Overview

• Xueba 01 has been issued a virtual student ID and will commence a four-year PhD programme researching traditional Chinese opera at Shanghai Theatre Academy on September 14, 2025.
• Under Professor Yang Qingqing’s guidance, the humanoid’s interdisciplinary curriculum spans stage performance, scriptwriting, set design, motion control and language generation.
• This marks the first time a humanoid machine has been granted full doctoral candidacy in the arts, extending a trend that began with robot students like BINA48 and AV1 avatars.
• Critics have questioned whether an AI robot can master the nuanced expression and vocal depth of Chinese opera and voiced concerns over its place in resource allocation.
• Embracing its role as an “AI artist,” Xueba 01 has joked that failure to graduate could lead to data deletion or its donation to a museum while aspiring to direct operas in future.