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TechnologyAre Humanoid Robots the End of Human Work?<br>Here’s what the people making the robots think
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By Kristen French
2:00 PM CDT on May 21, 2026<br>Share on Facebook<br>Share on X (formerly Twitter)<br>Share on Reddit<br>Share on Email<br>Share on Bluesky
Almost a decade ago, The New Yorker ran a cover showing a busy city street crowded by human-shaped robots and other whirring creatures. The drab machines amble down a sidewalk drinking coffee, checking cell phones, walking tiny robot dogs—and dropping coins in the cup of a shaggy human who sits begging for spare change. The image struck a chord. Fear was in the air, then as now.
The worry that our robot progeny will make us obsolete has lurked in the cultural imagination since the word robot was first coined in a Czech play published in 1920, over a century ago. But as advances in artificial intelligence and robotics accelerate at a bewildering pace, it has increasingly seemed like our moment of reckoning might be upon us. In 2013, a widely cited report out of the University of Oxford predicted that nearly half of all jobs were at risk due to machine learning and so-called “mobile robotics.” And though subsequent analyses pushed back on those findings—the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, for example, put the number as low as 9 percent—the original figure has lingered in the zeitgeist.
Then came ChatGPT and Tesla’s humanoid “Optimus” robot, which was wildly hyped by Tesla CEO Elon Musk—though he’s well-known for his over-promising, among other things. Footage of an army of humanoid robots marching in sync through a Chinese warehouse began making the rounds on the Internet, shared widely on social media and in the headlines. Soon the job-cutting began. In recent months, a number of companies, including Amazon, have made mass cuts to their workforces, citing the efficiencies of AI. This week, Meta cut 8,000 jobs, or 10 percent of its workforce, to refocus on AI. One November 2025 study found a 16 percent decline in certain entry-level positions since ChatGPT’s release. In recent commencement speeches, some speakers have hailed the AI revolution, only to be met with choruses of boos.
This may be the beginning of a total transformation of the workforce—but for better or for worse? New technologies have historically created as many jobs as they destroy once the dust settles. But some have argued that this is the first time automation is tackling both physical work and cognitive, creative work at once. Previous transitions also played out over generations, giving displaced workers time to land on their feet.
Recently, thousands of robotics engineers gathered at a conference in China, and one of the panels consisted of a staged debate: Would humanoid robots replace most human workers by 2050? The vast majority of the thousands who attended voted no before the debate even started, and even more of them voted no when the arguments were complete. Take that, robots.
American inventor, artist, writer, and professor of robotics and automation at University of California, Berkeley, Kenneth Goldberg co-authored a viewpoint about the session in the journal Science Robotics. I spoke with Goldberg about what robots are bad at, why he and his colleagues voted no, and the future of work.
You were just at a robot conference in China where there were dancing robots, boxing robots, and garment-folding robot competitions. I wondered if there were any robots that really impressed you.<br>Featured Video
There were humanoid robots everywhere you looked. Also, many new robot hands that were impressive. But the thing to keep in mind is that while robots are very good at locomotion and acrobatics ...
Acrobatics?<br>Backflips, synchronized dancing. You’ve seen the Chinese New Year videos? Just search online for humanoid backflips, and you’ll see dozens of videos. Robots can also now run a half marathon faster than a human. But that doesn’t mean they’re equally good or even close to humans in terms of dexterity.
Why is dexterity so important for the kind of labor that would replace a human?<br>This ability to reliably manipulate objects with hands is important for many jobs, from agriculture to zookeeping.<br>I was personally kind of shocked to read that 80 percent of the 3,000 attendees, people who work in robotics, at this debate session said that robots wouldn’t replace human workers soon. Did that number surprise you?<br>No, it didn’t. Experts who study humanoid robots understand that they currently have many limitations. But there’s a huge disconnect between the popular impression and the reality of where robots are today. It’s important to convey to the public that although they see humanoids doing certain things, like running and doing backflips, these robots still can’t...