Human beings still hold an advantage over AI-powered machines in certain tasks. This was demonstrated during a 10-hour challenge organized by Figure AI, where interns and robots competed in sorting parcels.
The competition required identifying barcodes and placing parcels on conveyer belts. The intern took breaks for lunch, while the robots worked in shifts, with one robot replacing another after an hour.
Despite the rapid advancements in machine efficiency, many expected AI to outperform humans. However, a human intern managed to pack 12,924 parcels compared to the robots’ 12,732, resulting in a narrow victory for the human competitor.
The average speed of both was nearly identical, differing by only 0.04 seconds per parcel (2.83 vs 2.79).
Figure AI’s CEO, Brett Adcock, expressed his congratulations on X and joked about the intern’s “broken” left forearm.
Final scores:
F.03: 12,732 packages (2.83 seconds/package)
Aime: 12,924 packages (2.79 seconds/package)
Adcock added that this would be the last time a human wins against AI in 2025, when Figure introduced its proprietary AI, Helix, for integration with robots.