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What’s Driving the Push for Humanoid Robots—With James Vincent

Paris Marx and James Vincent discuss why we’re seeing humanoid robots everywhere, the motivations to pursue an all-purpose robot, and the social implications of achieving it.

Paris Marx

February 23, 2026

Attendees interact with Elixis-W, a humanoid robot made by Addverb Technologies, at the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, India, on Feb. 20, 2026. (Ruhani Kaur / Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Paris Marx is joined by James Vincent to discuss why we’re seeing humanoid robots everywhere, the motivations to pursue an all-purpose robot, how close we are to achieving that goal, and the social implications if we were to achieve it.

James Vincent is a UK-based journalist and author of Beyond Measure: The Hidden History of Measurement from Cubits to Quantum Constants.

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Silicon Valley Is Turning Nurses Into Gig Workers w/ Katie J. Wells / Tech Won’t Save Us
byThe Nation Magazine

The Uber model is finally coming for healthcare. Katie J. Wells joins Paris Marx to discuss how much the healthcare gig apps resemble Uber’s rollout, why they aren’t being properly regulated, and the effects they’re having on staff and patients alike.

Katie J. Wells is a Senior Fellow at AI Now Institute and a co-author of Disrupting D.C.: The Rise of Uber and the Fall of the City.

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Paris MarxParis Marx is a tech critic and host of the Tech Won’t Save Us podcast. He writes the Disconnect newsletter and is the author of Road to Nowhere: What Silicon Valley Gets Wrong about the Future of Transportation.


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