Like most of us, I have been pondering the issues discussed in this article.
With regard to making robots that look human, I have wondered how much old movies might have influenced developers. As the article suggests, there is no reason to shape a robot like a human. That just creates unnecessary problems.
That said, the 20th-century idea of a human-like robot may have started with the Japanese and their goal of creating robots to cater to their aging population. Humanoid robots are presumably less scary and more quickly assimilated into society.
Of course, the Babel language confusion started to erode once the internet and smartphones promised to offer language translators for use around the world.
And speaking of the Tower of Babel, we really don't know its original reasons. Some scholars have suggested that one of the reasons was to overcome another Great Flood (just in case). This was particularly important to those of the bloodline of the Nephilim like Nimrod.
Others have suggested that it was an attempt at creating a portal to heaven. What that might have been is anyone's guess. But mountains like Mt. Hermon have been thought--even in the Bible--to be portals for demons to descend from other dimensions to Earth.
Anyway, fascinating article.
Slightly, but not too far, off topic: If I were an alien species and wanted to operate with near impunity amongst the population of the planet's nearly-intelligent fauna, I would deploy robotic entities that have the appearance of the locals, though even those perhaps not always totally convincing in effect.
Makes you begin to wonder if the AC might not be an AI robot.