just has a very visceral reaction.
00:17:05 Matt: That's got to be evolutionary in the fact, I'm guessing from a. Especially with like Homo sapiens. And during that time.
00:17:13 Val: Well, actually. What. Well, actually.
00:17:15 Val: They they theorized that it has more to do with like disease prevention.
00:17:19 Matt: Oh, really?
00:17:20 Val: Yeah. And I wasn't expecting.
00:17:21 Val: I was.
00:17:22 Matt: Not expecting that.
00:17:23 Val: one.
00:17:23 Val: But I think that makes sense.
00:17:25 Matt: It makes sense.
00:17:26 Val: And someone, even someone even kind of theorized that it had more to.
00:17:30 Val: Do with you.
00:17:31 Matt: Don't look so good.
00:17:32 Val: Yeah, well.
00:17:32 Val: Recognizing a corpse, like being able to recognize, oh, I need to stay away from that because it looks human, but it's definitely not Right. And so when you get to that plummeting valley, that's what your brain is telling you. It's like, oh, that's human, but it doesn't look right.
00:17:50 Matt: Yeah.
00:17:50 Val: And then it dips back up again, the less human it looks. And I think that's why we think, oh my God, that Roomba is so cute. it doesn't look human at all. And it's like, oh, little Roomba, you're stuck on a chair. And if if that's kind of hard to relate to. I feel like horror movies do this a lot and they really, really capitalize on that because if you're watching a scary movie and you see the outline or the shape of a person and you're like, oh, and then that tension, that moment when you realize, oh, that's not a human or that's not the person or, you see the person and they start like crawling or something weird, right? I feel.
00:18:32 Val: Like it's.
00:18:34 Matt: one of those cues, one of those cues. Yeah. Um, oh, they're crawling. That's upside down.
00:18:40 Val: Yeah. Horror movies.
00:18:41 Val: Do that all the.
00:18:41 Val: Time.
00:18:42 Matt: I hate when my neighbors do that.
00:18:44 Val: So I feel like actually horror movies really, really hone in on the uncanny valley a lot.
00:18:50 Matt: Yeah, that makes sense.
00:18:52 Val: Um, and it's a really important feature in getting humanoid robots. Right. And so it's interesting because Wikipedia goes through and they, they actually say that they have these certain things that people will say. And this is why I think C-3po is so interesting because they've found that if a robot has a human voice, it's more disconcerting than if a robot has a robot voice.
00:19:17 Matt: Oh, interesting.
00:19:18 Val: Yeah. Like people find it more uncanny valley if a robot has a human voice. But I'm like, C-3po is so non-threatening, and I don't know if that's because it's a movie or not, or if I.
00:19:32 Matt: Well, I think there's definitely a part of that. And like we see it and well, it would be really interesting to see like if C-3po was in front of you versus you just watch it on a screen, you know what I mean? Like you immediately know,
00:19:45 Val: Think of H.A.L. from 2001: A Space Odyssey. And he is like very off putting human voice.
00:19:52 Matt: But the human voice. But the human voice, though I know what you mean, is very monotone, like,
00:19:58 Val: Because his voice is like.
00:20:01 Matt: Whimsical and he's like, yeah, he's like, oh no, I'm going to die. Yeah. I mean, see, I think that'll be fine in the house. Because it would just be like, oh, you silly, But okay, so that's fascinating. okay, so that's where you, you're going into this. I was kind of figuring out, what's happening? what's just around the corner. So it's so interesting that we went down these different paths and you kind of went to that self exploration of why do I feel this way, right?
00:20:32 Val: And or even like, what are the barriers I really think that these barriers are why humanoid robots are just not going to be a normal thing in people's houses.
00:20:46 Matt: I humanoid. Okay. So let's, let's kind of break that down. Like when we say that you just mean in, in that shape.
00:20:54 Val: yeah.
00:20:55 Matt: Okay.
00:20:56 Val: I don't think that they will be utilized in the way that these companies want them to be utilized for home use. Right? By average people. I just do not. I think that there's too many pop culture references of robots going on killing sprees. And, and there are really deep seeded psychological things
00:21:22 Matt: No, no, no, I understood. Yeah. yeah. So but let's, let's kind of talk about this like the difference of what, what would that equivalency be? Right? Because when I think of like, well, when trains came about, not everyone was like, oh, hey, I'm gonna have a train in my backyard kind of thing. Like, you know what I mean? That wouldn't happen. So it was very much a industrial system, right? And, but when you look at cars, it's a very different dynamic. Same similar to the fact of transportation. But, you know, I mean, trains just never, they just had that single application just because of how they were built, how they're done. Would to or what your point sounds like robots would go down in that path?
00:22:07 Val: I definitely can see humanoid robots more like on a larger scale as a workforce.
00:22:15 Matt: Yeah.
00:22:16 Val: Not for individualized use, but as a workforce because again, that's just the context that they've been in.
00:22:25 Matt: Yeah.
00:22:25 Val: And I mean, not that literature like predicts the future, but.
00:22:29 Matt: It's for me, like how you've been explaining this, which is again, beyond fascinating. So thank you so much for doing that. Um, for me, I'm interpreting that as, um, there is still so many barriers that need to be broken through. If we have any hope of sticking one of these things in our home.
00:22:48 Val: Yeah. And not just for us personally, but I think for people in general.
00:22:55 Matt: No, no, absolutely, totally. That's where my frame is, is going.
00:22:59 Val: I can see them being utilized again as a workforce.
00:23:06 Matt: Yeah.
00:23:06 Val: And they already are. You know, like we have a book. It's like a Nat Geo kids book about robots.
00:23:14 Matt: Yes.
00:23:15 Val: And it was published in like twenty twelve or something, twenty thirteen. And it overall, it's a pretty good book. There's one page that I'm a little iffy on because it says robots are great workers. They don't need to eat or sleep. They just need to be plugged into a power source. And I have some feelings about reading that to the kids. I'm like, now wait a minute.
00:23:43 Matt: Well, I know clearly for me, so if you have that reasoning and you have this, this humanoid like thing, all you need them to do is read this Czech play, apparently, and then all hell will break loose. Yeah, right.
00:23:57 Val: I mean, they'll be like.
00:23:58 Matt: Hey, wait a minute. My bosses have been mean to me. Yeah. So for me, I'm like, nice try, Nat geo book. Yeah, like.
00:24:09 Val: we'll skip that page sometimes.
00:24:11 Matt: No, I know, I just ignore it. Oh, I know what you mean.
00:24:13 Val: But but I mean, but there are and it actually is a really good book just in terms of teaching the kids, because all the other pages are like, robots can do dangerous jobs that people can't do.
00:24:23 Matt: Like.
00:24:24 Val: Collect soil samples from volcanoes. They talk about Curiosity, on Mars. You know, they talk about how robots can help people with disabilities. They talk about robots can help the elderly. medical robots who can help patients with physical disabilities. So I do like it in general because they do talk about all of the ways that they can help individuals or, you know, help an individual job. But I think, again, there are just so many barriers. And I think that humanoid robots will most likely be utilized as a larger workforce.
00:25:14 Matt: So let's talk about that because that's kind of interesting because that's some of where my questions were going. Mhm. Um, now like I have a couple in here where we kind of said, okay, humanoid in the house, you know, ain't wrong, you know? Um, so the answer would be, uh, no.
00:25:31 Val: one point for Val. False.
00:25:34 Matt: Yeah. No, no. Yeah, I got it. Um, so but then, but then we're talking about kind of this like large workforce piece, right? So, so that would then also mean like, let's just say you're going to a store or something like that. And there is. There's the humanoid robot there helping, right? Would you leave your kids close to that thing or. You know what I mean?
00:25:58 Val: Like, no.
00:25:59 Matt: Right? No. You get away from that thing.
00:26:02 Val: Interestingly, though, something that they have found and this again, this is on the Uncanny Valley Wikipedia page is that the uncanny valley effect may be generational, which means that younger generations more used to robots. Now, this uses CGI as an example, but in this case, we're talking about humanoid robots. Yeah. Younger generations more used to robots may be less likely to be affected by the uncanny valley.
00:26:36 Matt: Well, that's kind of interesting. So it's like you slowly introduce it, then. Is it.
00:26:40 Val: Normal?
00:26:41 Matt: Well, you know, the.
00:26:43 Val: So if I. So if I see a robot in the restaurant, I would freak out. And I even actually made this comment to the kids that probably when we're in our eighties in the nursing home and the robot is taking care of me, I'm gonna hate it and freak out and the kids are going to be the ones saying, mom, let the robot take care of you. Yeah, I'm gonna say, no. It's gonna kill me.
00:27:07 Matt: Yeah, I know.
00:27:07 Val: They're gonna say no. It's not gonna kill you, mom.
00:27:10 Matt: And then honestly, for me, that does make sense that there's there's this openness. So like, one of the quotes I pulled out was from, um, a woman at the MIT Media Lab that talks. She's talking about kind of like we are wired to respond to social cues. And even when we know they're coming from a machine, like we just are kind of inherent to that. So for me, it's like slowly introducing these things kind of gets us more, flexible to or at least understanding of that. Right? so I got, I have more questions here though. Okay. Would you still have the child say please and thank you to a robot?
00:27:52 Val: Yes.
00:27:53 Matt: Yeah. Because you just feel like that would be a natural thing, right? So. Which makes sense.
00:27:59 Val: Um, would you.
00:28:00 Matt: For the like, please and thank you. Yeah, yeah. Of course, because just in case you'll remember. Hey, that kid, they said, please.
00:28:09 Val: Don't murder them.
00:28:10 Matt: Yeah, exactly.
00:28:11 Val: In the uprising.
00:28:12 Matt: Exactly. You know, it's a win win. You're always gonna win on that one. Wait, wait. Not that kid. They were nice to me. Yeah.
00:28:26 Val: I feel like I have talked about.
00:28:28 Matt: You're like, wait a minute.
00:28:29 Val: I have said that word a lot in this podcast. And I don't mean to make light of that, but but again, I've clearly talked about how there's a foundational basis for this fear. Okay.
00:28:43 Matt: Please don't hate me for having these. Yeah, I read a Czech play long time ago. It's a foundations. No. Okay. Like, I mean, I know we kind of talked about like, not just not them in the home, but if they are in the home, what, what happens when they break or get upgraded or that kind of stuff? I mean, those are some of the questions I'm trying to think about is, okay, so if the kids start interacting with them, then.
00:29:11 Val: I would view it as more of a pet, honestly.
00:29:14 Matt: Okay.
00:29:14 Val: if okay, first of all, if, if, big, if I would view it as more of a relationship, like you would have a pet.
00:29:25 Matt: Mhm.
00:29:25 Val: Clearly you are respectful to a pet.
00:29:29 Matt: Yeah. You treat it kindly.
00:29:31 Val: You treat it kindly. And that is just as much for your kid's development. I mean, that that really is for your kid's kids development.
00:29:38 Matt: Yeah.
00:29:39 Val: You know, teaching them how to treat others like, there are other people in this world and you have to treat others with kindness and respect.
00:29:48 Matt: Yeah. The community element of it. Yes. Right.
00:29:50 Val: And so just because a machine can talk back in the way that an animal can respond to you. Does this sound I like animals, I just want everybody to know that I do like pets and animals.
00:30:08 Matt: Yeah, yeah.
00:30:09 Val: Okay. I don't want it to sound like I don't. Yeah. Um, in a way that an animal can give you cues we know that animals can, process and respond to us. You show them kindness and respect because that's what you do. You know, like that's for your children's growth and development and the basis of their foundations for how to treat their friends, how to treat their partners. You know how to treat their own kids later on. So if there was a robot there, I would probably instill those same values.
00:30:46 Matt: Would you let them name it?
00:30:47 Val: I would let them name a pet. So yes.
00:30:50 Matt: So I was curious.
00:30:51 Val: In the same way that you've named Winston.
00:30:53 Matt: Well, yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah.
00:30:55 Val: Probably.
00:30:56 Matt: Okay.
00:30:57 Val: But again, with this understanding of it, and I feel like the context of a pet is probably the best way to view it.
00:31:05 Matt: Yeah.
00:31:06 Val: and I feel like that just really crosses a boundary too, because we just talked about this thing is not thinking, it's not feeling, it's not actually, responding emotionally to you and how difficult those conversations are to have with the kids. And so to have it in your home with you all the time, you know that that really just breaks this.
00:31:32 Matt: fourth wall screen. I think it's a really good way to put it. Yeah, the fourth wall is broken. Once that happens.
00:31:39 Val: And that even makes it more real because now it has a face, now it has a body, you know? And I just feel like that boundary would be so hard to step back from once you've introduced it. Even for adults. Honestly.
00:31:56 Matt: No. I think the thing that's really interesting here is this kind of industrial path and the application there because Because if it's in, if it's from like a corporate perspective and in these different corporate spaces, you will be interacting with these things with your kids, right? You will be working through some of these things but thankfully it'll be in kind of like micro events, you know what I mean? it's not going to be like it's in your house yet.
00:32:28 Val: Well, we just talked to a neighbor who said they went to a restaurant and the waiter was a robot, and you followed the robot over to your table.
00:32:35 Matt: But that would be like being at like BJ's, right? And the little thing is like.
00:32:38 Val: Yep, if we go to BJ's and we and we talk to it, we're like, there's the robot. It's it's like a inventory scanner, but it rolls around on a little Roomba and they put little eyes on it that blinks But again, the kids are used to it
00:32:54 Matt: Yeah. But it doesn't have arms and it.
00:32:56 Val: Doesn't have arms. I really. Yeah, I think that would be too much. Also, also every video you've ever shown me and I feel like I want to make this point, every video that I've ever seen of all these robots cleaning and like vacuuming and doing the dishes, everything is already clean. Like if I can see a robot actually in a house that has stuff on the floor, like kids shoes, Papers from the folder and like dishes in the sink
00:33:32 Matt: Is that the test? Is that is that what we're setting out into the universe? Yes. It's okay. Wait, wait.
00:33:37 Val: So put a robot in our house like dishes in the sink that actually have to be washed before they go in the dishwasher. You know what I mean? Every video I see, it's always the most pristine you got. It's like, wow, look at what this thing can do. I'm like, but what is it doing?
00:33:56 Matt: I know, I know, I get that, I get that and, you know, the funny thing is that was actually another one of my questions for you was, but this is why I love this is what would it have to do perfectly that allow you to welcome into the house? And it sounds like that's the test. it it's like, here's the chaos, get in there. And it's just like rolls up. It's, you know, little mechanical sleeves there and then gets to work. Kind of thing, man.
00:34:23 Val: If it could, like pick up Legos, if it.
00:34:28 Matt: Can you imagine it? Like stepping around. And then just going like. Ah. God. Not again.
00:34:39 Val: I want to see a robot step on a Lego or like.
00:34:43 Matt: This is where I would actually love the C-3po sarcasm. Oh Lord. Yes.
00:34:49 Val: Or like it steps on like a marker that's on the floor and it slips and fall because.
00:34:56 Matt: Because.
00:34:57 Val: Because there are markers everywhere. You know what I mean? Like, that's the kind of stuff that I'm like, we're really far away from these things. Being in people's houses. Like there is so much that needs to happen.
00:35:12 Matt: Yeah, no, I understand, I understand. I think I think to your point, I mean, like, it's definitely like an industrial kind of phase that we're going to go through. I think you're spot on there. It's I think it's going to really connect. Um, and yeah, before we get to that point, and I think that starts to, it does two things right. It gets people starting to understand that these things are here actually helps us get through some of the uncanny valley piece of this as well that we start to go. Yep. There's that thing there. Um, and then, and then it kind of opens the door to lower the cost, these things to be more accessible for people and all that kind of stuff. Um, but yeah, that's just fascinating.
00:35:54 Val: The only other point that I wanted to make, because it relates to children and parenting and a lot of these, again, a lot of these companies are promoting these robots as like, oh, have them in your home to do your chores. There is a real benefit to letting your children do chores.
00:36:15 Matt: Yeah.
00:36:16 Val: There is a lot of research that goes into that. Um, you can look at parenting books. You know, we allow our children to do chores, Mhm. Um, and we have since they were young. Yeah.
00:36:31 Matt: Started doing chores pretty early.
00:36:33 Val: Yeah. And we pay them so there are a lot of skills that children can learn by doing chores around the house that are age appropriate. And it doesn't have to be the entire chore. Like for example, I fold the laundry, the kids put it away. Yeah. Um, or just putting away the plastic stuff, you know? And then a grown up can do the glass. You know, things like that. But a regular chore that they get regularly rewarded for. my mom actually gave us a, gave me a pamphlet that it was self-published like thirty years ago, but she used it with us. And so, yeah, I don't even know how to reference it. This guy just self-published, but it was how to raise responsible children. Mhm. And one of one of the suggestions about chores was, you know, you have your everyday chores that everybody has to do because they're part of living in a house. Picking up your stuff, right? You clean up your, your messes, whether that's cleaning up the table, cleaning up your room, whatever, cleaning up after yourself. And then you get your chores that are like getting allowance for.
00:37:46 Matt: Yeah.
00:37:47 Val: Um, those are not everyday chores. Things like taking out the trash, emptying the dishwasher, doing laundry, taking care of a pet. Yeah. And then there's like extra stuff that might be different mowing the lawn, helping with yard work, you know, babysitting, whatever. Um, and so that reward is a little bit more. So, you know, thinking about chores in terms of being age appropriate and in terms of rewards, but consistent rewards, and there are so many other parenting books, you can look at that. But I think that focusing on adding a robot to do all of that actually can take away from that part of kid's development.
00:38:31 Matt: Well, you know, the thing is interesting with the whole AI push, I mean, because if you go listen to all the CEOs, they're just like, you'll never have to work again. And then the question then becomes exactly to that point well, then what's the purpose? Right? Like, what do we then do? How do we find value in our lives? And, you know, if we're not doing some of these things, like I'm not saying you should work until you're ninety five, you know, but it's like, how do you find joy in life, right? How do you find those things? And the thing that I was connecting to a lot with what you're saying was, and we've said this on, you know, a couple episodes before is learn to human first, right? Because it's such a core thing of your existence and I think it's probably connected from an evolutionary perspective of like helping your, your tribe, your, your space. Yeah.
00:39:26 Val: Like you're a part.
00:39:27 Matt: You're a part of something, right? And I think that just kind of comes to that core. the thing I come back to what we've talked about before, you mentioned it is this is a tool and that's where we have to kind of come back to that. Now, the challenge, though, is with the fourth wall being broken, right? It's, kind of and I appreciate your, your connection to the pet part. I think the hard part even then is it doesn't feel, I mean, I think about like your cats, my dogs, you know, because there was a point where the dog, for me, when we would snuggle, right, it was clear that there was a connection there, a reciprocal. There was a thing. We were clearly connecting together. Yeah. There was something happening for both of us that was mutually beneficial. until there's some element of like, I can give C-3po a hug. He'd be like, oh, that was good. you know, I think about, I think about like, um, uh, Star Trek, like with data is a great one.
00:40:28 Val: Oh, data is another good one.
00:40:30 Matt: It's a.
00:40:31 Val: Great one. Never tried to.
00:40:32 Matt: No, he did. He totally did. Oh, shoot, that was really good, that one. But yeah, there's a couple episodes where it's just like. Resistance is futile, you know, and you're like, oh, whoops, there's a couple of points where you're just data had a couple zingers there. Um, he's like, oh, I'm gonna kill everybody.
00:40:51 Val: Um.
00:40:52 Matt: But, but there's other things where you had like the emotion chip and all that kind of stuff. so if they don't have that element there, then, it almost feels better to just go back to the tool idea. Yeah. And go like, no, it's just a tool. And we just, we can name the tool. Um.
00:41:09 Val: Like people name their car.
00:41:11 Matt: Yeah.
00:41:11 Val: Or Roomba.
00:41:12 Matt: I'm like, like you name your hammer and what?
00:41:16 Val: Mjolnir
00:41:17 Matt: Yeah, exactly. Oh, no. But but I think that's how you would kind of, you know. Break that apart. Right. And to have a better way of how do you kind of introduce that. And kind of talk through it. Oh, God, that was fun. I'm not gonna lie. I know I really enjoyed that.
00:41:35 Val: I can't wait to like.
00:41:36 Matt: I'm like, what's our next topic?
00:41:38 Val: I know I wanted to share that podcast with you. Because I think it was fun.
00:41:41 Matt: Yeah, we'll drop it in the notes. We'll put that all in there. Um, so we'll, we'll cite everything there. Um, but yeah, hope you all enjoyed this as well with us. Um, but yeah, we'll See you next time.
00:41:54 Val: Thanks.