Robots can assemble a car body in just 46 seconds, yet they still can’t serve your morning coffee at home. They have these industrial superpowers, though, so what’s taking them so long to get to our homes and do our seemingly mundane tasks? While robots thrive in the predictable, structured environments of factories, they falter in the dynamic, uncertain, and ever-changing settings of human homes. Prof. Bobu argues that the true superpower missing in robotics is the ability to interact with people - an innate ability we often overlook. In this talk, learn why robots still fall short of achieving superhuman status in the human realm, and what it will take to get them to that stage. AI, Decision making, Intelligence, Machine Learning, Robots, Human-Robot Interaction Andreea Bobu is an incoming Assistant Professor in the AeroAstro Department at MIT. Her work is at the intersection of robotics, machine learning, and mathematical human modeling. Specifically, Andreea studies algorithmic human-robot interaction, with a focus on how autonomous agents and humans can efficiently and interactively arrive at shared representations of their tasks for more seamless and reliable interaction. She obtained her Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at UC Berkeley with Anca Dragan in 2023. Prior to her Ph.D. she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Engineering from MIT in 2017. She was the recipient of the Apple AI/ML Ph.D. fellowship, is a Rising Star in EECS and an R:SS and HRI Pioneer, and has won best paper award at HRI 2020 and the Emerging Research Award at the International Symposium on the Mathematics of Neuroscience 2023. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx