On a bright November morning, across from an Albany lumber yard, flanked by big Oregon red alders, a two-legged robot named Cassie stepped through the leaves. The robot’s legs moved steadily up and down with a slight pop at the bottom of every step and its eyeless head, a small box nestled between its limbs, swivelled with a lifelike quality. Curious joggers stopped to get a closer look, one woman congratulated her dogs on not peeing on the robot, and an old man biked by with a look on his face like he absolutely did not have time to deal with this shit.