Do you secretly fear an AI takeover? Maybe don’t watch this sports event where humanoid robots compete

Imagine walking down the street and stumbling upon a soccer match, except the competitors are robots, not humans. Would you be surprised to learn that this isn’t a Steven Spielberg futuristic movie set but a real-life athletic competition?

The first-ever World Humanoid Robot Sports Games kicked off in Beijing on August 15, hosted by the city’s municipal government in hopes of promoting China’s technological advancements and fostering further dialogue internationally.

Let’s take a look at the details of this event and muse about what it might mean for our future:

Is there any precedent for this event?

While this is the first-ever full-scale event of its kind, it is coming on the heels of the 10th World Robot Conference in Beijing, held August 8-12, according to the Asia Times. 

That’s not the only precursor event held in the Chinese capital.

In April, 21 humanoid robots participated in the first-ever half-marathon. Only six completed the race, which seems rather relatable. The Tien Kung Ultra robot, created by China’s National and Local Co-built Embodied AI Robotics Innovation Center, finished the course in 2 hours and 40 minutes.

In Hangzhou in May, the China Media Group World Robot Competition-Mecha Fighting Series took place. Four Unitree G1s lived out the rock’em-sock’em robot dream.

Back in Beijing in June, a “practice” soccer match was held with robots facing off three-on-three. It was the first time AI was utilized instead of human intervention.

The robots were even equipped with the ability to recover from falls, but that technology has room for improvement, as some of the robots had to be taken off the field on stretchers.

Where is the event taking place?

The competition is being held in two very special Olympic areas in Beijing. The first is the National Stadium, known as the Bird’s Nest. The second is the National Speed Skating Oval, aka the Ice Ribbon.

More than 500 humanoid robots across 280 teams from 16 countries are throwing down in 26 events.

What does this mean for the future?

Technology is moving fast, and it’s hard not to have visions of ominous science fiction movies in your head when thinking about the ramifications of artificial intelligence.

This event will allow the robots out of the lab and into a big stress test to look for errors in programming and design.

Here’s hoping we can create a world where robots support human innovation instead of, well, taking over and murdering us. A happy ending of coexistence and cooperation might not sell at the box office, but it would be a much better reality to live in.

You can check out a preview of the event in the embedded video below.