If you’ve never watched Red Dwarf, you’re missing out on one of sci-fi’s most brilliantly ridiculous characters—Kryten, the neurotic service mechanoid who takes housekeeping to a whole new level. Designed to serve, clean, and generally fuss over his human companions, he’s a mix of butler, mother figure, and walking encyclopaedia, all delivered with a dose of awkward politeness and existential angst. Unlike today’s AI assistants, Kryten could actually get things done—cooking, cleaning, offering dubious fashion advice, and occasionally panicking about breaking protocol.
We’ve all dreamed of having an AI butler—someone (or something) to handle the mundane tasks of life, make our tea just right, and politely remind us to take out the bins. But let’s be honest—today’s AI assistants are more Talkie Toaster than Kryten, and we’re still a long way from a truly useful digital servant.
Why Don’t We Have a Kryten Yet?
AI has come a long way, but the gulf between what we want and what we have is still huge. Today’s AI assistants can set reminders, answer basic questions, and turn on the lights, but:
They lack true conversational ability—context is often lost mid-conversation.
They rely heavily on pre-programmed responses rather than independent problem-solving.
They struggle with personality, often sounding robotic or overly chirpy.
Kryten, on the other hand, wasn’t just an assistant—he was a multi-functional, self-aware, sarcastic butler who understood humour, personal quirks, and the occasional existential crisis. In contrast, asking Alexa to do anything remotely complex still results in, “Sorry, I don’t understand that.”
The Challenges of Building a True AI Butler
For an AI butler to move beyond being a glorified voice assistant, we need to solve several key problems:
Context Awareness – AI needs to remember conversations beyond a single interaction and understand ongoing tasks.
Emotional Intelligence – A great butler knows when to offer help and when to back off.
Physical Capability – Until we have functional humanoid robots, our AI butlers will be limited to voice commands and software-based automation.
Humour & Personality – Kryten wasn’t just useful—he was entertaining. Today’s AI is still struggling to get jokes right.
Where Are We Now?
While we’re far from a full-fledged AI butler, there are some promising developments:
Home automation systems are improving, allowing AI to control more devices seamlessly.
LLMs like ChatGPT and Gemini are making strides in conversational AI, though they still lack true contextual awareness.
Humanoid robots are being tested by companies like Tesla and Boston Dynamics, but they’re not ready to do the ironing just yet.
Assistive Robotics in Aged Care – AI-powered robotic assistants are making strides in healthcare and elder care. Abi from Andromeda Robotics is a social companion robot designed to assist in aged care, engaging in conversation, remembering past interactions, and even speaking multiple languages. Japan has been pioneering similar solutions to address its ageing population and shrinking workforce. Robots like Pepper and Paro are being used in hospitals and nursing homes to provide emotional support, reduce loneliness, and assist with basic care tasks. Governments and private companies alike are investing in these technologies to maintain workforce efficiency while ensuring elderly citizens receive adequate care.
Will We Ever Get a Kryten?
Probably not anytime soon. But with advances in AI reasoning, robotics, and machine learning, we might eventually get something that’s at least more competent than Talking Toaster. Until then, we’ll have to settle for AI that can tell us the weather but won’t fetch our slippers (or fold our laundry and put it away)
Maybe that’s for the best—after all, no one wants an AI butler critiquing their lifestyle choices with Kryten-level sass.