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We Spent 10 Days Touring Chinese AI Labs. Here’s What We Saw.

Sleeping Cots, Robot Pharmacies, and the Race for AGI

Lily Ottinger and Kai Williams
May 08, 2026
∙ Paid

Lily Ottinger is an editor and researcher for ChinaTalk, and Kai Williams writes for Understanding AI.

From late April to early May, SAIL writers spent 10 days touring Chinese AI and robotics labs. We…

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Lily Ottinger's avatar
A guest post by
Lily Ottinger
I write about the political economy of authoritarian states. Editor and Taiwan analyst for ChinaTalk.
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Kai Williams's avatar
A guest post by
Kai Williams
I'm a reporter at Understanding AI, supported through the Tarbell Center for AI Journalism. Previously, I did AI safety research through the MATS program. I graduated from Swarthmore College with a degree in math and music.
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