Will a humanoid robot successfully attend a live theatre performance and allow a remote user to watch the play through the robot's eyes by December 31, 2025?
Resolution Criteria: The market resolves YES if credible news sources (major tech publications, theatre industry outlets, or official company announcements) report that a humanoid robot has been physically present at a theatre performance while being remotely operated by a person who watched the play through the robot's cameras/sensors. The robot must be capable of movement, e.g. to turn its head to track actors as they move about the stage during the performance. Either the humanoid robot may present a ticket in the normal manner, or it may be given special dispensation by the theatre (e.g. in a planned publicity stunt). Teleoperation may be used.
Sources for verification:
TechCrunch, Wired, The Verge (tech coverage)
Variety, Broadway.com (theatre coverage)
Company press releases from robotics firms (OryLab, 1X, etc.)
Context: Telepresence robots like OryLab's OriHime and Engineered Arts' RoboThespian already support remote operation. The nascent humanoid robotics market is rapidly developing, making this a near-term possibility.
1,000@ProjectVictory The necessary hardware exists and is commercially available. There is no requirement in this market to use AI at all - although it would obviously be helpful to have AI, especially if the internet access is spotty in the theatre building. This is the kind of simple - and useful - task which could theoretically be done today, although the huge cost of (AI) humanoid robots would make this kind of a ridiculous use case for all but the super-rich. I think theatres could be amenable to it, though, as it would be great for publicity, for both the theatre and the robot's manufacturer - even if, under the law, they may not be required to accept a ticket presented by a humanoid robot.
Another possible angle is a YouTuber could do this as a publicity stunt for themselves. It could generate a lot of bemused reactions, making for a great viral video. However, yes, it is true, I have no particular reason to think that this particular random use-case is more likely than any other "easy" use case, in terms of early uses of humanoid robots.