Beijing Official Confirms Humanoid Robot Will Not Replace Human Workers

JAKARTA In the midst of the rapid development of robotic technology in China, a Beijing official emphasized that humanoid robots will not replace human workers and cause mass unemployment. This was conveyed by Liang Liang, deputy director of Beijing's Economic Technology Development Area (Beijing E-Town), which is one of China's largest technology centers.

In an interview with foreign media on Friday, May 16, Liang said that humanoid robots are designed to increase productivity and carry out dangerous or tedious tasks, not to take over human work.

"We don't believe that robots will make humans lose their jobs. On the other hand, they will increase efficiency or take over unwanted tasks such as exploring the universe or the depth of the sea that humans cannot reach. Machines can help us in that exploration," Liang said, quoted by VOI from Reuters.

He also mentioned that when humans rest at night, robots can continue to work so as to produce products that are better, cheaper, and easier to use. This is the direction of our future development," he added.

One of the concrete forms of the vision is the organization of the world's first half-distance robotic marathon which was held last month in Beijing. In the event, the marathon trajectories were divided into two: one side for humans, and the other side for 20 teams operating robots of various sizes and capabilities.

In that marathon race, humans have their own path to pushing their physical limits, while machines have their own path to challenging technological boundaries but are not trying to take over human trajectory. The future will also be like this," Liang said.

The statement was made at the X-Humanoid headquarters, or Beijing's Center for Humanoid Robot Innovation, which is a state-owned institution. Their flagship robot, Tiangong Ultra, won the marathon and was able to reach speeds of up to 12 km/hour.

In addition to the sports-focused Ultra model, the center also shows another prototype capable of completing simple tasks amid various obstacles and environmental changes. In a demonstration, a staffer repeatedly moves or takes trash from the hands of a robot. The robot continues to strive to complete its duties by correcting its own actions the ability that the center says will be key in making humanoid robots a productive worker.

These robots are part of China's ambition to take the lead in robotics and artificial intelligence, but the government is also trying to calm public concerns about potential disruptions to human labor.