CHINA - Robots Race Against Humans
In the global race to produce robots that are smarter and faster, China’s humanoids have come a long way. Robots from cutting-edge Chinese companies can dance and spin or do roundhouse kicks, as they have demonstrated in videos that are all over China’s internet.
Yet when humanoids and robots were invited to join real flesh-and-blood runners for a half-marathon in Beijing, the race garnered attention but also laid bare the challenges still facing the industry as China seeks to dominate technologies of the future.
Hailed as a “historic moment” by the Chinese government, the race came amid an intensifying tech rivalry between the U.S. and China, the world’s two biggest powers in artificial intelligence. While China remains a distant second, it leads the world in AI publications and patents and is closing the gap in terms of the quality of AI models.
“Our vision is for humanoid robots to integrate into various industries and households, serving humanity in meaningful ways,” said Wei Jiaxing, brand and public relations lead at the Beijing Innovation Center of Humanoid Robotics.
Battery life has been a longtime challenge for robotics companies. China dominates the battery industry, holding a 70% to 90% share of the global market at every stage of the value chain for lithium ion batteries, according to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a Washington-based think tank.
-www.nbcnews.com, 23 April 2025
Arno's Commentary
This marathon race between man and machine gave a boost of pride to the Chinese people. We also note the source of energy is batteries, with China dominating up to 90% of the world’s production.
While artificial intelligence (AI) is highlighted in the media daily, we need to remind ourselves that AI has no spirit or soul. It does not feel pain, joy, love, hate, disappointment, compassion, etc. Thus, it behooves us to ask the question, what does the Bible say?
In Genesis 2:5 we read: “And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.” We notice the last words, “there was not a man to till the ground,” identifying God’s intention for man to be inventive. One needs to manufacture a plow to till the ground. That is the point where man is distinctly different from animals, who do not have a spirit. They were created by God, but have not received His spirit. It is scientifically proven that since Creation, animals have not changed; they are just as God created them. Unfortunately, they also came under the curse. The New Testament proclaims: “For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:20-21). That, as we know, will change during the millennium, the thousand-year kingdom of peace.
In Exodus 31:3-5, God declares to Moses the following: “And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, And in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship.” Here we see the birth of the industrial revolution. Later, in 2 Chronicles 26:15 we read: “And he made in Jerusalem engines, invented by cunning men, to be on the towers and upon the bulwarks, to shoot arrows and great stones withal. And his name spread far abroad; for he was marvellously helped, till he was strong.” King Uzziah’s inventiveness, however, led to his fall. Verse 16 states: “But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the LORD his God, and went into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense.”
We may expect the development of artificial intelligence, for example, to lead mankind increasingly toward self and away from God the Creator.
Arno Froese is the executive director of Midnight Call Ministries and editor-in-chief of the acclaimed prophetic magazines Midnight Call and News From Israel. He has authored a number of well-received books, and has sponsored many prophecy conferences in the U.S., Canada, and Israel. His extensive travels have contributed to his keen insight into Bible prophecy, as he sees it from an international perspective.
