US security risks rise over China’s AI androids
Shanghai group Agibot joins the ranks of robot manufacturers amid Washington’s fears of a ‘stealth army’
China’s humanoid robots are the shape of things to come and the next big threat to the United States and its democratic allies.
If the Chinese-owned online social media site TikTok is considered a risk along with Shenzhen-based drone dynasty DJI, what mayhem could an army of androids create?
The answer lies somewhere between science fiction and science fact.
Earlier this year, Jacob Helberg, of the Congressional US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, warned of the dangers posed by robots rolling off the production lines in China’s advanced technology factories.
“Ultimately, if TikTok was a Chinese spy balloon in your pocket, Chinese [humanoid robots] on US soil are poised to be a Chinese PLA stealth army on our land. And we can’t allow that to happen,” he said.
I Robot:
- The latest android player is Zhiyuan Robotics, or Agibot, based in Shanghai and valued at nearly US$1 billion.
- More than 1,000 models have been assembled at its Lingang Fengxian plant this year.
global times
Chinese startup [Agibot is] coming directly for the Tesla Optimus.
Delve deeper: Agibot plans to scale up production in 2025, expanding its footprint at home, as well as moving into lucrative global export markets.
Between the lines: “Silicon Valley startup Figure AI is delivering its first AI robots, [but] a Chinese startup [Agibot], coming directly for the Tesla Optimus, is already mass producing advanced AI [androids],” Global Times reported last week.
Big picture: Elon Musk, the world’s richest person and the driving force behind Telsa and Space X, has boasted that the Optimus robot will join the workforce at his electric vehicle gigaplants next year. Commercial sales are slated for 2026.
What they are saying: Optimus stands 1.7 meters tall and weighs 123 pounds or 56 kilograms. It is designed to do “boring and dangerous” work, while its name is in homage to Optimus Prime of the Transformers film franchise.
China Factor comment: Will this be the year that the fantasy video series Love, Death & Robots gets a Chinese twist with real-life consequences? The data is still out on that one.