In a chilling development, Chinese-made humanoid robots are triggering serious concerns among U.S. lawmakers. Advanced robots with eerily lifelike capabilities are poised to enter the global market, prompting some Congress members to call for immediate bans.
The fear stems from the potential for these robots, marketed as harmless home assistants or efficient assembly line workers, to be exploited for nefarious purposes by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) or state-sponsored actors.
🟣 The Figure 2.0 robot has just been announced and Wow 🔥 Just look at it! It has an exoskeleton structure, speech 2 speech reasoning & check out the dexterity of the hands! 🤖 👋 The speed of advancements in robotics right now is staggering #robots #figure2 #humanoid pic.twitter.com/yFjFJtxDJY
— ✨🪐MIND CHILL AI – 𝕄𝔼𝕋𝔸𝕍𝔼ℝ𝕊𝔼 𝕆𝔽 ℂℍ𝕀𝕃𝕃 (@Mindchillcoin) August 6, 2024
Jacob Helberg, a prominent Washington lobbyist and member of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, has been one of the loudest voices raising alarms. He equates the potential threat of these robots to previous security issues like the Chinese telecom giant Huawei and TikTok, both of which faced significant pushback in the U.S. due to security concerns.
Helberg warns that the advancements in humanoid technology have been "mind-bogglingly fast." He predicts a near-future scenario similar to the "ChatGPT moment," where the world suddenly wakes up to the profound implications of this technology. According to him, these robots could be used for spying, sabotaging critical infrastructure, or even inflicting physical harm, such as strangling someone in their sleep.
This has been engineered for over a year, Figure 02 is the most advanced humanoid robot on the planet and it's seriously exciting.
We are getting from a place where robots could barely move themselves let alone other things to one where they can now actively cook, and assist you… pic.twitter.com/MksH6jBMov
— Momchil kotev (@Undeniably_chil) August 5, 2024
The CCP has ambitious plans to dominate the humanoid robot market by 2025, with world-class performance goals set for 2027. These plans include mass production of humanoid robots, which are expected to compete with American firms like Boston Dynamics and Tesla.
The Chinese government’s strategy involves subsidizing strategic industries and flooding foreign markets with competitively priced products to eliminate competition and advance the CCP's interests.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) and other lawmakers, such as Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.) and Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.), echo Helberg's concerns. They argue that the U.S. must act swiftly to prevent these robots from infiltrating American markets and compromising national security. Scalise likened the situation to the security threats that led Congress to act against Huawei and TikTok, stressing the urgency of implementing policy measures to protect American interests.
Despite these alarms, some experts dismiss the fears as exaggerated. Paul Rosenzweig, a former Homeland Security deputy assistant secretary, considers the threat of humanoid robots far-fetched, suggesting that the focus should remain on more immediate concerns like AI competition and data security.
