On Sept. 3, Figure unveiled a new demonstration of its humanoid robot, F.02, performing an everyday chore: loading a dishwasher.
The company shared a video showing the robot picking up dishes and carefully placing them into the machine.
The announcement sparked plenty of online reactions, including sharp criticism from investor Ross Gerber.
“I’m sorry but if this is the future. It’s pathetic. We’re making robots to clean dishes???? Trillions invested for this… no thanks. Make me a flying car or a phone that works all day,” Gerber posted on X.
The video shared by Figure highlighted progress with its Vision Language Action model, Helix. The same system has already shown it can fold laundry and sort packages.
With additional training data, Helix is now able to manage dishwasher tasks that, while seemingly straightforward, are technically complex in robotics.
Critics Say This Isn’t Progress
Figure claims loading a dishwasher is harder than it looks; the robot has to deal with cluttered setups, fragile items, and tight spaces.
According to the company, the robot succeeded thanks to new data alone, not special programming.
But many online questioned whether this is worth celebrating , and pushed back against the hype around humanoid robots.
“Why not a better dishwasher that loads itself? Why not a clothes dryer that irons and folds?” one user asked, calling the humanoid form factor “ridiculous.”
Another person echoed Gerber’s view, writing, “You can just look at this thing doing the task and understand it’s worthless. It’s so far away from holding the dish properly under running water, scrubbing off the food, putting it in the right place, etc.”
What Helix Is Capable Of
Figure says Helix can now:
- Pick up stacked plates and place them one by one
- Reorient and place glasses using both arms
- Adjust for messy setups
- Recover from mistakes like drops or bumps
They argue that teaching robots to do chores like folding towels, sorting packages, and loading dishwashers is a path toward broader, more adaptable AI.
But many still feel underwhelmed.
“You probably pay someone to do your dishes. For those of us that have chores around the house, we would LOVE this!!!” one supporter said.
Others said this kind of tech could help people with disabilities or aging family members.
Still, Gerber’s post continued to gain traction, with many questioning why so much capital is going into flashy demos that offer no real solution for most people’s daily problems.
What’s the Point?
The debate raises a simple question: Is this really the best use of all this innovation and investment?
Some believe we need real breakthroughs, tech that meaningfully changes life, not just performs simple tasks in the most expensive way possible.
Gerber summed it up with what many others were thinking: If this is what trillions are going into, count him out.
The dishwasher robot may be a step forward for AI in the lab.
But outside it? A lot of people are asking if this is really the future anyone asked for.