AI companies are using real-world data to train humanoid robot helpers

Shift users elect to act as a set of eyes for robotics companies in exchange for cash. Buyers of humanoid robots must consider a different tradeoff.

In the 2025 demo of NEO, a human engineer teleoperated the bot the whole time. But 1X says the latest version of NEO, which is expected to ship to consumers by the end of 2026, will operate autonomously by default. If it encounters an unfamiliar task, owners can ask for an expert teleoperator to take over and remotely maneuver the bot.

"In 2026, if you buy this product, it is because you are OK with that social contract," 1X founder and CEO Bernt Børnich told Wall Street Journal technology journalist Joanna Stern last fall. "If we don't have your data, we can't make the product better." Last year, a demo of 1X Technologies' home robot, NEO, went viral. In a video produced by The Wall Street Journal, the mouthless bot attempted to load a dishwasher. NEO moved clumsily but completed the task—with the help of a human teleoperator. In July, 1X unveiled NEO's new dexterous, tendon-driven hands. According to 1X, the hands "remove the hardware ceiling on what humanoid robots can actually do" and "make data the only barrier to capabilities." 1X is one of several companies creating humanoid robots using physical AI—artificial intelligence that allows robots to operate autonomously in the real world. Companies such as Figure,Tesla,Agility, andBoston Dynamics are competing to produce and deploy bots that can perform human work. As in the broader AI race, China is a formidable player.

In a May post on X, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman mused that "in the long term, we imagine everyone having a personal robot doing anything they need." Humanoid robots have not yet achieved the autonomy and dexterity of the Ex Machina robowomen. Getting them to that level of proficiency will require humans to provide some help—and lots of data.