Replicant reborn

[Bloomberg] [Fully Charged]( From [Bloomberg](   [FOLLOW US [Facebook Share]]([Twitter Share]( [SUBSCRIBE [Subscribe]](  Hi folks, it’s Brad. Back in 2013, Android creator Andy Rubin had a dream: to assemble a secretive robotics skunkworks inside Google to pursue the age-old sci-fi vision of sophisticated automatons that can labor on factory lines or help inside the home. For this ambitious vision, Rubin selected a brand from cinematic dystopia—Replicant, the name of the baddies in the film Blade Runner. Replicant eventually turned into a bit of a nightmare for Google parent company Alphabet Inc., just as it had [for Harrison Ford](. Rubin left the company abruptly the following year and the 11 robotics startups that made up the division never quite gelled. One particular problem was Boston Dynamics, the east-coast crown jewel of the robot portfolio known for its agile bipedal robots and [popular YouTube demonstrations](. Google’s PR team was uncomfortable with the public’s response to its “terrifying” robots “being ready to take humans jobs,” as [we reported]( when we broke the news a year ago that Google was looking to unload Boston Dynamics. There was also a more practical problem with Boston Dynamics—which is probably why it took so long for Alphabet to actually sell the company. Boston Dynamics had designed [beautiful, even graceful, machines](. But they are totally dumb and remotely controlled by human puppeteers always lurking right out of view in the videos. These were basically sophisticated special-effects props in search of smarts: a 21st century version of the Scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz, looking for a brain. The minders of [the newly practical, product-oriented Alphabet](, we reported, could find no commercial opportunities within the next decade for Boston Dynamic’s agile but dim-witted creations. Enter Masayoshi Son, the founder and CEO of SoftBank Group Corp. The Japanese company is [acquiring Boston Dynamics]( as well as another Replicant company, the Tokyo robot maker [Schaft](, which last year demonstrated [its own bipedal robot]( with sophisticated electric motors. (Andy Rubin was on stage that for [that unveiling]( and is close with Masa—he even [talked to SoftBank]( about investing in his new phone company; one wonders if he’s quietly advising or involved in this new effort.) As is often the case with Masa—and [please listen]( to our recent podcast biography of the tech visionary—he has a long-term plan. He’s also got a newly deep bank account of nearly $100 billion, supplied in part by the government of Saudi Arabia. One of his big bets, Son has said, will be on artificial intelligence. He expects machines to be [smarter than humans]( within three decades. Are you starting to feel chills yet? All this strongly suggests that Masa’s purchase last week of the two robot companies was the first chess move in a lengthy gambit. He wants to play the role of the wizard and furnish the scarecrow with some brains. He had one dramatic misfire with a cute humanoid robot called [Pepper](, unveiled in 2014. Now he’s trying again. For the tech leaders in the U.S., this should be a worrying prospect. The governments of Asia, particularly China’s, are making multi-billion-dollar investments in AI and attracting some of the [best engineers in the world](. They’re out to usurp the West’s tech advantage as the U.S. under President Donald Trump is [considering gutting]( its technology research budget. Masa sees this and is racing to keep up with China’s moves. Replicant was too much of a moonshot for even Alphabet. But it’s not for SoftBank and the other Asian tech tigers. It turns out that Silicon Valley may have something to fear in those Boston Dynamics videos after all. —[Brad Stone](mailto:bstone12@bloomberg.net?cmpid=BBD060917_TECH&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_term=170609&utm_campaign=tech)  And here’s what you need to know in global technology news Tech stocks are looking to recover from Friday’s beating. The selloff was prompted by a Goldman Sachs Group Inc. note warning that low volatility in Facebook Inc., Amazon.com Inc, Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Alphabet may be [blinding investors to cyclical and regulatory risks](.  Tech CEOs will spend this week preparing for their next trip to the White House. Apple’s Tim Cook, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Microsoft’s Satya Nadella and Oracle Corp.’s Safra Catz are among those [planning to attend a summit]( led by Jared Kushner, President Trump’s senior adviser and son-in-law.  Apple’s next iPhone won’t use the latest in high-speed, gigabit cellular chips. The move will [leave Apple’s products lagging rivals]( in the few markets where network upgrades have been rolled out. Meanwhile, Apple CEO Tim Cook [defended the company’s AI prowess]( in an interview with MIT Tech Review and warned MIT students against the [dangers of partisanship]( driven by social media.  Airbnb is legal in Japan. The country, once the company’s fastest-growing market, [passed a law]( that lets private homes rent out spaces to paying guests, limiting total stays to 180 nights a year.  Microsoft’s AI assistant learns how to shop. Cortana offers [price-comparison tips]( as shoppers browse the web, offering links to Amazon, Best Buy, EBay, Home Depot, Walmart and others. Shopping has become a component of most major assistants, pioneered by Amazon’s Alexa.   Sponsor Content by Citrix Citrix technologies help Red Bull Racing push the boundaries of what’s possible to execute race strategy, improve real-time decision-making and drive performance on and off the track. 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