A worker assembles a robotic arm at a factory in Foshan, Guangdong province. [Provided to China Daily]

Technological advances have enabled robots to outperform humans in a number of specific fields, such as face and voice recognition and piloting aircraft, but as yet no one has figured out how to incorporate these abilities into one device.

"AI represents the direction of future development. I don't believe that AI will surpass the human race, but it will influence our society, so it's high time for us to start AI research from the perspective of the social sciences," Tan said.

"An Chinese old maxim says: 'Water can float your boat, but it can also sink it', so whether AI will turn out to be a demon will depend heavily on how we handle its development."