Robots played music, boxed, mixed drinks, directed traffic, and demonstrated increasingly human-like movements at this year’s World Robot Conference in Beijing. Behind the spectacle, however, China’s robotics industry is trying to answer a much more important question: can these machines become useful enough to work alongside humans at scale? More than 300 exhibitors participated in the 2026 World Robot Conference, displaying thousands of robotic products. China has made humanoid robotics a strategic industrial priority and is using its enormous manufacturing ecosystem to move quickly from prototypes toward mass production. The hardware is advancing rapidly. The harder challenge is making robots…
Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming part of everyday life, but enthusiasm is not necessarily growing with adoption. For the first time, a majority of U.S. adults under 30 say they are more concerned than excited about the increasing use of AI. According to new Pew Research Center data, 55% of 18- to 29-year-olds now feel this way, compared with 31% in 2021. Only 11% say they are more excited than concerned. Perhaps more strikingly, young adults are increasingly worried about what AI will mean for employment. Almost three-quarters (73%) believe AI will lead to fewer jobs in the United States…
