A robot greets us as we walk in the front door of a local bank branch in downtown Shanghai. Can I help you?" the humanoid receptionist says as we approach. The question is coming from a pretty woman's face encased in a futuristic white helmet. The unmistakably female robot is holding a large touch screen in both hands and seems eager to help. Facial and voice recognition software identify my Mandarin-speaking friend who tells the "receptionist" what she wants before inserting her National Identification Card into a slot to gain entry to the bank. Once inside, a smaller robot trundles over to address us in a piercing child-like voice. We say we are here to open a bank account and it asks us to follow it to one of the automated telling machines at the back of the branch. "Sorry I am very short so I walk slowly.