38- Do Robots Dream of Dancing Humans?

Jun 23

Living Well with Technology, episode 38 of the Human Pulse Podcast. We were both fascinated by the dancer and roboticist Catie Cuan and how she studied our interactions with robots by dancing with them. That led us to exploring why movement is our evolutionary superpower for decoding intent, how "World Models" differ from traditional LLMs, and why making robots "street smart" through physical and social cues is essential for our future.

The Rugby Connection: Anne connects robotic movement to the New Zealand All Blacks' Hakka ritual.
Angry Device Shaking: Fab reminds us that we already talk to our tech with body language—like shaking an iPhone to undo a typo. (Hold onto it tightly, please).
Book Smart vs. Street Smart: We break down why LLMs are just statistical text nerds, while emerging World Models are trying to understand actual physics.
The "Creepy" Factor: Why is it so unsettling when a robot grabs a cup without looking at it?

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Chapters

00:00 Choreographing Robots

01:43 The Human-Machine Connection: Understanding Movement

07:22 World Models vs. LLMs: The Future of AI Interaction?

11:49 Social Cues: Making Robots Understand Us

17:12 Anthropomorphism: Our Natural Response to "the other"

21:52 Adapting Robots: The Future of Human-Robot Interaction

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Recording Date: June, 21st, 2026

Hosts: Anne Trager – Human Potential & Executive Performance Coach & Fabrice Neuman – Tech Consultant for Small Businesses

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