Tech titan predicts someday we’ll have our own R2-D2

Sure, there are a lot of things to be worried about regarding the future of AI, but there are surely a lot of people who’d love to have their own Star Wars-like droid.

One of them is Jensen Huang, the head of chip giant Nvidia. At T-Mobile’s Capital Markets Day on Wednesday, Business Insider says Huang predicted the ubiquitous companions from a galaxy far, far away aren’t far off on this planet. 

“I love the idea that I’ll have my own R2-D2, my own C-3PO — my R2 will be following me, and for many people just growing up now, they’ll have their own personal R2 with them for their lives,” Huang said. 

Just using his example, R2 had already been in action for decades before he became Luke Skywalker’s wingman throughout the original Star Wars trilogy. 

Huang says in real life, AI will be the key to having your own version of the faithful little droid, or his golden translator companion. “I really love the idea that I will have a computer that is getting smarter and smarter with me as it works with me over time and understands me to help me get things done,” he says. 

Elon Musk, who is developing humanoid robots through his Tesla company, agreed with Huang’s assessment, reposting it on his X account and commenting, “True.”

Huang said that the “next wave of AI is physical AI” — that is, training humanoid droids to physically do stuff that people do every day.

And while you won’t need a droid to calculate hyperspace routes like R2 units can, there likely have been times when you wished something could open your doors after you’ve locked yourself out.