AI Automation Faces Physical-World Boundary Limits

An essay argues that AI automation excels within computation's 'magic circle' but falters when interacting with messy physical systems. The author cites printers, a month-long USPS mail-tracking project, sewing machines and olive harvesters to show recurring real-world frictions and costly redesigns; implication: automation will advance strongly for symbolic tasks but remain constrained and expensive in many physical domains.