‘The future has arrived’: China’s power grid will soon be run by an army of humanoid robots and robot dogs as state announces $1 billion investment in 8,500 robo-helpers

AI Platforms & Assistants ‘The future has arrived’: China’s power grid will soon be run by an army of humanoid robots and robot dogs as state announces $1 billion investment in 8,500 robo-helpers News By Alex Blake published 28 April 2026 Calls made for US government to act When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Getty Images / Bloomberg) Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter China is spending $1 billion to buy 8,500 new robotsThese devices will inspect and maintain its electricity gridMeanwhile, a new report says the US’s grid is creaking at the seamsRight now, the world seems to be obsessed with the chatbot flavor of artificial intelligence (AI). But what about that other kind of AI: robotics? Well, China isn’t waiting to find out what happens here, as a new report has detailed how the country plans to run its power grid using the power of robots.According to the South China Morning Post, the Chinese government plans to buy thousands of robots this year, all of which will be put to work in various ways on the nation’s infrastructure. That includes devices that can carry out inspection and maintenance tasks, including those at remote or dangerous locations.The report adds that the State Grid Corporation of China has set aside 6.8 billion yuan (about $1 billion) to purchase AI-powered robots for the project. That’ll be enough to provide around 8,500 devices.Article continues below You may like Futuristic humanoid robots go viral in China – and leap ahead of Tesla's Optimus Robots are fighting wars and helping to quash riots — China is arming riot police with squads of AI controlled drones and Ukraine wants to man the frontlines with 25,000 robots 'I do think we always have to think about, maybe even worry a little bit about, Chinese subsidies': Microsoft President says US firms should get ready for more competition from China That includes 5,000 robotic dogs, which will be sent to “inspect substations and transmission lines, as well as other facilities located in mountainous terrain,” the report says. The rest will be made up by “humanoid and dual-arm robots” which will be sent out to “perform more high-stakes tasks, including maintaining the country’s rapidly expanding ultra-high-voltage power grid.”US faces ‘slower economic growth’ (Image credit: Getty Images / Bloomberg)In contrast to the news from China, the New York Times put out a detailed report just yesterday raising the alarm about the state of the US’s electricity infrastructure.The article claims that “Our grid is too old and our supply of electricity too small,” and if something isn’t done by the government, US citizens “will face an impoverished future of more expensive, less reliable energy, and slower economic growth.”The two reports from the South China Morning Post and the New York Times address related but different issues — namely, the former shows China focusing on inspection and maintenance, while the latter argues that the US needs a full-scale renovation of its power grid. window.sliceComponents = window.sliceComponents || {}; externalsScriptLoaded.then(() => { window.reliablePageLoad.then(() => { var componentContainer = document.querySelector("#slice-container-newsletterForm-articleInbodyContent-XYmYryUM7EP9RprbhnqVTo"); if…

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