Figure AI Robot vs. Human Sorting Competition "Humans Narrowly Win"! But it might be the last victory for humans.

Figure AI's recent robot live stream, where robots compete against humans in inventory sorting, with humans narrowly winning. The CEO claims this may be humanity's last victory. The robots demonstrate incredible endurance, and while they hold promise for freeing humans from repetitive labor, they also raise concerns about job displacement.

Figure AI Robot Live Stream Picks Up Packages and Goes Viral
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American humanoid robot startup Figure AI recently conducted a 24-hour live experiment, allowing their robot Figure 03 (brand name: Jim) to perform package sorting tasks. They claimed no humans were remotely controlling the robot; it operated fully autonomously, which quickly made it popular on social media and attracted millions of views.

Figure AI is a startup valued at nearly 40 billion USD, dedicated to developing humanoid robots capable of working long hours in warehouses, factories, and homes.

During the live stream, the Figure AI robot operated independently through an embedded AI model, completing tasks such as recognizing barcodes, picking up packages, and placing them face down on conveyor belts without any remote human control.



Image source: Figure AI Figure AI allows the robot F.03 model to perform autonomous package sorting live 24/7

Human vs. Robot Package Sorting Battle: Humans Narrowly Win, But It Might Be the Last Victory
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To further test the robot's limits, Figure AI CEO Brett Adcock organized a competition between humans and robots to see who could sort packages faster.

Adcock explained the rules: a continuous 10-hour showdown where the side with the most sorted packages wins. The competition followed California labor laws, with human interns receiving paid breaks and meal times. Both sides performed barcode recognition and package redirection tasks.

The final results showed that human intern Aime processed 12,924 packages with an average of 2.79 seconds per package, narrowly beating robot F.03 (brand name: Bob), which processed 12,732 packages at an average of 2.83 seconds per package. However, after the race, the intern had blisters on her fingers and her forearm felt like it was about to break, illustrating how demanding long hours of sorting work can be for humans.



Image source: X/BrettAdcock Figure AI CEO announces that humans narrowly won the human vs. robot sorting battle, but it might be the last victory

Although humans narrowly won, Adcock said something thought-provoking: "This might be humanity's last victory in a competition."



Image source: X/BrettAdcock Figure AI CEO announces that humans narrowly won the human vs. robot sorting battle, but it might be the last victory

The Rise of the Robot Era? Community Anticipates a Bull Market in 2027-28
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Currently, as the live stream reaches its 135th hour, robots have completed sorting over 168k packages, sparking widespread discussion in the tech community.

The social platform X account Object Zero stated that Figure AI's live stream is becoming the greatest product showcase since Steve Jobs' Apple keynote, and believes that the world has moved beyond the smartphone era into the robot era.

Another X account, Ole Lehmann, pointed out that most previous robot videos only showed brief demonstrations, but this time, the robots' endurance, consistency, and ability to recover from errors were showcased for the first time. He believes the market sentiment for robots has undergone a real shift and predicts a bull market for humanoid robots in 2027-2028.

Can Robots Take Over Repetitive Labor and Free Humans?
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This human vs. machine competition and continuous live streaming have sparked lively discussions on the American forum Reddit. Most opinions focus on the advantages of robots that do not need rest, do not require salaries, do not demand healthcare, and can operate 24/7.

Although robots may be slightly slower than humans in single actions, considering factors like eating, sleeping, and taking breaks, their overall productivity still holds enormous potential.

Some users believe that tasks like inventory sorting, which involve a certain level of complexity but are extremely monotonous, are ideal scenarios for robot deployment.

Freeing humans from dull, physically exhausting repetitive work could significantly benefit societal development and fuel imagination about future factory automation. However, on the other hand, as with all technological revolutions, it could threaten the livelihoods of those who depend on such jobs.

Are You Worried About Robots Stealing Jobs?
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For years, many literary works, movies, and games have explored the future after humanoid robots become widespread. For example, in the game "Detroit: Become Human," a future set in 2038 is depicted where robots have replaced most human labor, with the US unemployment rate reaching 37.3%, even higher in Detroit.



Image source: Quantic Dream's "Detroit: Become Human," featuring one of the main characters, Markus

However, Tesla CEO Elon Musk is not worried about AI and robots taking jobs from humans; instead, he believes the world will enter an era of universal high income. People will work not for survival but for interest; the productivity surge brought by robots could accelerate deflation, drastically lowering prices, and potentially solving long-standing US debt issues.

Related report:
Musk: AI Robots Will Make People Unnecessary to Work! Money Will Disappear, and Future Currency Might Be Energy?