I spent a day at a robot “carnival” in Shanghai. Here’s what I saw.
China is rapidly integrating humanoid robots into public life as part of a national strategy to advance embodied AI. Public exhibitions in Shanghai showcase these machines, which are increasingly being developed for both practical labor and entertainment.
Why it matters
China's dominance in humanoid manufacturing highlights a significant shift in global robotics production and the normalization of AI-driven physical machines in daily life.
Humanoids are becoming a popular form of public entertainment here.
Humanoid robots are having a moment in China. The popular machines are part of the country’s strategy to bring artificial intelligence into daily life. Embedding the technology into physical systems—an idea called embodied AI—was a key facet of China’s latest five-year plan , and companies here are already world leaders in humanoids. Nearly 90% of the more than 13,000 two-armed, two-legged robots delivered globally last year were made in China.
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