We’re midway through the Lunar New Year celebrations (which, in case you didn’t know, stretch a full 15 days) and I swear if I see the word 'gallop' in one more press release, I may well leapfrog into the nearest lake. Which would have been rather dramatic two weeks ago when I was in New York and every lake was frozen solid in what felt like an Arctic audition.
Now, thankfully, I am back in the tropics. The sun is shining, the sea breeze is blowing, the clouds are fluffy and drifting without urgency. I am not, contrary to all seasonal messaging, looking for a fast horse to carry me at breakneck speed into the new year. A canter would do nicely. A saunter would be even better. A gentle trot, perhaps.
But at the rate things are moving – honestly, how is it March already? – it would appear the Fire Horse intends to live up to its “superequine” billing whether I like it or not.
If you spent any time on Chinese social media over the new year, you would have seen the robots in this video. Impressive creatures – as tall or taller than Yao Ming, lean (clearly not raised on noodles and dumplings), astonishingly agile.
They performed Kungfu alongside humans with such speed and precision that one commentator triumphantly declared, “Physical intelligence is the next frontier.”
Watching them execute backflips and somersaults with mechanical grace, I couldn’t help but feel both awe and a faint sense of inevitability.
And yet, I am not entirely convinced.
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