Earlier this year, the algorithm led me to discover Tyla, a human popstar (as opposed to an AI one like Xania Monet) with a humorous, vibrant personality and incredible dancing skills. Shortly after, it showed me a video of a Kung Fu robot dance performance from China's Lunar New Year Spring Festival Gala. Last year, the uncanny valley between the real and the artificial shrank drastically for digital media; 2026 appears to be the year it shrinks for physical movement.
There has been a tendency to recommend physical trades to young people, assuming these jobs are safer from automation than intellectual ones. However, that assumption requires reevaluation in light of rapid advances in robotics. These dancing robots demonstrate the advanced capabilities of 'physical AI,' hinting at a future where machines could replace humans in many physical roles. While unique celebrity personalities like Tyla are likely safe, workers whose physical tasks are more interchangeable—from backup dancers to session musicians—have more reason to worry.
Fortunately, there is a growing movement to maintain human involvement in labor, driven in part by the desire to avoid a socioeconomic 'Turing Trap'. For creative workers, one possible lever to protect human movement is the legal monopoly of copyright law. This article will explore how choreography copyright functions in the age of AI.