November 16, 2025
Robots that vibe, not vacuum
In Praise of Useless Robots
Useless robots spark chaos: art pets vs the do-my-dishes crowd
TLDR: The essay celebrates “useless” robots—like Anicka Yi’s floating art machines—for igniting imagination. Comments split hard: some demand sewer-scrubbing helpers and mock “Tamagotchi” hype, while others defend wonder-first designs, revealing a culture clash over whether tech should clean our messes or expand our minds.
Laura Tripaldi says the best robots aren’t maids or mechanics—they’re dream machines. From Futurism’s love of speed to Anicka Yi’s floating “aerobes” at London’s Tate Modern, these not-quite-useful bots exist to spark wonder, not fold laundry. And the internet had feelings. One camp rolled its eyes: “Very cool, but my sink still has dishes.” The sharpest jab mocked Tesla’s humanoid demo: promise a factory robot, deliver a Tamagotchi. Another deadpanned that it’s “great” if humans crawl sewers while robots learn to dance. Ouch.
On the flip side, art-first folks cheered the vibe. They argued imagination is a feature, not a bug—today’s “useless” robots seed tomorrow’s breakthroughs, just like Futurism’s noisy dreams and early airplanes did. Some praised Yi’s soft, whale-like drones as kinder than creepy human lookalikes or watchful surveillance machines, “a new companion,” not a cop.
The memes delivered: Roombas with jellyfish wigs, “Optimus but make it blimp,” and “my emotional support dirigible.” The bigger fight: Should robots tackle chores and danger—kitchen messes, sewers, even Chernobyl—or earn their keep by expanding what tech can be? For now, the aerobes float on, and the comments section does the heavy lifting. Both sides think the other is missing the point entirely.
Key Points
- •A Futurism retrospective in Rome highlights machines as symbols of progress and cultural change.
- •Anicka Yi’s 2021 Tate Modern installation featured floating “aerobes” that respond to human presence.
- •Yi positions the aerobes as evoking a feeling opposite to the uncanny valley, appearing alive yet mechanical.
- •The concept of “companion species,” from Donna Haraway, frames robots as meaningful otherness encouraging new relations.
- •The article notes a 20-year shift in robotics away from rigid, anthropomorphic designs toward broader forms.