A humanoid robot has completed a half marathon faster than the human world record, marking a striking moment for robotics while raising important questions about what this kind of performance actually proves.

What Happened In Beijing Humanoid Robot Half-Marathon?

At the Beijing E-Town Humanoid Robot Half-Marathon, a robot named Lightning, developed by Chinese technology company Honor, completed the 21-kilometre course in 50 minutes and 26 seconds. That time is nearly seven minutes faster than the current human world record of 57 minutes and 20 seconds, set earlier this year by Jacob Kiplimo.

The event brought together more than 100 teams and over 300 robots, running alongside around 12,000 human participants, although in separate lanes. Unlike last year’s inaugural race, where only a handful of robots finished, this year’s event saw a dramatic improvement in completion rates and overall performance.

While a remotely controlled version of the same robot crossed the finish line even faster, the official winner was the fully autonomous model, reflecting the event’s focus on independent navigation rather than raw speed alone.

How The Robot Achieved It

Lightning’s performance is the result of focused engineering rather than a single breakthrough. The robot was designed to mimic the proportions of elite human runners, with long legs optimised for stride efficiency and lightweight components to reduce energy loss on impact.

One of the most important factors was heat management. For example, sustained running generates significant thermal load in motors and control systems, and Honor addressed this issue by using a liquid cooling system adapted from its smartphone engineering. This allowed the robot to maintain performance over the full distance without overheating, a limitation that has historically held back similar machines.

The robot also relied on multi-sensor fusion and real-time decision-making algorithms to navigate the course. In the autonomous category, machines followed a pre-mapped route and adjusted their movement continuously based on sensor input, maintaining balance and speed over long distances.

Taken together, these elements allowed Lightning to run at speeds of around 25 km per hour while sustaining stability, something that was not achievable in previous generations of humanoid robots.

Why This Is A Significant Step Forward In Robotics

The scale of improvement compared with the previous year is what makes the result notable. In 2025, the winning robot took more than two and a half hours to complete the same course, and most entries failed to finish at all. In 2026, multiple robots not only completed the race but did so at speeds exceeding elite human performance.

That level of progress reflects a combination of increased investment, better hardware design, and more refined control algorithms. It also highlights how quickly capabilities can improve once a field reaches a certain level of maturity and attracts sustained funding and competition.

China’s broader strategy also helps explain the pace of progress, as the country has identified humanoid robotics as a key growth area and is backing it with large-scale state investment aimed at accelerating development and establishing global leadership in the sector.

Why Speed Does Not Equal Capability

Despite the headline result, the achievement does not mean robots have surpassed humans in any general sense. The conditions under which the race took place were tightly controlled, with a pre-defined route, support teams, and no interaction with unpredictable environments or crowds.

Experts in robotics have been quick to point out that performance in a single, highly specialised task does not translate into broader competence. Running a fast, stable half marathon demonstrates advances in locomotion, balance, and endurance, but it says very little about a robot’s ability to perform everyday tasks.

In fact, many researchers argue that seemingly simple activities such as navigating a busy environment, handling objects, or folding laundry remain far more difficult challenges for machines. These tasks require perception, adaptability, and decision-making in unstructured settings, areas where robotics still has significant limitations.

What the race demonstrates, therefore, is not general intelligence but highly optimised performance within a narrow set of conditions.

Where This Technology Could Be Applied

Although the race itself is largely a demonstration, the underlying technologies have some practical relevance. Improvements in structural reliability, energy efficiency, and thermal management are directly applicable to industrial environments where robots need to operate continuously and safely.

The ability to maintain balance and mobility over long periods could support use cases in logistics, construction, and inspection, particularly in environments that are difficult or hazardous for human workers. These are areas where endurance and stability matter more than speed alone.

At the same time, the gap between controlled demonstrations and real-world deployment remains significant. Moving through a factory floor, interacting with people, and adapting to changing conditions requires a level of robustness and awareness that current systems are still working towards.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

For most organisations, the immediate impact of a robot running a half marathon faster than a human is limited, but the direction of travel is important.

The pace of improvement in robotics is clearly accelerating, driven by a combination of AI, hardware innovation, and substantial investment. Capabilities that seemed out of reach even a year ago are now being demonstrated in public, and that trend is likely to continue.

However, it is important to separate spectacle from practical value. High-profile demonstrations often highlight what machines can do under ideal conditions, rather than what they can deliver reliably in everyday business environments.

For businesses considering automation, the more relevant question is not how fast a robot can run, but how safely and consistently it can perform useful tasks within real operational constraints.

The Beijing race shows that progress is real and accelerating, but it also reinforces that the journey from impressive demonstration to practical deployment is still ongoing.

Apple has confirmed that Tim Cook will step down as CEO in September 2026, handing leadership to long-time hardware chief John Ternus in a planned transition that marks a major shift for one of the world’s most valuable companies.

A Planned Transition

Apple has been keen to highlight that this is not an abrupt departure but the result of long-term succession planning. The company said the move was approved unanimously by its board and follows a “thoughtful, long-term succession planning process.”

Cook will remain closely involved as executive chairman, a role that will see him continue working on key strategic areas such as global policy and relationships. He is expected to work alongside Ternus over the summer to ensure a smooth handover before the change takes effect on 1 September.

In a statement, Cook described his time in the role as deeply personal, saying, “It has been the greatest privilege of my life to be the CEO of Apple.” He added that he remains confident in the company’s direction and leadership, stating that Ternus is “without question the right person to lead Apple into the future.”

This framing matters because Apple is signalling continuity, stability, and control at a moment when leadership changes at major technology firms often trigger uncertainty.

What Tim Cook Leaves Behind

Cook’s tenure as CEO, which began in 2011 following Steve Jobs’ death, has been one of the most commercially successful in corporate history.

When he took over, Apple was already a major player, but its long-term trajectory was far from certain. Under Cook, the company’s market capitalisation grew from around $350 billion to approximately $4 trillion, while annual revenue increased from $108 billion to more than $416 billion.

Apple itself credits Cook with reshaping the business in several key ways. The company said he “introduced groundbreaking products and services time and again” and expanded Apple’s reach to more than 200 countries and territories.

One of his most significant contributions has been the growth of Apple’s services division, which now generates more than $100 billion annually. The company also highlights his role in creating entirely new categories, including wearables such as Apple Watch and AirPods.

Cook’s leadership has also been defined by operational discipline and strategic consistency rather than product showmanship. He strengthened Apple’s supply chain, expanded its global footprint, and positioned privacy and sustainability as central pillars of the business.

Apple has noted that under his leadership, the company reduced its carbon footprint by more than 60 percent while continuing to grow revenue, and reinforced its stance that privacy is a “fundamental human right.”

Why Tim Cook Is Stepping Aside Now

Cook has made it clear that the timing is deliberate, indicating internally that leadership transitions should happen when the business is strong, the product pipeline is stable, and a successor is ready, all of which appear to be in place given that Apple remains highly profitable, its product ecosystem continues to dominate consumer markets, and Ternus has spent more than two decades inside the company preparing for this role.

Cook’s move to executive chairman also allows him to focus on areas where his experience remains particularly valuable, especially global political relationships that have become increasingly important for a company operating at Apple’s scale. This is less a step back and more a change in focus.

Who Is John Ternus?

John Ternus, 51, has spent almost his entire career at Apple and is widely seen as a steady, internally trusted leader.

He joined the company’s product design team in 2001 and rose through the ranks to become senior vice president of Hardware Engineering in 2021. Over that time, he has played a key role in developing many of Apple’s core products, including iPad, AirPods, iPhone, Mac, and Apple Watch.

Apple credits him with overseeing major advances in hardware performance, durability, and sustainability. This includes the introduction of Apple-designed silicon, new materials such as recycled aluminium compounds, and improvements in repairability that extend product lifespans.

In his own statement, Ternus emphasised continuity, saying he was “humbled to step into this role” and would “lead with the values and vision that have come to define this special place for half a century.”

Cook reinforced that message, describing him as having “the mind of an engineer, the soul of an innovator, and the heart to lead with integrity and with honour.”

What This Could Mean For Apple’s Direction

The choice of Ternus signals a clear strategic direction, with Apple doubling down on its strengths in hardware, product integration, and long-term engineering discipline.

This comes at a time when the company faces growing pressure in AI, where rivals such as Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI have moved faster in delivering advanced consumer-facing AI tools. Apple’s approach has been more cautious, often integrating third-party capabilities rather than leading with its own models.

Ternus’s background suggests Apple may prioritise embedding AI more deeply into its existing devices rather than competing directly on standalone AI platforms. This aligns with the company’s long-standing strategy of controlling both hardware and software to deliver tightly integrated user experiences.

At the same time, Apple must address questions about its next major growth category. Products such as Vision Pro have yet to achieve widespread adoption, and the company faces ongoing scrutiny over whether it can deliver another breakthrough device on the scale of the iPhone.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

This leadership change is less about disruption and more about understanding where one of the world’s most influential technology companies is heading next.

Apple’s decision to promote from within and maintain continuity at the top suggests that its core strategy is not changing dramatically. Its focus on integrated hardware, services, and ecosystem control will remain central.

However, the shift also highlights where attention is likely to move, with AI integration, device capability, and long-term product evolution becoming more important than headline-grabbing launches or entirely new platforms.

For organisations that rely on Apple devices, services, or app ecosystems, this points to steady progression rather than sudden change. New capabilities are likely to arrive incrementally, built into familiar products rather than introduced as standalone systems.

More broadly, the transition reinforces a wider trend across the technology industry. Leadership is increasingly moving towards operators and engineers who can scale complex systems sustainably, rather than visionary founders alone.

Cook’s move to executive chairman ensures continuity at a strategic level, while Ternus’s appointment signals a focus on execution, engineering, and product delivery.

For businesses, the message is that stability at Apple does not mean stagnation, but it does mean that change will be controlled, deliberate, and closely aligned with the company’s existing strengths.

Medical data from 500,000 UK Biobank participants was briefly listed for sale online in China after being accessed by authorised researchers who breached data-sharing rules.

The UK government confirmed the datasets appeared on Alibaba, uploaded by three institutions with legitimate access. This was not a hack but a misuse of approved access, with Technology Minister Ian Murray stating, “This was a legitimate download by a legitimately accredited organisation.”

Although the data was de-identified, it still included sensitive details such as age, gender, and medical information, which experts warn can sometimes be re-identified. UK Biobank has suspended access, revoked permissions, and notified regulators, while senior figures described those responsible as “rogue researchers.”

The incident highlights a growing security gap, where trusted users can expose sensitive data without any technical breach.

To reduce this risk, organisations should limit data access, monitor usage closely, and apply stronger controls on how data can be downloaded and shared, rather than relying on trust alone.

In parts of Europe, electricity prices are occasionally dropping below zero, meaning suppliers effectively pay consumers to use power, while at the same time demand from data centres is rising sharply, creating a growing tension in how energy systems are balanced.

Why Electricity Prices Can Turn Negative

Electricity markets operate in real time, which creates a structural challenge when large volumes of renewable energy are generated at once. For example, wind and solar cannot easily be switched off, so when generation exceeds demand and storage capacity is limited, prices can actually fall below zero to encourage consumption.

Germany, one of the most advanced renewable energy markets, recorded more than 500 hours of negative electricity pricing in 2025, showing how quickly renewable generation is scaling compared with the infrastructure needed to manage it.

The issue is not that energy is abundant in a practical sense, but that it is arriving at the wrong time. Large volumes of electricity may be generated during windy nights or sunny afternoons, while demand remains relatively stable, creating temporary imbalances that the system must resolve.

How Energy Systems Try To Absorb The Surplus

Negative electricity pricing is used by energy markets as a signal to increase consumption when supply exceeds demand, encouraging industrial users to ramp up production, storage systems to charge, and flexible consumers to take advantage of lower or even negative costs.

Despite these signals, the system’s ability to respond remains limited because battery storage capacity is still insufficient at grid scale and many industries cannot easily adjust operations in real time, which results in renewable energy being curtailed and effectively wasted.

This situation highlights a structural gap in the energy transition, where generating renewable electricity is only part of the challenge and matching that generation with demand at the right time is becoming equally critical.

Why Data Centres Are Driving Demand In The Opposite Direction

At the same time as surplus energy events are increasing, a separate trend is pushing electricity demand sharply higher. Data centres, particularly those supporting AI workloads, are consuming significantly more power than in previous years.

According to the International Energy Agency, global data centre electricity demand rose by around 17 percent in 2025 alone, far outpacing overall electricity demand growth of roughly 3 percent. These facilities require continuous, stable power and cannot easily adjust consumption to match fluctuating supply.

This creates a direct mismatch with renewable generation patterns. While wind and solar output varies throughout the day, data centres operate around the clock, placing constant demand on the grid regardless of when renewable energy is available.

The result is a system being pulled in two directions at once, with periods of oversupply becoming more frequent while baseline demand continues to rise.

Why This Matters For Sustainability

The combination of surplus renewable energy and rising data centre demand presents both a challenge and an opportunity. In theory, energy-intensive infrastructure could be aligned with periods of high renewable output, helping to absorb excess generation and reduce waste.

In practice, this is difficult to achieve. Data centres are designed for reliability rather than flexibility, and shifting workloads based on energy availability introduces technical and operational complexity.

Some operators are beginning to explore solutions, including shifting non-critical workloads to periods of high renewable output and investing in co-located energy generation or storage. However, these approaches remain limited in scale compared with the speed of demand growth.

What This Means For Energy Markets And Infrastructure

The growing frequency of negative pricing, combined with rising demand from digital infrastructure, is forcing a rethink of how energy systems are designed and managed.

Grid operators are focusing on improving flexibility through storage, demand response, and dynamic pricing, while also investing in transmission infrastructure to move surplus energy between regions more effectively.

At the same time, electricity is becoming a more dynamic resource, where timing and location increasingly determine cost rather than a single stable price.

For policymakers, this creates quite an awkward balancing act. Expanding renewable generation remains essential, but equal attention must be given to storage, grid resilience, and demand flexibility to ensure that energy can be used efficiently.

What Does This Mean For Your Organisation?

For businesses, these trends point to a more dynamic energy landscape where cost and availability are increasingly influenced by when and how electricity is used.

Organisations with energy-intensive operations may find opportunities to reduce costs by aligning consumption with lower-price periods, particularly as smart tariffs and automated energy management systems become more accessible.

At the same time, rising demand from data centres highlights the growing importance of efficiency and sustainability in digital infrastructure, with potential knock-on effects for cloud pricing and service design.

The broader takeaway here is that energy is becoming less predictable and more time-sensitive, and businesses that understand these dynamics will be better placed to manage both costs and sustainability commitments as the system continues to evolve.

ChatGPT’s new Images 2.0 tool makes it faster and easier to create, edit, and refine high-quality visuals, giving you more control, improved accuracy, and far more realistic results.

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Having the BCC field visible in Outlook helps you avoid exposing recipient email addresses and reduces the risk of sending messages incorrectly to large groups.

Why This Matters

When sending emails to multiple recipients, especially external contacts, it is easy to accidentally include everyone in the To or CC fields.

This can expose email addresses to others, create unnecessary reply chains and, in some cases, lead to data protection issues.

Using BCC (blind carbon copy) allows you to include recipients without revealing their details to others, helping maintain privacy and control.

Making the BCC field visible ensures it is always available when needed rather than relying on memory.

How To Turn On The BCC Field In Outlook (Desktop App)

1. Open a new email in Outlook.
2. Click the ‘Options’ tab.
3. Select ‘BCC’.

The BCC field will now appear in your email window.

How To Turn On The BCC Field In Outlook On The Web

1. Click ‘New mail’.
2. Select the ‘More options’ menu (three dots).
3. Choose ‘Show BCC’.

The BCC field will then be displayed when composing emails.

What To Watch For

• Use BCC when emailing groups who do not know each other.
• Avoid placing large external groups in the To or CC fields.
• Be mindful that replies may still go to all visible recipients depending on how the email is structured.

A Practical Approach

Make a habit of using BCC for group emails and external communications.

Keeping the BCC field visible helps you make better decisions when sending emails and reduces the risk of avoidable mistakes that can affect professionalism and data privacy.