Usman Salis
⬤ AMD CEO Lisa Su projects global AI compute demand will explode by roughly 100 times within the next four to five years. This massive acceleration reflects how AI workloads are rapidly expanding across robotics, automation, and physical AI systems, requiring unprecedented infrastructure scaling.
⬤ Meanwhile, robotics design is shifting away from human imitation toward pure utility. Take Atlas as an example—it features a head, torso, and limbs that rotate 360 degrees, far beyond human physical capabilities. This functional approach prioritizes efficiency and adaptability over mimicking human anatomy, making robots more effective in real-world applications.
⬤ This design philosophy makes sense for practical deployment. Greater movement freedom enables superior task execution in industrial, logistics, and hazardous environments where human-like motion isn't necessary. These advanced capabilities depend on powerful AI models and real-time processing, directly fueling the surge in compute demand.
⬤ These trends signal a fundamental shift in the AI ecosystem. Skyrocketing compute demand shows AI moving beyond software into physical systems, while utility-focused robot designs demonstrate how that processing power translates into real-world capability. Future AI progress will depend not just on smarter models, but on deploying them effectively in scalable, practical applications.
Usman Salis
