Google DeepMind unveiled a new model this week giving humanoid robots finer control over object interactions, with promotional videos showing tasks like tying a trash bag and screwing a small lightbulb, suggesting progress toward general-purpose robotics beyond repetitive, pre-programmed tasks. The advancements highlight the West’s lead over China in robotics software, but Washington this week banned new foreign humanoids and quadrupeds, leaving few US-made robot options since many American researchers and startups rely on Chinese hardware for training and testing. China tech expert Kyle Chan told Semafor, “People are going to be pretty stuck in terms of options,” and worried the ban could slow American innovation and push research to Europe, where Chinese bots are easier to obtain. Chan added that building a non-Chinese supply chain could take years given Beijing’s hardware dominance, and for a fully made-in-America pipeline, “it’s really, to put it bluntly, a hopeless cause.”