The Hidden Human Labor Behind Humanoid Robots

As humanoid robots become more advanced, the human work required to train and operate them is being obscured from the public.

Published on Feb. 23, 2026

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The article discusses how the human labor involved in training and operating humanoid robots is often hidden from the public, leading to an overestimation of the robots' actual capabilities. Examples are provided of workers in China and North America being used to collect data and provide remote teleoperation for these robots, creating new forms of labor that are not transparent. The author argues that this lack of transparency mirrors issues seen with AI, where the public consistently overestimates the technology's abilities due to the concealed human work behind it.

Why it matters

As humanoid robots become more prevalent in workplaces, homes, and public spaces, it is important for the public to have an accurate understanding of their true capabilities and limitations. The hidden human labor involved in training and operating these robots can lead to inflated expectations and potential safety issues, similar to the problems seen with Tesla's 'Autopilot' marketing. Transparency around the human work behind humanoid robots is crucial for proper scrutiny and understanding of the technology.

The details

The article cites examples of the human labor involved in training and operating humanoid robots, including a worker in Shanghai who spent a week wearing a VR headset and exoskeleton to open and close a microwave hundreds of times to train a robot, and delivery companies using movement-tracking sensors on workers to collect data to train robots. The article also discusses tele-operation, where humans remotely pilot robots to perform tasks in homes, raising privacy concerns. The author argues that this hidden human labor mirrors issues seen with content moderation and AI training data collection, where the public overestimates the technology's capabilities.

  • In September 2026, the robotics company Figure announced a partnership with investment firm Brookfield to capture 'massive amounts' of real-world data 'across a variety of household environments'.
  • The $20,000 humanoid robot 'Neo' from startup 1X is set to ship to homes this year.

The players

Figure

A robotics company that announced a partnership to capture large amounts of real-world data from household environments.

Brookfield

An investment firm that manages 100,000 residential units and is partnering with Figure.

1X

A startup that is shipping its $20,000 humanoid robot 'Neo' to homes this year.

Bernt Øivind Børnich

The founder of 1X, who stated the company is not committed to any prescribed level of autonomy for the 'Neo' robot.

Aaron Prather

A roboticist who discussed recent work with a delivery company that had its workers wear movement-tracking sensors to collect data to train robots.

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What they’re saying

“It's going to be weird. No doubts about it.”

— Aaron Prather, Roboticist

“If a robot gets stuck, or if the customer wants it to do a tricky task, a tele-operator from the company's headquarters in Palo Alto, California, will pilot it, looking through its cameras to iron clothes or unload the dishwasher.”

— Bernt Øivind Børnich, Founder of 1X

What’s next

The article does not mention any definite and predictable future newsworthy moments related to this story.

The takeaway

As humanoid robots become more advanced and prevalent, it is crucial for the public to have transparency about the human labor involved in training and operating these machines. Without this transparency, there is a risk of overestimating the robots' true capabilities, which could lead to safety issues and other unintended consequences, similar to the problems seen with Tesla's 'Autopilot' marketing.