Ryan Knutson

They probably can, but it would cost a lot more and take a lot of time.

So when you're scaling up, when you're really mass producing humanoids, that's going to be a challenge for the U.S.

industry.

China's supply chain is so dominant that many of the U.S.

's top robotics companies rely in some way on Chinese parts, and that presents a lot of risks.

For instance, China could, in theory, cripple the U.S.

robotics industry by withholding certain components, or even use some of the components it sells to American companies as a secret backdoor to conduct surveillance.

China denies it does anything like this.

If you don't have control of that technology, especially in crucial infrastructure areas, you may be concerned that if you're using Chinese technology, could they somehow be controlling it from China or someplace linked to China?

Do you want that kind of control handed over to another state, especially for a state like China where the U.S.

is competing with?

Chinese government officials have said that Beijing is committed to safeguarding the security and stability of global supply chains.

Lawmakers in the U.S.

have also started ringing alarm bells about the military risks of a world filled with Chinese humanoids.

In March, Congress held hearings where experts warned about China's growing robot supremacy.

In a sign that the U.S.

is concerned about being left behind, last year President Donald Trump signed an executive order to boost, quote, research facilities for robotic laboratories and production facilities.

Meanwhile, a bipartisan bill in the House of Representatives is aiming to outright ban the federal government from using Chinese humanoids in the U.S.

So China and the US are both pushing ahead to create this technology, but can we like stop for a second and just think like, should we even be making AI-powered human-like robots?

I mean, the Terminator aside, is it necessarily a good idea to have humanoids that can do everything that we can and maybe even a little better?