Humans are harder to replicate than engineers expected
“But also, what I noticed when I looked at the humanoids, a lot of them running or doing certain tasks in China was that actually humans are really great, like they can do very complicated tasks, their hands, their legs, their feet, in a way that we never imagined how hard it would be for humanoids to do those. So realizing that, it's still going to be years until they can really be useful, really be smart, and be able to do tasks that humans would think are quite simple.”
China is betting big on humanoid robots as embodied AI
“China is really all in the area of robotics and humanoids. You know, they are using subsidies. They are attracting a lot of good talents. Some are coming back from overseas. The country is really focused on it and all in.”
Aging population drives China's robot labor strategy
“The elderly people just have less workers that are able to do that kind of work. So with that demographic issue in mind, I think they find robotics to be very important. And with such rapid pace of aging, you're definitely going to need caretakers. And there may not be enough caretakers to look after these older people. And humanoids are considered to be one potential technology to help China cope with aging.”
Government subsidies and state purchases fuel robot industry
“Those might be everything from offering a cheap or free land for a few years as they set up a factory or office space. It might also be about having some state-linked banks offer better long-terms. It could also be that they offer subsidies to buyers. So if you're buying a humanoid, you might get, say, a 10% subsidy from the government, so that it just encourages buyers to give it a try even at a very early stage of technology.”
Robocop interns are already directing Chinese traffic
“The government itself, in providing certain services, has introduced humanoids. Again, these are still at a very early stage, but there are some Robocops in, for instance, a city like Hangzhou, where they have a Robocop intern doing some traffic control.”
US leads in AI brains, China dominates robot hardware
“The US is seen to have an edge over China when it comes to the brain part. That's the AI side of things. It's the large language models. It could be the chips, and the US is, generally speaking, seen to be ahead. But again, when it comes to hardware, that area, China is just so dominant, and so you can have the brain, but you still need to build the actual hardware.”
Chinese parts in US robots create surveillance risks
“If you don't have control of that technology, especially in crucial infrastructure areas, you may be concerned that if you're using Chinese technology, could they somehow be controlling it from China or someplace linked to China? Do you want that kind of control handed over to another state, especially for a state like China where the US is competing with?”
Humans are harder to replicate than engineers expected
“But also, what I noticed when I looked at the humanoids, a lot of them running or doing certain tasks in China was that actually humans are really great, like they can do very complicated tasks, their hands, their legs, their feet, in a way that we never imagined how hard it would be for humanoids to do those. So realizing that, it's still going to be years until they can really be useful, really be smart, and be able to do tasks that humans would think are quite simple.”
