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Kevin Kelly

What Kevin Kelly thinks about robotics

@kevin-kelly · 16 positions · 0 changes of mind

Founding executive editor of Wired and author of What Technology Wants and The Inevitable. Writes at kk.org and runs its long-running recommendation projects, True Films and Cool Tools.

Everything they publish, on ppll ↗

Kevin Kelly did not write this page.

We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.

4 dated positions, 2026, in their own words. Our reading of what Kevin Kelly has said — not written or endorsed by them.

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  1. Our readingRobots will not be able to beat the best human basketball players in a full game by 2040.

    Their wordsI bet against this timeline and say they will not. The winner has to buy a round of gelato.

    ↗Robot Basketballkk.org 1st of 3 in this piece

  3. Our readingGeneral-purpose humanoid robots will end up less useful than many specialized robots.

    Their wordsThe greater lesson I think we will learn is that a general humanoid robot is not going to be that useful.

    ↗Robot Basketballkk.org 2nd of 3 in this piece

  5. Our readingSpecialized robots will invent techniques in their domain that humans never thought of or could not do.

    Their wordsBasketball robots are likely to invent new basketball moves that humans didn't think of doing, or couldn't do easily.

    ↗Robot Basketballkk.org 3rd of 3 in this piece

  6. 5 weeks earlier

  7. Our readingRobot makers will sell early robots at a loss because the real-world data they collect will be worth more than the hardware margin.

    Their wordsIt will probably be economically shrewd to lose money on early robot models in anticipation that the data they gather will be worth more later in improving newer versions.

    ↗Worldbuilding with Spatial Intelligencekk.org 2nd of 3 in this piece