At the World Humanoid Robot Games held last month in Beijing, robots took centre stage in athletic competitions that highlighted both the progress and the limitations of automation. In the hundred metres race, a robot completed the distance in just over 21 seconds—a pace slower than an average schoolboy in Dhaka. During the relay, some robots collided and fell, drawing laughter from the crowd reminiscent of a traditional sack race. While the spectacle amused onlookers, experts say the rapid advancement of robotic capabilities marks a significant shift with far-reaching implications for labor markets worldwide.

The inaugural event, held only a year earlier, featured 280 teams and roughly 500 robots. This year’s competition more than doubled those figures, with 666 teams and over 2,000 robots participating. Such growth suggests the machines that faltered this year could be contenders by next—a pace of improvement that far outstrips human athletic progress over the past century. This acceleration mirrors trends seen in artificial intelligence, where systems that once struggled to form sentences now draft contracts and write computer code. The robots stumbling on the track should be viewed not as failures but as prototypes heralding the future.

This rapid automation is already transforming sectors reliant on routine physical tasks. Jobs considered most vulnerable include repetitive, manual roles in controlled environments such as warehouse picking, packing, loading, industrial cleaning, and basic assembly line work. Amazon, for example, operates hundreds of thousands of robots within its facilities, and China leads global industrial robot installations annually. These developments are not predictions—they represent the current state of industrial procurement and deployment.

This trend poses challenges for countries like Bangladesh, where labor export remains a significant economic factor. In 2025, approximately 1.13 million Bangladeshis worked abroad, with only 4 percent classified as professionals and 22 percent as skilled workers. The remaining three-quarters were semi-skilled or unskilled, primarily employed in construction, cleaning, and domestic service—the very occupations increasingly targeted for automation. Two-thirds of these migrants work in a single destination country, sending home an average monthly remittance of around $200. This figure contrasts sharply with that of Filipino workers, who send more than twice as much, reflecting differences not in effort but in the nature of skills and market demand.

Policymakers face the urgent task of enhancing workforce competitiveness as automation erodes demand for unskilled labor. Experts advocate prioritizing language training, especially English, as a cost-effective, foundational skill that can elevate workers from basic roles to supervisory or administrative positions, improve contract comprehension, and empower workers to advocate for themselves. Beyond language, fostering basic digital literacy—such as proficiency with laptops, email, spreadsheets, online forms, and scheduling or inventory systems—is essential to taking advantage of emerging job opportunities.

Longer-term strategies target sectors where machines will be slower to replace humans due to the need for nuanced judgment and interpersonal skills. These include elderly care, nursing, physiotherapy, specialized building maintenance, hospitality roles emphasizing warmth, and technical positions focused on installing and repairing robots. Addressing these needs will require revamping existing training infrastructure, improving certification systems to meet international standards, and integrating language and digital skills into vocational programs through partnerships with institutions from Japan, Korea, and Germany.

The rapid expansion of automation is a clear signal to labor-exporting nations that the dynamics of global employment are shifting. While the robots may provoke laughter today, the socioeconomic challenges they herald demand urgent attention and strategic response.