Many Small Steps for Robots, One Giant Leap for Mankind

Co-written essay with Evan Beard, co-founder and CEO of Standard Bots. First “cossay” published under the not boring world paid tier. Examines the state of robotics from a practitioner’s perspective, contrasting the “small steps” approach (purpose-built robots for specific tasks) versus the “giant leap” approach (general-purpose humanoid robots).

Core Argument

Beard argues for practical, deployable robots that solve immediate industrial problems rather than waiting for humanoid breakthroughs. Standard Bots builds affordable industrial robot arms. The essay maps the robotics landscape across hardware approaches, AI/software stacks, and go-to-market strategies for different verticals.

RDCO Relevance

AI agents angle: the software layer controlling robots shares architectural patterns with data pipeline orchestration and autonomous agent design. The small-steps-vs-giant-leap framing applies to RDCO’s own approach to AI automation — incremental, practical deployments over moonshot bets.

Note: Co-authored with a portfolio company CEO (Standard Bots). Likely sponsored/promotional content.