Kia Unions Beg for Guardrails as Hyundai’s Metal Interns Set to Hit Factory Floors by 2028

“I, for one, welcome our new metal coworkers. Just please don’t hurt me.” -Georgia factory floor, 2028

Turns out, Elon and Bezos aren’t the only supervillains that want to build robot armies to eventually enslave us all.

Hyundai Motor Group just announced the company plans to deploy actual, walking, lifting, human-shaped robots inside its U.S. manufacturing plant starting in 2028. Not cute little Roombas. Not robotic arms bolted to the floor. Full-on humanoids. (“I owe you an apology Hyundai, I wasn’t familiar with your game.”)

Hyundai rolled out the production version of Atlas, developed by its engineering partner Boston Dynamics, at Consumer Electronics Show. And yes, if that name sounds familiar, this is the same company that taught robots to backflip, dance, and look unsettlingly confident while doing both.

Here’s the plan: starting in 2028, Atlas robots will handle parts sequencing… basically the factory equivalent of doing prep work so the weak “humankinds” (as we’ll all be referred to very soon) don’t throw their backs out before lunch. 

(Source: Axios)

By 2030, Hyundai expects these robots to graduate into component assembly, and eventually into heavier, more complex jobs involving repetitive motion and lifting loads up to 110 pounds.

In other words: Atlas starts as an intern and slowly becomes your supervisor.

Hyundai says the goal is safety. Reduce physical strain. Minimize injuries. Make factories more efficient. Save bookoos of $. All totally reasonable. The robots can operate in temperatures from -20°C to 40°C, lift like a CrossFit enthusiast, and use tactile sensing hands that can actually feel what they’re holding… which is both impressive and deeply concerning.

This push is part of Hyundai’s broader move into what it’s calling “physical AI.” Think artificial intelligence that doesn’t just live in servers, but walks around, touches things, and makes decisions in the real world. This includes robots, smart factories, and (just to keep the theme consistent) autonomous vehicles.

It’s also worth noting that at Hyundai affiliate Kia Corp, labor unions are already asking for guardrails around automation and worker rights… although I think it’s pretty obvious the cat’s out of the bag.

Hyundai clearly sees the writing on the wall. The company expects humanoid robots to become the largest segment of the physical AI market, and it’s accelerating development through partnerships with Nvidia and Google… because if you’re going to build metal people, you might as well give them the best brains money can buy.

Also, there’s a 99% chance in a Tony-Stark-looking mansion somewhere Elon’s telling one of his baby mama’s… “Oh when I talk about building a billion dollar robot army, it’s a crime against humanity… but when Hyundai does it, it’s cute.”

At the time of publishing this article, Stocks.News holds positions in Google as mentioned in the article.