Hello! Welcome to the first paid Wednesday edition of New Things. Not a paid subscriber? You can subscribe here to get all the fun below. And by “fun” I mean all the details on the Chinese robot invasion.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been spending time with a Unitree G1 humanoid—both in my house and in the warehouse where these robots are being imported from China by the thousands. This is our first feature video, and I’m so excited to share it with you. Plus, our quick recap of Altman vs. Musk, Uber’s new hotel-booking push and YouTube conversational search. And a guide to finding your chatbot’s memory…and wiping it.
My best advice after spending a few days with the Unitree G1 robot from China: Do not let it anywhere near your feet. The roughly 77-pound humanoid stepped on my toe while I was testing its balance.
But the fear of a little broken phalange isn’t the biggest concern when it comes to Chinese robots in America. (My toe is fine, by the way. It was the color of an eggplant for a while; now it’s just sore.) The bigger worries around these foreign-made machines echo those surrounding other Chinese electronics, like smartphones or EVs: national security, data privacy and cybersecurity. Just see the FBI’s website.
So a few months ago, when videos of G1 humanoids’ antics in the U.S. first started overrunning my X algorithm, I decided to find out how these robots were getting here—and whether they were safe. You should watch our brand-new feature video, where the robot visits my home and I visit Robostore, the Long Island-based company importing these robots and selling them to major American tech companies, academic institutions and more. Here are some of the top things I found out.
This newsletter was curated and written by Joanna Stern and Adele Lowitz. The amazing New Things branding was designed by Brainstorm. Have a great rest of the week and see you Friday, assuming the robots don’t step on any of our toes. 🦶🏻
|
