The Rise of Robot Trainers: Teaching AI to Become Future Employees

China is increasingly serious about preparing a new era in the workforce, where humanoid robots are projected to work alongside humans across various industrial sectors. To achieve this, the country is now building specialised training centres tasked with “teaching” robots to perform tasks like humans.

In China’s various robot training centres, humans now have a new role as robot instructors. They teach AI-powered machines to move, assemble goods, serve customers, and even handle household chores.

This phenomenon is part of China’s broader strategy to dominate the global technology market and future industrial supply chains. After electric vehicles and artificial intelligence (AI) became primary focuses, humanoid robots have now been added to the development priorities until 2030.

Kenneth Ren, a Chinese technology consultant, is directly involved in the project. He works at the Humanoid Robot Data Training Centre in Beijing, a robot training facility supported by the city government.

“We are essentially teaching robots to think for themselves,” said Kenneth Ren, as quoted by CNBC on Monday, 25 May 2026.

Ren helps run the facility, which Chinese state media refers to as a “humanoid robot school”. The aim is to prepare robots not just as entertainment tools but to function effectively in the real world.

The training centres form part of a network of similar facilities spread across China. There, robots are trained to handle various workplace scenarios using real-world environment simulations.

One of the instructors at the centre is Fudi Luo, a former art teacher who now teaches robots to sort goods on factory production lines. Using cameras, motion capture, and movement control tools, Luo and other instructors guide AI robots through repeated tasks until they can learn independently.

“Initially, the robots had no understanding, so I had to control them manually. But once my movements generated data, the robots learned and could then perform the tasks themselves,” said Luo.