China: Practical AI applications, embodied robotics take center stage at Shanghai's Inclusion Conference.

Artificial intelligence (AI) agents, embodied intelligence, and other emerging technologies took center stage at the four-day 2026 Inclusion Conference on the Bund in Shanghai, which concluded Saturday. Under the theme of "Building the AI Economy Together," the conference attracted more than 300 companies to showcase their technologies, with applications ranging from AI agents and financial services to embodied intelligence and industrial systems. The displays signaled a new phase in integrating AI into enterprise workflows, financial transactions and industrial automation as the tech industry shifts from building ever larger models to deploying practical real-world applications. For enterprises, the commercial incentive lies in boosting productivity, cutting operating costs and automating complex tasks, with experts noting that digital agents are already delivering the most immediate utility to specialized professionals. AI is moving beyond the digital world. More than 40 embodied-intelligence companies are presenting technologies designed for real-world environments, signaling a shift from generating information toward robots executing real-world labor. That shift could be where the next phase of the AI economy begins. Yang added that combined with precise force control and fast response, the robot can sense contact in real time and adjust its movements accordingly. Despite rapid advancements, industry developers emphasize that hardware and software integration remains in a formative stage. Shotlist: Shanghai, China - Sept 9-12, 2026: 1. Various of products on display at 2026 Inclusion Conference on the Bund; 2. Conference poster; 3. Conference venue, visitors; 4. Various of forum, guests speaking at forum; 5. Various of products on display, visitors; 6. SOUNDBITE (English) Chua Tat-seng, fellow, Singapore National Academy of Science (starting with shot 5): "I would expect in one or two years' time -- in fact it's already happening -- it's becoming a platform from which we do all the works on top of this platform. So also now the important part is [that] it's going to impact every field. The question is how we work to take advantage of AI to do our work at the next higher level."; 7. Board showing "Inclusion Conference on the Bund" "Building the AI Economy Together"; 8. Various of visitors, products on display; 9. SOUNDBITE (English) Liu Ziwei, associate professor, Nanyang Technological University (starting with shot 8): "For the digital world, the question is how we can scale it up and also make very general agents to everyone. So now actually for the current stage, for the people who can benefit most from the digital agents are actually the experts in different subfields."; 10. Various of AI glasses on display, visitor trying on glasses; 11. Various of robotic arm picking up fan, painting on it; 12. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Yang Wentao, director of business department, Flexiv (ending with shot 13): "Painting a fan may look like a fun and simple task, but it actually shows how robots are evolving from simply being able to grasp and lift objects. Each joint has a built-in torque sensor, giving the entire arm a sense of force."; 13. Various of robotic arm painting on fan; 14. Various of humanoid robots playing piano; sorting parcels; 15. SOUNDBITE (English) Li Hongyang, 2026 Ant Intech Awards winner (starting with shot 14): "Robotics, no matter the hardware or software is not mature at all. We are working on our robotics. For example, [in case of] some far distance or some dangerous space, so humans or manpower would be reluctant to do that. So we can replace [them] with humanoids to have this task fulfilled."; 16. Various of signs, visitors; 17. Various of robotic arm picking up object. [Restrictions: No access Chinese mainland]