China’s first robot gets into drama, film PhD programme, becomes online hit

China’s first robot gets into drama, film PhD programme, becomes online hit

Humanoid named after a slang word for straight-A student divides opinion online, reacts with humour to criticism.

Meet Xueba 01: China's First Robot PhD Student Studying Drama & Film

In a move that’s equal parts shocking and highly intriguing, China has just enrolled its first humanoid robot into a doctoral program for drama & film studies. Yes, you read that correctly—while most AI is busy trying to steal your job or perfect deepfakes, this robot is about to spend years analyzing traditional Chinese opera and debating the artistic merits of human emotion. Xueba 01 (also known as Scholar 01), whose name literally translates …