--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In 2008, I decided I wanted to begin a…" description: "\"In 2008, I decided I wanted to begin a new venture, so I started Rethink Robotics. We build factory robots that a person can learn to train in just a f..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/717/rodney-brooks-16742_learn_in-2008-i-decided-i-wanted-to-begin-a-ne_3008059.png" --- # In 2008, I decided I wanted to begin a new venture, so I… ![“In 2008, I decided I wanted to begin a new venture, so I started Rethink Robotics. We build factory robots that a person can learn to train in just a few minutes. In May 2011, I stepped off the iRobot board.” quote by Rodney Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/717/rodney-brooks-16742_learn_in-2008-i-decided-i-wanted-to-begin-a-ne_3008059.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/717/rodney-brooks-16742_learn_in-2008-i-decided-i-wanted-to-begin-a-ne_3008059.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/717/rodney-brooks-16742_learn_in-2008-i-decided-i-wanted-to-begin-a-ne_3008059.png) > “In 2008, I decided I wanted to begin a new venture, so I started Rethink Robotics. We build factory robots that a person can learn to train in just a few minutes. In May 2011, I stepped off the iRobot board.” [Rodney Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-brooks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He founded a robotics company to make training robots easy, then left a previous board. **In simple terms:** He started a venture to simplify robot training and later resigned from a board. Key Takeaway Simplify tech for broader adoption. Themes innovation entrepreneurship technology learning Mood inspirational cautious Type business technology When to use this quote - startup launch - board resignation - product demo Key Concepts robotics human‑machine interaction Questions to Reflect On - What responsibilities arise when scaling tech? - How to balance innovation with governance? A Different Perspective Rapid growth may outpace ethical oversight. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Robotics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/robotics/) [Robots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/robots/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) [Train](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/train/) ## Related quotes > [So robots are good at very simple things like cleaning the floor, like doing a repetitive task. Our robots have a little tiny bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-brooks/so-robots-are-good-at-very-simple-things-like-cleaning-the-floor-like/) [Rodney Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-brooks/) > [Two big questions that people ask me are: if we make these robots more and more human-like, will we accept them - will they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-brooks/two-big-questions-that-people-ask-me-are-if-we-make-these-robots-more/) [Rodney Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-brooks/) > [When I look out in the future, I can't imagine a world, 500 years from now, where we don't have robots everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-brooks/when-i-look-out-in-the-future-i-can-t-imagine-a-world-500-years-from/) [Rodney Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-brooks/) > [A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. \[The Second Law…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/a-robot-must-obey-the-orders-given-it-by-human-beings-except-where/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [We wanted to solve robot problems and needed some vision, action, reasoning, planning, and so forth. We even used some structural learning, such as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-minsky/we-wanted-to-solve-robot-problems-and-needed-some-vision-action/) [Marvin Minsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-minsky/) > [“Robots do not celebrate anything. Celebration is an expression of joy, which cannot be mechanized.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravindra-shukla/robots-do-not-celebrate-anything-celebration-is-an-expression-of-joy/) [Ravindra Shukla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravindra-shukla/) > [ \[On President Bush's plan to get to Mars in 10 years\] Stupid. Robots would do a better job and be much cheaper because you… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/on-president-bush-s-plan-to-get-to-mars-in-10-years-stupid-robots/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [I believe one day nano-robots will play an important role in medicine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-angle/i-believe-one-day-nano-robots-will-play-an-important-role-in-medicine/) [Colin Angle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-angle/) > [The great mystery is why robots come off so well in science-fiction films when the human characters are often so astoundingly wooden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-podhoretz/the-great-mystery-is-why-robots-come-off-so-well-in-science-fiction/) [John Podhoretz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-podhoretz/) > [It's going to be fun watching this robot start malfunctioning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-haye/it-s-going-to-be-fun-watching-this-robot-start-malfunctioning/) [David Haye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-haye/) > [So we and our elaborately evolving computers may meet each other halfway. Someday a human being, named perhaps Fred White, may shoot a robot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/so-we-and-our-elaborately-evolving-computers-may-meet-each-other/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [..I find it incredible impossible not to cry when I hear Stevie Nicks's "Landslide," especially the lyric: "I've been afraid of changing, because I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mindy-kaling/i-find-it-incredible-impossible-not-to-cry-when-i-hear-stevie-nicks-s/) [Mindy Kaling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mindy-kaling/) > [I don't know if robots have personalities, but I think maybe we are special robots that are maybe human after all. We try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-manuel-de-homem-christo/i-don-t-know-if-robots-have-personalities-but-i-think-maybe-we-are/) [Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-manuel-de-homem-christo/) > [The other one I did was 'I, Robot.' I take apart Isaac Asimov's Robots world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/the-other-one-i-did-was-i-robot-i-take-apart-isaac-asimov-s-robots/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [A South Korean inventor has finally created the robot that mankind has been waiting for. Scientists who have been worried about the robot apocalypse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pesca/a-south-korean-inventor-has-finally-created-the-robot-that-mankind/) [Mike Pesca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pesca/) ## More by Rodney Brooks > [If you make your robot look exactly like Albert Einstein, then the robot better be as smart as Einstein, or its user is going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-brooks/if-you-make-your-robot-look-exactly-like-albert-einstein-then-the/) [Rodney Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-brooks/) > [Robotics is very interdisciplinary, and so, except at a very few colleges, there is not a major that is exactly fitted to robotics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-brooks/robotics-is-very-interdisciplinary-and-so-except-at-a-very-few/) [Rodney Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-brooks/) > [When I look out in the future, I can't imagine a world, 500 years from now, where we don't have robots everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-brooks/when-i-look-out-in-the-future-i-can-t-imagine-a-world-500-years-from/) [Rodney Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-brooks/) > [I won some genetic lottery. I always happened to be strangely good at mathematics in my head. I just popped out weird.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-brooks/i-won-some-genetic-lottery-i-always-happened-to-be-strangely-good-at/) [Rodney Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-brooks/) > [Two big questions that people ask me are: if we make these robots more and more human-like, will we accept them - will they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-brooks/two-big-questions-that-people-ask-me-are-if-we-make-these-robots-more/) [Rodney Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-brooks/) > [You can make the assumption that most human drivers are not out to kill pedestrians. Well, maybe in some parts of Boston they are.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-brooks/you-can-make-the-assumption-that-most-human-drivers-are-not-out-to/) [Rodney Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-brooks/) > [Each of the essays in this volume ranges widely across technical and philosophical domains. They examine both familiar automatons from throughout history and delight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-brooks/each-of-the-essays-in-this-volume-ranges-widely-across-technical-and/) [Rodney Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-brooks/) > [Every technology, every science that tells us more about ourselves, is scary at the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-brooks/every-technology-every-science-that-tells-us-more-about-ourselves-is/) [Rodney Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-brooks/) > [I begin by looking for megatrends, changes in the world that will create major new demands. My goal is to create a company that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-brooks/i-begin-by-looking-for-megatrends-changes-in-the-world-that-will/) [Rodney Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-brooks/) > [Much to the surprise of the builders of the first digital computers, programs written for them usually did not work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-brooks/much-to-the-surprise-of-the-builders-of-the-first-digital-computers/) [Rodney Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-brooks/) > [The most important thing for building a robot that you can interact with socially is its visual attention system. Because what it pays attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-brooks/the-most-important-thing-for-building-a-robot-that-you-can-interact/) [Rodney Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-brooks/) > [If you want a machine to be able to interact with people, it better not do things that are surprising to people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-brooks/if-you-want-a-machine-to-be-able-to-interact-with-people-it-better/) [Rodney Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-brooks/) > [Hands-on experience is the best way to learn about all the interdisciplinary aspects of robotics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-brooks/hands-on-experience-is-the-best-way-to-learn-about-all-the/) [Rodney Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-brooks/) > [I always tell people, it's never too late to start saving for retirement. It's not that important how much you have already saved. What's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-brooks/i-always-tell-people-it-s-never-too-late-to-start-saving-for/) [Rodney Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-brooks/) > [I moved to MIT from Stanford in 1984 to teach, and became the founding director of MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-brooks/i-moved-to-mit-from-stanford-in-1984-to-teach-and-became-the-founding/) [Rodney Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-brooks/) [Explore all 39 Rodney Brooks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-brooks/) ## More Learn quotes > [I've been lucky enough to, for the most part, surround myself with a lot of people who are more talented than me and who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-franco/i-ve-been-lucky-enough-to-for-the-most-part-surround-myself-with-a/) [Dave Franco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-franco/) > [What people tend to forget is the journey that I had getting to Formula One. 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If you are determined to learn, no one can stop you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-not-willing-to-learn-no-one-can-help-you-if-you-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Columbia University, where I went to study in 1993, insisted its undergraduates learn a foreign language, so I discovered French.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/columbia-university-where-i-went-to-study-in-1993-insisted-its/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [There are things you can do in training like learn from the manager and talk with team-mates, but it's the game that tests you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-burke/there-are-things-you-can-do-in-training-like-learn-from-the-manager/) [Oliver Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-burke/) > [I would rather learn from one bird how to sing than to teach 10,000 stars how not to dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/i-would-rather-learn-from-one-bird-how-to-sing-than-to-teach-10-000/) [e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/) > [I personally think if something's not a challenge, there's no point doing it, because you're not gonna learn much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-personally-think-if-something-s-not-a-challenge-there-s-no-point/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We learn by teaching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howell/we-learn-by-teaching/) [James Howell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howell/) > [I decided to start my channel because my followers on Instagram told me that they wanted to learn how I did the looks I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manny-mua/i-decided-to-start-my-channel-because-my-followers-on-instagram-told/) [Manny MUA](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manny-mua/) > [The idea that someone has to give you permission to become who you want to be, or see it in you in order for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-victor/the-idea-that-someone-has-to-give-you-permission-to-become-who-you/) [Eva Victor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-victor/) > [And I want to do it the right way, like everybody else, not just a famous figurehead that gets a job because he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/and-i-want-to-do-it-the-right-way-like-everybody-else-not-just-a/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [You learn a lot from quality players.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marouane-fellaini/you-learn-a-lot-from-quality-players/) [Marouane Fellaini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marouane-fellaini/) > [You learn from every bout.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-eubank-jr/you-learn-from-every-bout/) [Chris Eubank Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-eubank-jr/) Browse all 8,975 Learn quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In 2008, I decided I wanted to begin a new venture, so I started Rethink Robotics. 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