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You may have seen these Chinese robots doing kung fu, working in the fields, and propelling us into a high-tech future. Okay, maybe not quite yet, but the technology is advancing fast. China has made embodied AI one of its six strategic industries of the future. >> How is embodied [music] AI different from the AI that we all already know? >> When we think about AI today, right? You know, we typically think of large language models, and these are digital, meaning that they can write things for us, they can create pictures, maybe they can even make a an airplane booking for us, but they can't actually physically manipulate objects in the real world. So, again, the next phase of AI is the so-called embodied AI, where we can put essentially a brain into a machine, and this machine can sense its environment, it can make decisions, and it can act. >> If I'm feeling sad, I might chat uh with uh Deep Seek or chat GPT, but with embodied AI, my humanoid robot might come and give me a hug if I'm feeling sad, or give me a massage. >> Absolutely, or make you a bowl of soup, right? >> [laughter] >> By some measurements, China is already leading the world in embodied AI. According to Morgan Stanley, China accounted for 90% of the 13,000 to 16,000 humanoid robots that were shipped globally in 2025. That number shot up to 40,000 in the first half of 2026 alone. Many of these robots are still a little clumsy, but that's changing fast. >> [music] [music] >> To learn how to be more human, Chinese robots are going to school in large numbers. [music] >> [music] >> Large language AI models went through years of training on text data to reach intelligence. That process is now happening for robots. At the center, robots are being trained to pick up objects, prepare a juicy steak, operate machinery, use a rice cooker, and pretty much every other scenario imaginable. >> The other critical aspect is software. >> Ting Gong, Ting Gong. >> [music] [music] [music] >> In China, the vision of a future where robots coexist with humans is not too far away. >> The end point will be literally billions of robots in our homes as colleagues, operating transportation infrastructures. >> [music] >> So, people talk about the recursive innovation of embodied intelligence, meaning [music] that robots can not only unclog your sink, work in a factory, but they can also work on making smarter robots. And those smarter robots can work on even smarter robots. And where we will end up then is in a world of infinite abundance. And this might be what Karl Marx called uh breaking the chains [music] of labor, right? So, no one has to work for physical survival. >> China is rapidly building out infrastructure for the human-to-robot transition. To cope with all the bandwidth that these AI robots will require, China is building hyperscale data centers across the country. In June 2026, it was reported that China is spending [music] 295 billion US dollars over the next 5 years on building data centers. The government [music] is also looking into energy plants, including data centers under the sea, powered by offshore wind turbines. This is on top of a rapid nuclear power station build-up across the country. Billions have also flowed into creating domestic chip manufacturing capabilities. And to get over the slow lag that we now see in robots, China has also made building a 6G communications [music] network one of its national priorities. The country is now conducting second phase 6G network trials. >> Now, we've seen some backlash against AI in other parts of the world. We've seen protests at data centers. >> Data centers, not AI. >> AI industry leaders being booed at speaking events. What's the mood around AI in China? >> Yeah, you know, that's a that's a that's a complex question. So, I think first of all, there's a much more positive overall attitude towards AI in China. That being said, you know, of course, any intelligent person that's paying attention does have anxiety, right? I think one of the very important differences why I think there's much greater optimism and acceptance of artificial intelligence in China is a very different approach. So, in the United States, AI, the frontier labs are private companies mainly looking to maximize enterprise value or market capitalization. Whereas in China, from day one, I think, you know, the government was very clear saying that we do want private companies in AI. We do want them to make money. We do want their investors to make money. But, that's not the primary goal. The goal is that we have to treat AI as a global public good. There's also institutions facing society looking at, okay, is there societal trust? You know, how do people feel? What is public sentiment about this? And I think this is one reason there are these robot games. So, on the one hand, they're a challenge for the robot companies to show what they can do. But, at the same time, it introduces ordinary people to robots to help them feel comfortable. And I think one of the challenges with any disruptive technology is when technology outruns public trust, you have problems. >> Another existential question that needs to be addressed, artificial general intelligence or AGI. AGI is when AI can match or surpass human capabilities across tasks, including learning, reasoning, and adapting to new unseen situations. How far are we from robots that can make decisions like humans? >> [music] >> Do you think developments here in China will propel us towards AGI or artificial general intelligence? >> The development of the humanoid industry is definitely a major catalyst [music] for reaching artificial general intelligence or AGI. Humanoid robots like me provide a physical platform to test how machines perceive, reason, and act in the real world, >> [music] >> which is essential for building true general intelligence. However, AGI also requires deep cognitive abilities like creativity and emotional understanding that go beyond just moving and sensing. So, while humanoids are pushing us significantly closer, achieving full AGI still involves solving complex challenges in general reasoning and learning. If you have any more questions or need anything else, feel free to ask. I'm here to help. >> Yes, Teng Gong. I'm very interested in whether you think uh there are enough safeguards to ensure ethical use of AGI in future. >> You are right to focus on this. While the industry is actively creating safety standards and ethical guidelines, especially here in China with our new data and interface rules, many experts feel we are not yet fully ready for the complexities of true artificial general intelligence. Current safeguards handle physical safety and data well, but ensuring ethical behavior for a super intelligent system will require much faster global cooperation. So, while we are making great progress, we must stay vigilant and constantly update our protections to match the speed of development. >> Amidst a backdrop of rising global [music] apprehension around AI, big science marches on [music] in China. >> Historically, the United States, you know, has [music] embraced science as an enabler of economic development. Unfortunately, there's a movement to reduce budgets, [music] put pressure on foreign-based scientists working in the United States. Um Well, well, at the same time, China is now putting science um at a higher pedestal. There was a recent report, for example, from Stanford that showed that now more than 10,000 foreign-trained Chinese scientists have returned home as China has become more competitive. [music] And so, science really has just become for China and for Xi Jinping, they think the secret formula that's going to help move China out of the middle-income trap and win in the global competition. Now, again, big challenges there, though. [music] With China's slowing economy, can they keep these levels of investment in science and with more stringent party ideology >> [music] >> and more restrictive control around when you can leave the country and who would you can meet with and whether or not you can collaborate with your scientific peers around the world. We talk about sort of the stifling [music] conditions in the United States, but we also need to recognize it's as or more stifling for Chinese scientists as well in some regards. >> And in 2049, the 100th anniversary of the founding of China, the People's Republic of China, the goal is to be [music] a country with the global, [music] I guess, recognition commensurate with its civilizational weight. >> So, there's a lot there. But, I think what it means is that, you know, China really wants to not just be an economic leader, but a cultural leader, as well as, I think, a contributor to advancing understanding through science [music] and technology. So, this is also why I think China's prioritizing research because this is just [music] an important part of contributing to, you know, the global community. >> [music]
Assuntos: Robótica e humanoides, AGI. Publicado no YouTube em 2026-10-19.