Chris Paxton
@cpaxton.bsky.social
AI, robotics, and other stuff. Currently AI @ agility robotics
Former Hello Robot, NVIDIA, Meta.
Writing about robots https://itcanthink.substack.com/
All opinions my own
Former Hello Robot, NVIDIA, Meta.
Writing about robots https://itcanthink.substack.com/
All opinions my own
Pinned
Why not everything in manufacturing is automated (yet)
Every few weeks I see someone wondering why so little of manufacturing, particularly in the United States, is automated. There are tons of reasons why, but it's still very difficult to set up robots to succeed: open.substack.com/pub/itcanthi...
Every few weeks I see someone wondering why so little of manufacturing, particularly in the United States, is automated. There are tons of reasons why, but it's still very difficult to set up robots to succeed: open.substack.com/pub/itcanthi...
Reposted by Chris Paxton
1. yeah, i was annoyed that no one else noticed that he isn’t actually anti pretrain scaling
2. pretrain scaling is practically his idea, so ofc he’s not against it. He just thinks there’s more pieces to the puzzle
2. pretrain scaling is practically his idea, so ofc he’s not against it. He just thinks there’s more pieces to the puzzle
November 29, 2025 at 12:51 PM
1. yeah, i was annoyed that no one else noticed that he isn’t actually anti pretrain scaling
2. pretrain scaling is practically his idea, so ofc he’s not against it. He just thinks there’s more pieces to the puzzle
2. pretrain scaling is practically his idea, so ofc he’s not against it. He just thinks there’s more pieces to the puzzle
Same robot. How it goes. They arent there yet but you can see the shape of it
November 29, 2025 at 12:03 AM
Same robot. How it goes. They arent there yet but you can see the shape of it
Reposted by Chris Paxton
My understanding is yes, they have $110 million usd in orders for robots from the world's biggest automakers. A lot of people are blind to what's happening
November 28, 2025 at 11:32 PM
My understanding is yes, they have $110 million usd in orders for robots from the world's biggest automakers. A lot of people are blind to what's happening
This is a lot of robots (UBTech)
November 28, 2025 at 11:16 PM
This is a lot of robots (UBTech)
I think this still has a chance to be my most popular blog post
Why not everything in manufacturing is automated (yet)
Every few weeks I see someone wondering why so little of manufacturing, particularly in the United States, is automated. There are tons of reasons why, but it's still very difficult to set up robots to succeed: open.substack.com/pub/itcanthi...
Every few weeks I see someone wondering why so little of manufacturing, particularly in the United States, is automated. There are tons of reasons why, but it's still very difficult to set up robots to succeed: open.substack.com/pub/itcanthi...
November 28, 2025 at 10:47 PM
I think this still has a chance to be my most popular blog post
Reposted by Chris Paxton
"I wish it was more expensive to deliver food to people who need it"
Just as you thought food delivery companies couldn't inflict any more misery on society:
Instead of using lowly-paid gig economy contractors to deliver groceries, they're replacing humans with robots, who, in turn, force humans off the pavement into road traffic.
Instead of using lowly-paid gig economy contractors to deliver groceries, they're replacing humans with robots, who, in turn, force humans off the pavement into road traffic.
November 28, 2025 at 10:40 PM
"I wish it was more expensive to deliver food to people who need it"
Reposted by Chris Paxton
I find this sort of messaging so much better than insisting that the USA is somehow poor in aggregate.
In the richest city in the richest country on the planet, the thing we can’t afford is to forget those who are left hungry.
November 28, 2025 at 9:04 PM
I find this sort of messaging so much better than insisting that the USA is somehow poor in aggregate.
This is not a real thing and will not happen
“if we don’t make S-risk profoundly disturbing, it will not sound worse than X-risk, and [our center] will then struggle to obtain large sums of money from impressionable Silicon Valley billionaires who have read a few tweets about AGI.”
From our summer intern at the Center for the Alignment of AI Alignment Centers:
"S-risk is the risk that AGI doesn’t kill us all, but instead enslaves and tortures us for eternity (the ‘S’ stands for suffering). It was awesome to learn about it."
directing.attention.to/p/ill-never-...
"S-risk is the risk that AGI doesn’t kill us all, but instead enslaves and tortures us for eternity (the ‘S’ stands for suffering). It was awesome to learn about it."
directing.attention.to/p/ill-never-...
November 28, 2025 at 10:28 PM
This is not a real thing and will not happen
I've gotta be honest the "for you" feed only shows me norvid studies posts and I still dont understand them. No complaints, easily top 3 social media app
November 28, 2025 at 10:11 PM
I've gotta be honest the "for you" feed only shows me norvid studies posts and I still dont understand them. No complaints, easily top 3 social media app
The past was worse
November 28, 2025 at 10:08 PM
The past was worse
Reposted by Chris Paxton
Two great paragraphs to internalize
November 28, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Two great paragraphs to internalize
Reposted by Chris Paxton
Great article. Ironically, dark factories might decrease over time as vision-based automation takes over
Why not everything in manufacturing is automated (yet)
Every few weeks I see someone wondering why so little of manufacturing, particularly in the United States, is automated. There are tons of reasons why, but it's still very difficult to set up robots to succeed: open.substack.com/pub/itcanthi...
Every few weeks I see someone wondering why so little of manufacturing, particularly in the United States, is automated. There are tons of reasons why, but it's still very difficult to set up robots to succeed: open.substack.com/pub/itcanthi...
November 27, 2025 at 2:00 AM
Great article. Ironically, dark factories might decrease over time as vision-based automation takes over
Reposted by Chris Paxton
Why not everything in manufacturing is automated (yet)
Every few weeks I see someone wondering why so little of manufacturing, particularly in the United States, is automated. There are tons of reasons why, but it's still very difficult to set up robots to succeed: open.substack.com/pub/itcanthi...
Every few weeks I see someone wondering why so little of manufacturing, particularly in the United States, is automated. There are tons of reasons why, but it's still very difficult to set up robots to succeed: open.substack.com/pub/itcanthi...
November 26, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Why not everything in manufacturing is automated (yet)
Every few weeks I see someone wondering why so little of manufacturing, particularly in the United States, is automated. There are tons of reasons why, but it's still very difficult to set up robots to succeed: open.substack.com/pub/itcanthi...
Every few weeks I see someone wondering why so little of manufacturing, particularly in the United States, is automated. There are tons of reasons why, but it's still very difficult to set up robots to succeed: open.substack.com/pub/itcanthi...
Reposted by Chris Paxton
This is an interesting reading
Why not everything in manufacturing is automated (yet)
Every few weeks I see someone wondering why so little of manufacturing, particularly in the United States, is automated. There are tons of reasons why, but it's still very difficult to set up robots to succeed: open.substack.com/pub/itcanthi...
Every few weeks I see someone wondering why so little of manufacturing, particularly in the United States, is automated. There are tons of reasons why, but it's still very difficult to set up robots to succeed: open.substack.com/pub/itcanthi...
November 26, 2025 at 4:56 PM
This is an interesting reading
Reposted by Chris Paxton
Underrated social phenomenon in software is how people actually use AI tools.
Most who find utility in it don’t trust outputs, verify everything (automated), and lean into how they can perform a task well if you “just tell them what’s wrong and try again”.
Most who find utility in it don’t trust outputs, verify everything (automated), and lean into how they can perform a task well if you “just tell them what’s wrong and try again”.
November 26, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Underrated social phenomenon in software is how people actually use AI tools.
Most who find utility in it don’t trust outputs, verify everything (automated), and lean into how they can perform a task well if you “just tell them what’s wrong and try again”.
Most who find utility in it don’t trust outputs, verify everything (automated), and lean into how they can perform a task well if you “just tell them what’s wrong and try again”.
People hate to hear this but the only public figure with a consistent positive view of the future is elon musk and that needs to change. Elon: our world will be green due to evs and self driving, everyone will live in a huge house with an Optimus, the sick will be cured, you will go to mars
A left without an exciting, inspiring vision of the future is one that will lose.
The idea that they "destroy communities" is absolutely absurd, and one of the top priorities of the left should be rolling out tons of solar, which is absurdly cheap now. Expensive electricity is a policy choice.
The idea that they "destroy communities" is absolutely absurd, and one of the top priorities of the left should be rolling out tons of solar, which is absurdly cheap now. Expensive electricity is a policy choice.
i think tech and ai positive people are going to be in for a big shock when anti tech and anti ai sentiment becomes a major part of leftwing politics going forward especially as datacenters continue to destroy communities and raise electricity bills
November 26, 2025 at 4:23 PM
People hate to hear this but the only public figure with a consistent positive view of the future is elon musk and that needs to change. Elon: our world will be green due to evs and self driving, everyone will live in a huge house with an Optimus, the sick will be cured, you will go to mars
This also contains perhaps my first piece of criticism of American government policy and im curious if those in the know think I am correct
November 26, 2025 at 4:19 PM
This also contains perhaps my first piece of criticism of American government policy and im curious if those in the know think I am correct
RL is definitely the trendy new thing
Also, value functions will soon be cool again! 👍 thank you pistar_0.6 .. and Ilya thinks they will be used more in the future 🙏
On emotions and value functions: youtu.be/aR20FWCCjAs?...
On emotions and value functions: youtu.be/aR20FWCCjAs?...
Ilya Sutskever – We're moving from the age of scaling to the age of research
YouTube video by Dwarkesh Patel
youtu.be
November 26, 2025 at 4:10 PM
RL is definitely the trendy new thing
Reposted by Chris Paxton
Also, value functions will soon be cool again! 👍 thank you pistar_0.6 .. and Ilya thinks they will be used more in the future 🙏
On emotions and value functions: youtu.be/aR20FWCCjAs?...
On emotions and value functions: youtu.be/aR20FWCCjAs?...
Ilya Sutskever – We're moving from the age of scaling to the age of research
YouTube video by Dwarkesh Patel
youtu.be
November 26, 2025 at 3:13 PM
Also, value functions will soon be cool again! 👍 thank you pistar_0.6 .. and Ilya thinks they will be used more in the future 🙏
On emotions and value functions: youtu.be/aR20FWCCjAs?...
On emotions and value functions: youtu.be/aR20FWCCjAs?...
Reposted by Chris Paxton
A left without an exciting, inspiring vision of the future is one that will lose.
The idea that they "destroy communities" is absolutely absurd, and one of the top priorities of the left should be rolling out tons of solar, which is absurdly cheap now. Expensive electricity is a policy choice.
The idea that they "destroy communities" is absolutely absurd, and one of the top priorities of the left should be rolling out tons of solar, which is absurdly cheap now. Expensive electricity is a policy choice.
i think tech and ai positive people are going to be in for a big shock when anti tech and anti ai sentiment becomes a major part of leftwing politics going forward especially as datacenters continue to destroy communities and raise electricity bills
Is this platform still massively against AI or has it moved more towards acceptance?
November 26, 2025 at 3:41 PM
A left without an exciting, inspiring vision of the future is one that will lose.
The idea that they "destroy communities" is absolutely absurd, and one of the top priorities of the left should be rolling out tons of solar, which is absurdly cheap now. Expensive electricity is a policy choice.
The idea that they "destroy communities" is absolutely absurd, and one of the top priorities of the left should be rolling out tons of solar, which is absurdly cheap now. Expensive electricity is a policy choice.
This thread is a reminder of how disconnected from reality a lot of the anti ai folks are. The stuff does work and is substantially better than a year ago-- my own opinions on it have actually changed quite a lot!
Is this platform still massively against AI or has it moved more towards acceptance?
November 26, 2025 at 4:02 PM
This thread is a reminder of how disconnected from reality a lot of the anti ai folks are. The stuff does work and is substantially better than a year ago-- my own opinions on it have actually changed quite a lot!
Reposted by Chris Paxton
It's genuinely a sign of progress that people have forgotten what happens when industries *actually* destroy communities
Dumping chemicals in the water
Polluting the air
Contaminating the soil
Dumping chemicals in the water
Polluting the air
Contaminating the soil
November 26, 2025 at 2:42 PM
It's genuinely a sign of progress that people have forgotten what happens when industries *actually* destroy communities
Dumping chemicals in the water
Polluting the air
Contaminating the soil
Dumping chemicals in the water
Polluting the air
Contaminating the soil
Reposted by Chris Paxton
I think the answer is “acceptance”:
most thoughtful accounts here have moved toward “AI is real, is happening, and if it has downsides we need to address them.”
However there are still several thousand accounts who hate nothing more than hearing that and will try to stop the process by brigading.
most thoughtful accounts here have moved toward “AI is real, is happening, and if it has downsides we need to address them.”
However there are still several thousand accounts who hate nothing more than hearing that and will try to stop the process by brigading.
Is this platform still massively against AI or has it moved more towards acceptance?
November 26, 2025 at 2:48 PM
I think the answer is “acceptance”:
most thoughtful accounts here have moved toward “AI is real, is happening, and if it has downsides we need to address them.”
However there are still several thousand accounts who hate nothing more than hearing that and will try to stop the process by brigading.
most thoughtful accounts here have moved toward “AI is real, is happening, and if it has downsides we need to address them.”
However there are still several thousand accounts who hate nothing more than hearing that and will try to stop the process by brigading.
Why not everything in manufacturing is automated (yet)
Every few weeks I see someone wondering why so little of manufacturing, particularly in the United States, is automated. There are tons of reasons why, but it's still very difficult to set up robots to succeed: open.substack.com/pub/itcanthi...
Every few weeks I see someone wondering why so little of manufacturing, particularly in the United States, is automated. There are tons of reasons why, but it's still very difficult to set up robots to succeed: open.substack.com/pub/itcanthi...
November 26, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Why not everything in manufacturing is automated (yet)
Every few weeks I see someone wondering why so little of manufacturing, particularly in the United States, is automated. There are tons of reasons why, but it's still very difficult to set up robots to succeed: open.substack.com/pub/itcanthi...
Every few weeks I see someone wondering why so little of manufacturing, particularly in the United States, is automated. There are tons of reasons why, but it's still very difficult to set up robots to succeed: open.substack.com/pub/itcanthi...