Shanghai has published China’s first governance guidelines for humanoid robots, calling for risk controls and international collaboration, as tech giants like Tesla showed off their own automatons at the country’s largest artificial intelligence (AI) conference.
Makers of humanoid robots should guarantee that their products “do not threaten human security” and “effectively safeguard human dignity”, according to a new set of guidelines published in Shanghai during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) on Saturday.
They should also take measures that include setting up risk warning procedures and emergency response systems, as well as give users training on the ethical and lawful use of these machines, according to the guidelines.
The document was penned by five Shanghai-based industry organisations including the Shanghai Law Society, Shanghai Artificial Intelligence Industry Association and the National and Local Humanoid Robot Innovation Centre.
Visitors look at Tesla’s humanoid robot Optimus at its exhibition booth during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai on July 5, 2024. Photo: AFP
The groups are advocating for global cooperation in the humanoid robot sector, as well, by recommending the establishment of a global governance framework and of an international think tank dedicated to governing the machines.
A number of fledging robotic firms brought their products to WAIC this past week.
Tesla showcased the second generation of its humanoid robot Optimus on Thursday, drawing significant interest even though it was placed behind glass and did not move or engage with visitors.
Optimus, developed with Tesla’s own neural network and computer vision technology, has yet to enter full-scale production.
Most of the 18 humanoid robots on display at the conference came from Chinese exhibitors, as firms race to develop more useful, cost-effective machines with a familiar form factor reminiscent of those in science fiction.
Shenzhen-based Leju Robot presented its Kuavo robot, which runs on an operating system derived from Huawei Technology’s OpenHarmony, the open source version of HarmonyOS.
China has made it a goal to have mass production of humanoid robots by 2025 and wants global leadership in the sector by 2027, according to a plan published by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) in November last year.
By 2027, humanoid robots should become “an important new engine of economic growth” in China, the MIIT urged. Robots are expected to be popularised in industries including healthcare, home services, agriculture and logistics, according to the document.
Chinese companies have been striving to catch up with US peers in areas considered of critical national importance such as AI in an effort to achieve technological self-sufficiency. Chinese firms had six times as many generative AI patent filings as the US in the decade from 2014 through 2023, according to data published by the World Intellectual Property Organization on Wednesday.
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