Meta's rumored humanoid robot is another AI services Trojan horse — and this is how you end up paying for the robot and AI revolution

Your robot best friend will come with an important, hidden cost

Opinion By Lance Ulanoff Published 3 November 2026

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Meta might be building a 4.5ft-tall, 106lb humanoid robot that could look you in the eye, mimic human expression, and be a help around the home — a description that would fit almost any consumer-grade, humanoid robot from almost half a dozen companies. The report from The Information adds, though, that this bot will be " a physical embodiment of Muse."

Rarely has anyone put a finer point on why companies like Tesla, Meta, Unitree, Figure, X1, and Boston Dynamics are now racing to deliver home companion, assistant, and janitorial robots into homes.

These robots will essentially be Trojan horses for the increasingly unpopular AI systems these robotics companies, and their frontier and LLM partners, desperately need consumers to adopt to justify the hundreds of billions of dollars they are pouring into every part of the AI sector.

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In the US, we sit on the precipice of a midterm election in which AI and data centers are, mostly indirectly, on the ballot. Voters are all but asking for an AI litmus test for candidates: where do they stand on the rapid expansion of data center construction? Obviously, it's not just the data centers. Voters are concerned about AI's role in misinformation, infrastructure security, as well as its role in the rapid deconstruction of the job market and workplace.

In short, AI is, for many (though certainly not all), if not a villain, then certainly something to be examined critically.

If more than half of Americans are at least "concerned" about AI, companies like OpenAI, Meta, Claude, and others may soon face a backlash that results in people pulling away from the use of chatbots and AI agents like Meta Muse.

AI and robotics — perfect together

Perhaps robotics faces some of the same challenges. Science fiction has played its role in making many fear the robot uprising. Still, social media is lately filled with humanoid robotics feats of dexterity, dancing, and even terrifying fighting skills. People might be worried about Terminator, but can't help but be intrigued by a tireless android ready to take on all your least favorite chores.

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