Beijing warns robot makers about moving too fast

The Chinese government is betting that robots will drive economic growth, but the bots can't really do much yet, write Meaghan Tobin and Xinyun Wu from Taipei

- Meaghan Tobin and Xinyun Wu

The Chinese government is betting that robots will drive economic growth, but the bots can't really do much yet

the answer and that humanoid robots could be how AI becomes a physical force in the world.

In Silicon Valley, tech executives often talk about achieving what they call artificial general intelligence (AGI). There is no settled definition, but for many it is the idea that AI could match the powers of the human mind.

BRINGING AGI TO LIFE

In China, robotics companies claim they will make AGI a reality.

"For people in China, AGI should be something that benefits people in their everyday life," said Sunny Cheung, a fellow at the Jamestown Foundation, which studies Chinese government influence. "Robotics is a testament of applied AI in real life."

But there is a big gap between this vision and the current abilities of robots. Many Chinese robotics startups are working on software they hope will transform robot behaviour the way large language models have transformed AI.