Chinese Robotics Company Spotted Passing Off Humans As Androids At Conference
Image via EX-Robot
Artificial intelligence just got more… artificial. At the World Robot Conference 2024 held late last month in Beijing, Chinese animatronics firm EX-Robot literally turned heads with its eerily lifelike “robots.” The hyperrealistic display had those in attendance marveling at what looked to be a significant leap in humanoid technology.
However, the truth was far more fleshed out than anyone expected. It turns out that EX-Robot had hired two women to pose as futuristic humanoids, complete with robotic movements and expressions. The cosplayers’ performances were so convincingly uncanny that conference-goers were initially fooled by their charade.
During the World Robot Conference 2024 in Beijing from Aug 21 - Aug 25, 🇨🇳 animatronics company EX-Robot (or EX Robots as reported by some news media) hired 2 women cosplayed as robots to spice up the exhibition.
— Byron Wan (@Byron_Wan) August 26, 2024
Hmmm… two human beings mimicked the movements of robots that… pic.twitter.com/hRGxgfe4mD
But the jig was up when images surfaced online showing one of the “robots” enjoying a very human lunch break.
Women in robot suits 🫤 pic.twitter.com/tdAKOAc8GY
— ð““ð–—. ð“¥ð–”ð± ð“žð–ˆð–šð–‘ð–Ž, ðŒðƒ ðŸ‘ï¸ðŸ—¨ï¸ (@Vox_Oculi) August 25, 2024
And while EX-Robot (sometimes going by EXrobots) has made progress in developing robots capable of facial expressions and emotional feedback, they’re not quite like the humanlike behavior demonstrated by the characters.
It’s one thing to imitate life; it’s another to simulate a simulation.
