Small Robots, Big Questions
Gentle Thoughts in the Age of AI
The Robotiri project began in 2019, when it was still called Robotirinhas, and was a simple series of comic strips about robots.
We have arrived at 2026, and the speed of evolution in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics makes 2019 feel like a century ago. When I started the project, the revolution triggered by the launch of ChatGPT in 2022 had not yet happened.
Faced with robots that are so real and intelligent in 2026, I had to rethink Robotiri deeply. I even paused the production of the strips for a few months, as the project’s original logic no longer applied.
The challenges and opportunities for humanity are immense. We are at a crossroads, with paths that may lead to a dystopian or a utopian future.
My outlook is optimistic, solar, and utopian. I believe that, as with everything, the problem is not the technology itself, but how it is used, especially by those who hold power. I sincerely hope that the decisions being made are focused on the collective good and on sustainability.
In a period of such radical change, Robotiri has become a very therapeutic project for me, a platform to express myself and a way to reflect on and work through the impact of these changes on myself. I hope it can be the same for those who read it.
Below is the first Robotiri comic strip.
Hugs.
Paulo Pina
