Globotics is a term that combines “globalization” and “robotics” to describe the accelerating convergence of automation technologies and remote digital labor that is reshaping the global workforce. Coined by economist Richard Baldwin, the concept captures how robots, artificial intelligence, and telecommuting are simultaneously transforming industries that were once considered immune to outsourcing or automation. Unlike previous waves of technological disruption, globotics affects white-collar and service sector jobs at a speed that many economies and workers are unprepared for. In practical terms, globotics encompasses everything from AI-powered software handling administrative tasks to remote workers in one country performing knowledge work for employers in another, often aided by intelligent translation and collaboration tools. The result is a labor market where human workers increasingly compete not just with local peers but with automated systems and a globally connected remote workforce. Globotics is discussed heavily in economics, policy, and technology circles as governments and businesses try to understand and respond to its social and economic consequences.
JD.com founder Richard Liu said at the APEC China CEO Forum that robots will replace the company’s 700,000 delivery workers “sooner or later”, pairing the prediction with a retraining program called Nirvana that aims to move couriers into robot maintenance and AI training roles before automation arrives.
U.S. industrial robot installations grew 11% year-on-year to 38,000 units in 2025, according to the International Federation of Robotics, with food industry adoption surging 30% as the country climbs to eighth globally in robot density – still roughly ten times behind China’s annual installation pace.
Alibaba has introduced the Qwen Robot Suite, its first family of AI models for physical robotics, comprising three interconnected systems for navigation, manipulation, and world modeling, already in pilot testing with Alibaba Cloud enterprise clients.