JACK EWING2026年8月12日 Will Crooks for The New York TimesAt a BMW factory in South Carolina, a human-shaped robot with a screen for a face recently stepped from a charging station toward a stack of green plastic boxes. It grasped an auto part from one of the boxes, pivoted, placed the part in a trolley, then pulled the trolley across the floor.在南卡罗来纳州的一家宝马工厂，一个有着屏幕脸的人形机器人最近从一个充电站走向一堆绿色塑料箱。它从一个箱子中抓取了一个汽车零件，转动身体，将零件放入手推车中，然后拉着推车穿过车间。The robot’s slow, stiff movements suggested a worker with a bad hangover rather than a technological revolution.机器人的动作缓慢而僵硬，看起来更像是一个宿醉未醒的工人，而不是一场技术革命。“They’re still slower than humans,” Ulrich Wieland, a BMW vice president in charge of logistics at the factory, in Spartanburg, told reporters invited to see the robot in June. But, he added, “they’re advancing fast.”“它们仍然比人类慢，”宝马位于斯帕坦堡工厂负责物流的副总裁乌尔里希·维兰德在6月邀请记者参观该机器人时表示。但他补充说，“它们进步很快。”Automakers have used robots for decades, but they are usually powerful, one-armed machines that are fixed in place and perform repetitive tasks like welding body frames or applying adhesives to door panels.汽车制造商使用机器人已经有几十年的历史，但它们通常是强大的单臂机器，固定在某个位置，执行重复性任务，比如焊接车身框架或在车门面板上涂抹粘合剂。Now, most major automakers are betting that robots designed to resemble human beings, known as humanoids, will usher in a new wave of automation and efficiency. Equipped with artificial intelligence, they are expected to move around and do tasks now done by humans without any modifications to factories or heavy equipment.现在，大多数主要汽车制造商都寄望于这种外形类似人类、被称为人形机器人的设计能带来新一轮自动化和效率提升。配备人工智能后，它们有望在无需对工厂或重型设备进行任何改造的情况下，四处移动并完成目前由人类完成的工作。Unlike most of the robots now in use, humanoids would respond to voice commands and theoretically solve problems and react to unforeseen events. They would never take a lunch break, join a union or require health insurance.与目前使用的大多数机器人不同，人形机器人将能够响应语音指令，并且理论上能够解决问题并应对突发事件。它们永远不会午休、加入工会或需要医疗保险。To optimists, robots could rescue U.S. manufacturing by increasing productivity, solving shortages of skilled workers and giving Western carmakers a fighting chance at competing with Chinese rivals that enjoy lower costs. Boring but important jobs like sorting parts would be done by robots, freeing humans for more interesting and specialized work.对于乐观者来说，机器人可以通过提高生产率、解决熟练工人短缺的问题来拯救美国制造业，让西方汽车制造商在与成本更低的中国竞争对手竞争时有一线生机。分拣零件这样枯燥但重要的工作将由机器人完成，从而将人类解放出来，从事更有趣、更专业的工作。宝马工厂里的一台人形机器人。一个长期困扰机器人专家的问题是如何复制人手所具有的灵活性与触觉敏感度。 Will Crooks for The New York TimesBut many experts who have studied the use of robots and other automation tools caution that there is also a gloomier scenario.但许多研究过机器人和其他自动化工具应用的专家警告说，也存在一种较悲观的可能性。“With any kind of automation, you generally reduce the amount of labor you need per widget that you make, and that’s generally a gain for society,” said Susan Helper, a professor of economics at Case Western Reserve University who testified on robotics before a congressional committee in April.“任何形式的自动化通常都会减少生产每一个零件所需的劳动力，而这通常对全社会是有益的，”凯斯西储大学经济学教授苏珊·赫勒弗表示，她曾在4月就机器人技术向一个国会委员会作证。“But,” she added, “how do you use that extra time that’s freed up? You can use it to just take away the interesting work and leave the human workers with the boring work. And have fewer workers that you pay less.”“但是，”她补充道，“你如何利用这些节省出来的额外时间？你可以用它来直接剥夺有趣的工作，而把枯燥的工作留给人类工人。并且用更少的工人，付给他们更少的工资。”And Chinese companies already have a head start after their government made robot technology a national priority. Robot makers in China can draw on a network of suppliers for actuators, a part that enables movement, and sensors that are hard to find in the United States.而且，在中国政府将机器人技术列为国家优先发展事项之后，中国企业已经取得了先发优势。中国的机器人制造商可以利用一个供应商网络获取执行器（一种实现运动的部件）以及在美国很难找到的传感器。“The cost of deploying a robot in China is just a fraction of what it is to deploy a robot in the U.S.,” said Ben Armstrong, the executive director of M.I.T.’s Industrial Performance Center. “They have this extremely dense ecosystem of toolmakers and equipment providers.”“在中国部署机器人的成本只是在美国的一个零头，”麻省理工学院工业性能中心执行主任本·阿姆斯特朗说。“他们拥有极其密集的工装制造商和设备供应商生态系统。”The Federal Communications Commission last month banned the import of humanoids and other advanced robots from China.美国联邦通信委员会上个月禁止从中国进口人形机器人和其他先进机器人。Automakers already use conventional robots more than other industries and are likely to be among the biggest users of humanoids.汽车制造商对传统机器人的使用已经超过其他行业，并且很可能成为人形机器人的最大用户之一。Hyundai Motor is one of the companies pursuing robotics most aggressively. At the company’s factory about half an hour from Savannah, Ga., autonomous carts have largely replaced forklifts for moving materials around the plant. Four-legged robots that look like dogs search for flaws by peering under car bodies. Flat, wheeled robots the size of queen beds slide under Ioniq 5 or Ioniq 9 electric vehicles as they come off the assembly line, lift them from below and transport them to testing stations.现代汽车是最积极研发机器人的公司之一。在该公司位于佐治亚州萨凡纳以西约半小时车程的工厂里，自动搬运车已大量取代叉车在厂区内搬运材料。看起来像狗的四足机器人通过探视车底来查找缺陷。当Ioniq 5或Ioniq 9电动汽车下线时，车轮驱动的平板式机器人（大小与一张双人床相当）会滑到车底，从下方将其抬起，并运送到测试站。In most car factories, workers drive the vehicles to testing. Being human, they occasionally drive into pillars and other objects. That’s not a problem with Hyundai’s transport robots, said Jerry Roach, a senior manager in charge of general assembly at the Georgia factory, which began producing cars in 2024.在大多数汽车工厂里，工人会将车辆开到测试点。作为人类，他们偶尔会撞上柱子和其他物体。佐治亚州工厂负责总装的高级经理杰里·罗奇表示，现代汽车的运输机器人不存在这个问题。这家工厂自2024年起投产。“We’ve never hit a pole,” he said.“我们从未撞过柱子，”他说。In 2021 Hyundai acquired Boston Dynamics, which is developing humanoid robots that the carmaker plans to use initially for arranging components in a specified order for humans to install in vehicles.2021年，现代汽车收购了从事人形机器人研发的波士顿动力公司。这家汽车制造商计划首先用这些机器人按指定顺序排列零部件，供人工安装到车辆上。That is the same basic task that the BMW robot, made by Figure AI, demonstrated in Spartanburg. Mercedes-Benz, which is testing robots made by Apptronik in Austin, Texas, also plans to use them for handling and sorting materials. Carmakers say they have trouble retaining workers to perform such basic tasks.这与Figure AI公司为宝马制造的机器人在斯帕坦堡展示的基本任务相同。梅赛德斯-奔驰正在测试由Apptronik公司在得克萨斯州奥斯汀制造的机器人，也计划将其用于物料搬运和分拣。汽车制造商表示，他们很难留住工人来执行这类基础任务。Brent Stubbs, chief administrative officer of the Hyundai factory, is adamant that robots will create better automotive jobs, especially for young people raised on video games. The company has established an apprenticeship program in robot maintenance that Mr. Stubbs said would lead to high-paying jobs.现代汽车工厂首席行政官布伦特·斯塔布斯坚信，机器人将创造更好的汽车行业工作岗位，尤其是对在电子游戏中长大的年轻人而言。公司已经建立了一个机器人维护的学徒计划，斯塔布斯称这将带来高薪工作。“That presents a unique opportunity now for more people to get involved in manufacturing, where a lot of the stereotypes of who it fits are totally out the door,” Mr. Stubbs said.“这为更多人参与制造业提供了一个独特的机会，而许多关于制造业适合谁的老套观念已经完全过时了，”斯塔布斯说。Labor representatives are extremely skeptical of such claims and fear that robots will simply replace humans. Hyundai workers in South Korea went on strike last month, demanding a voice in how the company uses robots.工会代表对此类说法存在很大的怀疑，他们担心机器人只会取代人类。上个月，现代汽车在韩国的工人举行了罢工，要求在公司如何使用机器人方面拥有发言权。Shawn Fain, the president of the United Automotive Workers union, has called humanoid robots and artificial intelligence a “profound threat” to workers and a tool that will make billionaires richer. “The human race has to master technology and not let it master us,” he told delegates to the union’s annual convention in June.美国汽车工人联合会主席肖恩·费恩称人形机器人和人工智能是对工人的“严峻威胁”，是让亿万富翁更富有的工具。“人类必须掌握技术，而不是让技术掌握我们，”他在6月工会年度大会上对代表们说。Companies are most successful when they develop the skills of their workers as they deploy new technology, Mr. Armstrong of M.I.T. said. Firms that combined worker training with automation achieved the greatest increases in productivity, according to his research.麻省理工学院的阿姆斯特朗表示，企业在部署新技术的同时发展员工技能往往能取得最好的效果。根据他的研究，将员工培训与自动化相结合的公司，生产率提升幅度最大。There are often simpler and less expensive ways to automate basic tasks like sorting parts than with humanoid robots, Mr. Armstrong added, saying, “Humanoids are a million-dollar solution to a one-hundred-dollar problem.”阿姆斯特朗补充说，对于分拣零件等基本任务，通常有比人形机器人更简单、更便宜的自动化方式，他说：“人形机器人是百万美元解决100美元问题的方案。”The most prominent robot enthusiast in the auto business is Elon Musk, the chief executive of Tesla. He has made humanoid robots a central part of the company’s strategy to remake itself as an artificial intelligence powerhouse. The company has developed a humanoid called Optimus that it plans to use in its factories and to sell to other businesses and consumers.汽车行业中最著名的人形机器人爱好者是特斯拉首席执行官埃隆·马斯克。他已将人形机器人作为公司战略的核心部分，旨在将自身重塑为人工智能领域的一股强大力量。该公司开发了一款名为Optimus的人形机器人，计划在其工厂中使用，并出售给其他企业和消费者。Optimus robots have been used at the Tesla Diner in Los Angeles and to serve drinks at company events. Mr. Musk has said they will someday be able to perform surgery and babysit children. This year Tesla stopped producing the Model S and Model X cars in a California factory to make room for Optimus production.Optimus机器人已在洛杉矶的特斯拉餐厅使用，并在公司活动中提供饮品服务。马斯克曾表示，它们将来能够进行手术和照看孩子。今年，特斯拉停止在加利福尼亚一家工厂生产Model S和Model X汽车，为Optimus生产腾出空间。“Optimus will be the biggest product ever,” Mr. Musk said during a conference call with investors and analysts last month. But he has also acknowledged challenges.“Optimus将是有史以来最重大的产品，”马斯克在上个月与投资者和分析师的电话会议上表示。但他也承认存在挑战。Among the most confounding is how to duplicate the dexterity and sensitivity of the human hand — a problem that has long stumped robotics experts. “The more you study the human hand, the more you realize how amazing hands are,” Mr. Musk said.其中最难的问题是如何复制人类手部的灵活性和敏感性——这个问题长期以来一直困扰着机器人专家。“越研究人类的手，就越会意识到手有多么神奇，”马斯克说。特斯拉研发出了一款名为Optimus的人形机器人，已在洛杉矶的特斯拉餐厅投入使用。Not all automakers are on the humanoid robot bandwagon. General Motors is experimenting with what the company calls cobots, short for “collaborative robots,” which have arms and hands but no legs. They are more flexible than the robots typically found in factories, but decidedly not human shaped.并非所有汽车制造商都加入了人形机器人的潮流。通用汽车正在试验其所谓的“协作机器人”，它们有手和臂，但没有腿。它们比工厂中常见的机器人更灵活，但绝对不是人形。While hands are very useful in a car factory, “it’s not clear that legs are,” Sterling Anderson, chief product officer at G.M., told reporters last year, adding that wheels can be much more useful.手在汽车工厂中非常有用，但“腿是否有用还不明确”，通用汽车首席产品官斯特林·安德森去年对记者表示，并补充说轮子可能要有用得多。“We don’t need to replace the humans,” Mr. Anderson, a former Tesla executive, said. “What we need to do is make their job better, make it easier, make our products better and more efficient.”“我们不需要取代人类，”曾任特斯拉高管的安德森说。“我们需要做的是让他们的工作更好、更轻松，让我们的产品更好、更高效。”Jack Ewing撰写关于汽车产业的报道，重点关注电动车领域。翻译：经雷点击查看本文英文版。