'Robots Replacing Students?': China's First AI Robot Joins PhD Programme

Human-level artificial intelligence (AI), popularly referred to as Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) may or may not be near, but China's humanoid robots are not leaving anything to chance. Shanghai Theatre Academy (STA) has accepted an AI robot named Xueba 01 into its four-year PhD programme in Drama and Film, making it the first time a humanoid machine has been granted full doctoral-candidate status.

The robot named Xueba 01 has been developed by the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology in partnership with DroidUp Robotics, according to a report in South China Morning Post. STA accepted the robot's application last Sunday (Jul 27) during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference.

Xueba 01 will be pursuing a four-year doctorate in Drama and Film, focusing on traditional Chinese opera. It has already been given a virtual student ID, and his mentor will be renowned Shanghai artist and professor Yang Qingqing.

The humanoid robot, having the face of a handsome adult male, with detailed facial expressions, owing to its silicone skin, is expected to make an appearance on the campus on September 14. After reporting to the college authorities, Xueba 01 will attend classes, rehearse operas with other PhD students, and complete a final dissertation.

It will also study artistic subjects like stage performance, scriptwriting, and set design, as well as technical topics such as motion control and language generation.

Standing 1.75m tall and weighing about 30kg, Xueba 01 can physically interact with people, with its previous iteration winning third place in the world's first humanoid half-marathon.

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'AI can't move people'

As the news of an AI robot joining the PhD programme went viral, a section of social media users expressed scepticism at the development.

"Now robots are replacing students," wrote one user, while another added: "Art needs life experience. A robot's algorithm-driven creations cannot truly move people."

A third commented: "Some arts PhD students in China still get less than 3,000 yuan (US$420) a month. Is this robot taking too many resources meant for real students?"