Generative AI is speeding up human-like robot development. What that means for jobs

BEIJING — ChatGPT-like artificial intelligence is speeding up research and bringing humanoid robots closer to reality in China, home to many of the world's factories.

AI has been around for decades. What's changed with the emergence of OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot is the ability of AI to better understand and generate content in a human-like way. While the U.S.-based tech is not officially available in China, local companies such as Baidu have released similar chatbots and AI models.

In robotics, the development of generative AI can help machines with understanding and perceiving their environment, said Li Zhang, chief operating officer of Shenzhen-based LimX Dynamics.

About three months after joining the two-year-old startup, Li said he shortened his expectations for how long it would take LimX to produce a humanoid robot capable of not just factory work, but also helping out in a households.

Li originally expected the entire process to take eight to ten years, but now anticipates some use cases will be ready in five to seven years. "After working for a few months, I saw how various tools' abilities were improved because of AI," he said in Mandarin, translated by CNBC.

"It has accelerated our entire research and development cycle," he said.

Companies are rushing into the opportunity. OpenAI itself is backing humanoid robot startups, while Elon Musk's Tesla is developing its own, called Optimus.

Electric car giant BYD last year invested in Shanghai-based Agibot just months after its founding, according to PitchBook.

And at a high level, Chinese state media in November published a photo of Chinese President Xi Jinping watching a humanoid robot at an exhibition center during his first trip to Shanghai since the pandemic. The robot was