Google Technical Specialist | Prompt Engineer | Vogue Photographer | Metaverse Tour Guide – AI Art, VR/AR, Fashion, Architecture

Ex-Google Engineer and founder of the technology agency Cobalt. My team helps companies save time and make money by integrating AI into their existing workflows. Previous clients include Alexander McQueen, Zaha Hadid Architects and the United Nations.

A sought-after speaker, I deliver international keynotes on cutting-edge topics like Generative AI and Digital Transformation. I also provide executive briefings, facilitate workshops, and moderate panels and am a frequent podcast guest.

As an early-stage startup advisor, I help companies refine their value proposition and user onboarding – successful exits include the 'virtual try-on' app Meepl's acquisition by Zalando.

With over 16,000 LinkedIn followers, I'm a trusted voice in AI and have been interviewed by publications such as Vogue, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal.

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And if you got this far, ask me about my David Hasselhoff story!

The bipedal robot revolution is on a permanent coffee break.

It turns out replicating evolution is much harder than building a better forklift.


WHAT JUST HAPPENED

Gartner has officially pushed humanoid robots deep into the Trough of Disillusionment. Despite viral demos of robots backflipping and brewing coffee, they predict fewer than 20 companies will have humanoids in production by 2028.

The hype has officially outpaced the hardware.

High upfront costs, limited dexterity, energy inefficiency, and low throughput make these machines commercially uncompetitive with purpose-built automation today.


THE BIG TAKEAWAY

Until humanoids outperform humans at a lower price point, we won’t replace people with robot people — we’ll replace them with robot arms.


THE THWARTED KEY PLAYERS

→ Boston Dynamics (Stretch vs. Atlas)
→ Figure AI (Figure 03)
→ Tesla (Optimus)
→ Agility Robotics (Digit)


THE BIGGER PICTURE

We’re seeing a classic case of bio-mimicry bias. Just because a human can navigate a warehouse doesn’t mean a human-shaped machine is the most efficient way to move a box.

Cool is being confused for functional, and capital is starting to follow performance, not aesthetics. We’re entering the era of polyfunctional robotics: machines that don’t look like us but outperform us at specific, repeatable tasks.


AMAZON LEADS THE WAY

After years at Google evaluating moonshots, I wanted to see what actually scales — so I toured an Amazon fulfillment center.

What I saw instead:

→ Bespoke packing and labeling machines

→ Kiva units moving shelving pods to human pickers and packers

→ Robotic arms handling narrow, high-ROI tasks

That’s the real future of automation: modular, wheeled, telescopic systems quietly replacing tasks, not people-shaped roles.


THE BIRTH OF AVIATION

This mirrors early aviation. For centuries, inventors tried to build ornithopters — flapping machines modeled after birds — because that was the only known model of flight. Real flight only happened when engineers abandoned biology and embraced fixed-wing physics.

Humanoid robots are the ornithopters of the supply chain. We’re still waiting for our fixed-wing moment.


THE QUESTION

For those deploying automation: do you see any real advantage to humanoid form — or is form still following function?

#Robotics #SupplyChain #Automation #FutureOfWork #Gartner

Rupert Breheny

I’ve made a career out of identifying emerging technologies, exploring them and turning them into actionable insights and solutions that drive business value. I have maintained this practice throughout my 15 year Google career, as well as sharing these learnings from stages around the world, and in the boardrooms of technology startups in advisory roles in the fashion and architecture space.

Speaks on VR, Metaverse, Virtual Beings, Wearables, AI Art.

An early adopter of generative AI I’ve been listed as one of the Top 100 AI Art Creators and Innovators, and have collaborated with Vogue magazine which featured my fashion designs on their home page. By combining prompt engineering, image generation, animation, sound design and prose writing I’ve created a body of work that explores the intersection of human / machine augmented creativity and am active in building and mentoring the AI Art community more broadly.

As a Technical Specialist I translate highly technical recommendations into milestones that inspire C-level stakeholder confidence and execution. 

As a Program Manager I harness motivated and passionate, cross-disciplinary teams working towards product excellence by breaking down silos, forging alliances and securing funding.

As a speaker I represent Google across the world, presenting coding workshops, tech pitches and Google products to audiences as large as 1,000.

As a Web Developer my work demonstrates a commitment to strictly validating, standards compliant, accessible, semantic, mobile friendly HTML and CSS.

Key Skills: HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, Accessibility, Validation, Responsive Design, AMP, PWA, Vive, Oculus, Cardboard, Daydream.

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