On Monday, September 7, 2026, the streets of downtown Warsaw saw a surreal sight when approximately 30 robots demonstrated outside the Polish Ministry of Digital Affairs to raise awareness about the risks that artificial intelligence and rapid automation pose to human employment.
​Organized by Democratism, a public initiative dedicated to opening discourse on labor market disruptions, the demonstration gathered both bipedal humanoids and four-legged quadruped machines outside government offices.
Waving flags and moving in coordinated circles, the robots played automated slogans through loudspeakers, including “Defend workplaces,” “Time for rules,” and “Don’t wait, regulate”.
​Speaking during the rally, Agibot A3, one of the participating AI-powered humanoid models, addressed reporters directly:
​”The robots present here are meant to show that this technology is already a reality.”
​Grzegorz Kulis, the lead organizer of Democratism, chief information officer for a robotics firm, and former member of Poland’s Labor Market Council, emphasized that the goal was to highlight both physical and cognitive job risks.
​”We particularly want to address the issue of the potential replacement of people both by humanoid robots and by artificial intelligence in cognitive work,” Kulis stated. “If we don’t react now, we may soon have a problem. We need rules and regulations that would serve as a shield protecting workers.”
​The demonstration drew direct engagement from Polish government officials. Poland’s Minister of Digital Affairs, Krzysztof Gawkowski, met with Kulis on-site outside the ministry to inspect the machines and acknowledge the growing policy challenges.
​”Uncontrolled AI models, implemented into humanoids that will also keep evolving as robotisation moves forward, are a major problem,” Gawkowski told reporters.
​The rally follows recent regulatory steps by the Polish government. In July 2026, Polish President Karol Nawrocki signed into law a bill formalizing nationwide enforcement mechanisms for the European Union’s broader AI Act.
Organizers noted, however, that public awareness and targeted workplace protections must continue to keep pace with the exponential growth of physical automation.
