Manifesto

The Inevitable Rise of Physical AI and the Fear of Obsolescence

At our first deployment, the site manager watched our robot work and said, half-jokingly: “I hope that thing won’t replace me one day.” That nervous comment is the unspoken anxiety of millions. It is the cold fear of being left behind by a world that no longer needs you. It is the slow erosion of your livelihood, your purpose, and your place in the world. It is a future stripped of excitement, leaving only hopelessness.

This personal fear is not an isolated event. When multiplied by millions, it becomes a powerful force for social instability. History shows a clear and repeating pattern: when a critical mass of people believes the system no longer offers them a future, the social contract breaks. Trust in institutions evaporates, political chaos erupts, and violence follows. We saw this pattern ignite upheavals from revolutionary America to the Arab Spring. Researchers like Turchin see the same warning signs today. We are now entering a decade of instability. Such periods rarely end peacefully, and they leave everyone worse off. History offers no guarantee of a happy ending.

Past technological shifts unfolded over generations, giving society time to adapt. This time is different. The AI revolution is compressing that entire cycle into a single decade, striking knowledge work and physical labor simultaneously. There is no new continent to settle, no new industry waiting to absorb a displaced workforce. For the first time, the rate of change is outpacing our ability to respond, threatening to create a permanent underclass with no path forward. Some theorize this is a “Great Filter”: that civilizations are destroyed when they fail to survive the economic shock of their own technology. It is the defining existential crisis of our time.

Yet, we cannot and should not stop progress in AI. Stagnation is not an option. As societies advance, the cost of essential labor rises, eventually becoming a bottleneck that chokes off economic growth. Without breakthroughs in automation, progress slows, stalls, and ultimately reverses. We need this technology to solve fundamental challenges, from chronic labor shortages in aging populations, to ensuring a rising standard of living for all. Herein lies the paradox: the very tool required to save our economic future is the same one that threatens to fracture our social present. For technology to be adopted, it must serve all of humanity.

This brings us to the true source of the problem. The enemy is not the robot, and the problem is not automation itself. The issue is the broken economic model driving its creation. The current system is designed to do one thing: extract human skill, embed it in silicon, and then discard the human. It is a model that allows a few to convert human labor into a private, appreciating asset, concentrating all the gains while socializing all the losses. This is a philosophy of human disposability, and we reject it absolutely. It is time for a new model, one built not on replacement, but on co-ownership.

A New Hope

Our answer is to change the rules. We believe the people who teach AI should co-own the physical intelligence they help create. This principle transforms the nature of work. Your labor stops being just a service you sell by the hour. It becomes a permanent stake in the value that technology creates, an asset that continues to work for you long after your shift is over.

We built our entire company around this principle, starting with a practical, utility-first approach. While others see humanoids as a distant goal for automation, we see them as a vessel for remote physical work. Our operators pilot robots to solve critical labor shortages for customers today. In doing so, they are not just completing a task. They are creating the invaluable physical intelligence data that will power the automated future.

Because our operators create this value, they deserve to share in its rewards. That is why we have made a foundational commitment: to allocate a floor of 20% of all profits from our automated services to the operators who made them possible. Each operator’s share is determined by the quality and quantity of their contributions, creating a true meritocracy. It’s a system where you earn a competitive wage for your work today, while building an asset that provides passive income for you tomorrow.

This model is not just fair; it is a strategic advantage. The two biggest bottlenecks in robotics today are a lack of real-world data and the risk of social rejection. Our system is an engine designed to solve both at once. An hourly worker has no reason to champion a robot that might replace them. But an operator who is a co-owner is not just a worker. They champion the system because they are a part of it. This alignment turns fear into advocacy, creating a powerful moat that generates higher-quality data and accelerates adoption for the benefit of everyone.

This brings us to the ultimate question: what kind of future are we building? It begins with a foundation of empowerment, not dependency. This shared ownership is an asset you earn with dignity, providing the economic security to free us from the fear of obsolescence. But this security is not the end goal. It is the launchpad for what comes next. By making physical labor abundant and accessible, we free human ingenuity from physical constraints. For the first time, our collective imagination will be the only limit to what we can build: the first city on Mars, the first metropolis under the sea, the first elevator to the stars. This is not a post-work society. This is a society where we are liberated to pursue the inspiring, the creative, and the grand. This is the future we are excited about. A future we control. A future we build, together.

Read our strategy for building this future.

Leander & Satrajit