The Robot Revolution Has Officially Begun

InnovationAIThe Robot Revolution Has Officially BegunByMichael Ashley,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. The author of many tech books, Michael Ashley covers AI and Big Data.Follow AuthorMay 20, 2026, 11:25am EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.On fashion’s biggest night, AGIBOT turned heads, competing for attention with actors, artists and flesh-and-blood celebrities at the recent MET Gala.Craig Barritt/Getty ImagesAs advanced as AI has become over the last few years, it has largely existed in virtual form. Most of our interactions with it happen through screens or conversation. Like Voldemort early in the Harry Potter series, AI has lacked physical form.All that is about to change. Move over AI Revolution. We are witnessing the dawn of what promises to be the Robot Revolution. Pleasing alliteration aside, AI is now making the leap from the intangible to the tangible.To appreciate the sea change, it’s helpful to recall major news that broke in April. “A humanoid robot just beat the human world record for the fastest half-marathon during a race in China,” Smithsonian Magazine reports. Honor, a Chinese electronics company, produced the self-navigating robot aptly titled Lightning. Nearly six feet tall, it was one of hundreds of humanoid robots that competed alongside thousands of humans in the 2026 Beijing E-Town Humanoid Robot Half-Marathon, beating the previous humanoid robot record by several minutes. News of this win cannot help but conjure up another human versus machine contest. In March 2016, the DeepMind Challenge Match occurred in Seoul, pitting AlphaGo, an AI trained on the complex Chinese game of Go against the legendary player Lee Sidol. Millions tuned in to watch the battle of wits.MORE FOR YOUAlas, the machine bested his human rival, helping to usher in the AI Age. As Wired covered it at the time, “The victory is notable b...