By https://newatlas.com/author/bronwyn-thompson/
Publication Date: 2026-05-04 00:03:00
Under the radar of the robot hype, Sony AI’s Ace has demonstrated its truly remarkable rapid learning abilities by delivering powerful split-second decisions while competing against some of table tennis’s best players – and winning.
After spending a few days with all sorts of robots and humanoids lately, I’m finding it increasingly difficult to be impressed by their abilities. Fluid joint movements and very dexterous fingers are perhaps the two developments that are still holding me back. Sony’s Ace AI project has neither – but it may be something I think we all need to be prepared for in the near future. While it could predict ball movement and easily return shots in surprisingly offensive ways, at some point it was faced with something unexpected. As the human’s shot caused the ball to clip the top of the net and change trajectory, Ace readjusted in a split second, reacting in real time better than most humans.
Not only that, because…
