From robot workers to AI glasses: Exploring everyday AI in Hangzhou

In Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, artificial intelligence is stepping off the screen. It is taking physical form in robots that cook, serve customers, inspect equipment and assist people in their daily lives.

Spanish filmmaker Larry Levene encountered that shift at the Hangzhou Embodied Intelligence Exhibition Centre, which gathers robots designed for real-world settings, from retail and catering to industrial inspection and public services. Watching machines perform martial arts, play chess and give massages was entertaining, he said, but it also offered a glimpse of how quickly they are entering spaces once occupied only by people.

That same change was visible elsewhere in the city. At a robot restaurant, machines pulled noodles, stir-fried dishes, brewed coffee and made ice cream. The restaurant is not simply a novelty for visitors. It also provides a working environment in which robotic systems can be tested as part of everyday service.

The most meaningful part of his journey came at Hangzhou Tongxing Technology, where Levene tried AI glasses developed for blind and visually impaired users. Combining cameras, AI models and spoken instructions, the glasses describe surroundings, read signs and menus, detect obstacles, and guide wearers as they move.

For Larry, hearing the glasses describe the room around him was an inspiring moment. It revealed a side of AI that was less about novelty or convenience and more about responding to a genuine human need.

The visit also left him with questions. Robots and AI systems are advancing quickly, but their effect on jobs, behaviour and human relationships remains uncertain. The challenge is not only to make machines more capable, but to decide where they improve people's lives and where human presence still matters most.