Robots Set to Move beyond Factory as AI Advances

 Attendees watch as a robot walks around during a demonstration at the Unitree Robotics booth during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada, on January 9, 2025. (AFP)
Attendees watch as a robot walks around during a demonstration at the Unitree Robotics booth during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada, on January 9, 2025. (AFP)
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Robots Set to Move beyond Factory as AI Advances

 Attendees watch as a robot walks around during a demonstration at the Unitree Robotics booth during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada, on January 9, 2025. (AFP)
Attendees watch as a robot walks around during a demonstration at the Unitree Robotics booth during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada, on January 9, 2025. (AFP)

Today's robots perform safety checks at industrial plants, conduct quality control in manufacturing, and are even starting to keep hospital patients company.

But soon -- perhaps very soon -- these increasingly humanlike machines will handle more sophisticated tasks, freeing up people while raising complex questions about the roles of artificial intelligence that are gaining attention.

At a panel hosted by the American Association of Retired Persons at this week's Consumer Electronics Show (CES), experts described the next five years as a period where robots transition primarily from industrial sites to service settings, helping to address a worsening health care labor crunch.

Seeing robotics in places like theme parks or universities "will lead to the companion robot probably at the end of the decade," said Marc Theermann, chief strategy officer for robot company Boston Dynamics.

Cris Gardner, a vice president in futurecasting at AARP, predicted robots will provide emotional support as they enter homes and assist with daily tasks.

People "will own a generalized humanoid robot the way they would own a car," she said.

- Upheaval ahead? -

Dystopian prophesies of a robot-centered future have long featured in the public imagination. However, recent breakthroughs in generative AI have given more credibility to predictions of billions of humanoid robots in everyday life.

The centrality of robots in the coming years is "widely underappreciated," said a report from Abundance 360, a conference and education venture led by entrepreneur Peter Diamandis.

Robots could enable an "era of unprecedented abundance," lowering costs while freeing humans "to focus on creative and fulfilling pursuits," it said.

However, the analysis also identified nine sectors facing potential job displacement, including manufacturing, elder care, agriculture, education, and surgery.

"The speed at which multimodal generative AI and humanoid robot development is progressing, paired with the lack of public discourse on this subject, indicates that there will be significant job disruption and societal upheaval," it said.

Disputes over automation have been a recurring factor in labor negotiations, most recently involving US dockworkers, who reached a tentative agreement with a shippers group, averting a strike.

The International Longshoremen's Association permitted ports to add semiautonomous cranes only if more workers are hired, according to the Wall Street Journal.

- Worker shortages -

At CES, companies described robots as performing tasks that humans either shouldn't do because they are dangerous, or don't want to do because they are grueling, tedious, or unpleasant.

Hong Kong company R2C2 showcased industrial robots that can perform functions such as inspections at power plants and technician work on trains, according to San Wong, the company's founder and chief executive.

Working on trains involves "lots of grease everywhere, and it's dirty and hot" so turnover is high, San said.

Vehicle and equipment maker Oshkosh has used automation to phase out high-burnout jobs such as the finishing work on firetrucks, which requires workers to wear a mask and often leads to shoulder and elbow problems, said chief executive John Pfeifer.

Those workers have been shifted to other assembly line work, such as welding. While these jobs are currently safe, they may "one day" be automated, Pfeifer said.

"This has been the evolution of the economy for 250 years," he said. "People move into more productive ways to help the economy grow."

At CES, US agriculture machinery giant John Deere showcased autonomous vehicles developed partly in response to persistent farm labor shortages.

Automation allows farmers to focus on more challenging tasks, such as managing grain movement from a field to a storage area, said Deanna Kovar, president of Deere's worldwide agriculture and turf division.

"We need to continue to make sure we're evolving the skill sets of our employees, of our customers, so that they can take advantage of the technologies and not see them as a threat," she said.

AARP's Gardner noted that the aging US population points to a significant labor gap for caring for the next generation of seniors.

"The demand is going to be enormous, it can't be covered by human beings," said Gardner, who views improved robotics as key to enabling older people to stay independent for longer.



Impostor Uses AI to impersonate Rubio and Contact Foreign and US Officials

Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a signing ceremony for a peace agreement between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo at the State Department, June 27, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a signing ceremony for a peace agreement between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo at the State Department, June 27, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
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Impostor Uses AI to impersonate Rubio and Contact Foreign and US Officials

Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a signing ceremony for a peace agreement between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo at the State Department, June 27, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a signing ceremony for a peace agreement between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo at the State Department, June 27, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

The State Department is warning US diplomats of attempts to impersonate Secretary of State Marco Rubio and possibly other officials using technology driven by artificial intelligence, according to two senior officials and a cable sent last week to all embassies and consulates.

The warning came after the department discovered that an impostor posing as Rubio had attempted to reach out to at least three foreign ministers, a US senator and a governor, according to the July 3 cable, which was first reported by The Washington Post.

The recipients of the scam messages, which were sent by text, Signal and voice mail, were not identified in the cable, a copy of which was shared with The Associated Press.

“The State Department is aware of this incident and is currently investigating the matter,” it said. “The department takes seriously its responsibility to safeguard its information and continuously takes steps to improve the department’s cybersecurity posture to prevent future incidents.”

It declined to comment further due to “security reasons” and the ongoing investigation.

One of the officials said the hoaxes had been unsuccessful and “not very sophisticated.” Nonetheless, the second official said the department deemed it “prudent” to advise all employees and foreign governments, particularly as efforts by foreign actors to compromise information security increase.

The officials were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“There is no direct cyber threat to the department from this campaign, but information shared with a third party could be exposed if targeted individuals are compromised,” the cable said.

The FBI warned in a public service announcement this past spring of a “malicious text and voice messaging campaign” in which unidentified “malicious actors” have been impersonating senior US government officials.

The scheme, according to the FBI, has relied on text messages and AI-generated voice messages that purport to come from a senior US official and that aim to dupe other government officials as well as the victim’s associates and contacts.

It is the second high-level Trump administration official to face such AI-driven impersonation.

The government was investigating after elected officials, business executives and other prominent figures received messages from someone impersonating President Donald Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles. Text messages and phone calls went out from someone who seemed to have gained access to the contacts in Wiles’ personal cellphone, The Wall Street Journal reported in May.

Some of those who received calls heard a voice that sounded like Wiles, which may have been generated by artificial intelligence, according to the newspaper. The messages and calls were not coming from Wiles’ number, the report said.