Exclusive: ‘When it comes to recording our lives, I believe there is a line AI cannot cross’. Here's what Insta360's founder and CEO told me when I asked about his controversial ‘photography robot’ vision

Insta360 founder and CEO Liu Jingkang, aka 'JK', recently shared a potentially controversial post on Chinese social media platform Weibo, which translated reads: “Our product vision is to build a ‘Cameraman’ — an intelligent photography robot capable of automatically composing shots and capturing mo

<![CDATA[ <article> <p>Insta360 founder and CEO Liu Jingkang, aka 'JK', recently shared a potentially controversial post on Chinese social media platform Weibo, which translated reads:</p><p>“Our product vision is to build a ‘Cameraman’ — an intelligent photography robot capable of automatically composing shots and capturing moments like a professional photographer, allowing users to remain fully immersed in the present. </p><p>"Today, AI is rapidly evolving, we believe the Cameraman’s 'brain' is becoming increasingly capable, unlocking new possibilities for creative imaging. </p><p>"In the long term, the ideal end state for cameras is to progressively become imperceptible, even to ‘disappear,’ until recording no longer consumes effort and becomes a natural part of life.”</p><p>As a concerned photographer (and as a concerned human being) <a href="https://www.techradar.com/cameras/insta360-says-it-wants-to-replace-photographers-with-an-intelligent-photography-robot-that-will-become-imperceptible-and-it-sounds-like-a-nightmare-for-privacy-and-creativity">I wrote a response to that post</a>, and asked Insta360 for comment.</p><p>JK provided me with a statement addressing my concerns and elaborating on his vision, and he and Insta360 also answered a number of specific questions I put to them about the company's potentially game-changing plans for its future cameras.</p><p>Below you'll find JK's response, followed by my interview with JK and an Insta360 spokesperson.</p><figure class="van-image-figure inline-layout" data-bordeaux-image-check ><div class='image-full-width-wrapper'><div class='image-widthsetter' style="max-width:3626px;"><p class="vanilla-image-block" style="padding-top:56.15%;"><img id="yrRE9FyH49SikaEcrNHxEn" name="Insta360 Go 3-14.jpg" alt="A photo of the Insta360 Go 3 action camera out of its case, in hand" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/yrRE9FyH49SikaEcrNHxEn.jpg" mos="" align="middle" fullscreen="" width="3626" height="2036" attribution="" endorsement="" class="inline"></p></div></div><figcaption itemprop="caption description" class=" inline-layout"><span class="caption-text">Insta360 makes the best tiny videos cameras ideal for POV footage, and new accessories make such inconspicuous cameras easier to operate hands-free. </span><span class="credit" itemprop="copyrightHolder">(Image credit: Basil Kronfli)</span></figcaption></figure><p><strong>JK's response:</strong><em><strong> </strong></em>I’ve always believed imaging serves three fundamental human needs: to record, to share, and to create.</p><p>AI will undoubtedly reshape parts of this industry, especially in sharing and commercial creation. But when it comes to recording our lives, I believe there is a line AI cannot cross. Technology can make tools easier to use, but it cannot replace the human qualities behind truly meaningful work — judgment, emotion, taste, and the creative energy that come from lived experience.</p><p>For me, a photo I take of my daughter’s smile is priceless not because of technical perfection, but because I was there. I felt that moment. AI can generate, enhance, and imitate, but it cannot experience life on our behalf.</p><p>Human beings are the measure of all things. You should not hand over experiences that ought to belong to you to algorithms and machines.</p><p>So when we talk about the future of the camera, we are not talking about replacing people. We are talking about building tools that help people capture life more freely, more naturally, and with less friction. The future is not about making machines more human — it is about helping humans be more present, more creative, and more themselves.</p><h2 id="the-interview">The interview</h2><p><strong>TC: What does this 'cameraman' look like? Is it one entity or multiple products?</strong></p><p><strong>JK: </strong>For us, the future cameraman is a product vision rather than a single device.<br><br><strong>Insta360: </strong>The core idea is to create a camera that can automatically compose shots, capture key moments, and produce finished content for the user, so people can stay fully immersed in the moment without missing what matters.</p><p>When you’re traveling or watching a live event, you often end up holding up a phone the entire time and looking at the screen instead of the experience itself. Our long-term vision is for the camera to work more like a professional photographer: you stay present, and it helps take care of the filming for you.</p><p>We’re still exploring what the ideal form factor looks like, so in the near term there won’t be one final ultimate product. But we’re already bringing elements of that vision into existing products. For example, Luna Ultra's <a href="https://store.insta360.com/gb/product/pov-head-tracker" target="_blank">POV head tracker</a> enables a more seamless, almost invisible shooting experience, and we see that as an important early form of the future cameraman.</p><p><strong>TC: Are we to take it that the 'intelligent photography robot' will be fully automated and independent?</strong></p><p><strong>Insta360: </strong>First, it’s important to clarify that the future cameraman doesn’t mean a humanoid robot. It’s a product concept and a long-term vision for how cameras should evolve.</p><p>The idea is to free users from complicated operation so they can be truly present in the moment while still getting professional-looking results. In that sense, the camera starts to play more of the role of a photographer. Imagine a family outing where the system can automatically frame, capture, edit, and output content end-to-end, without someone constantly needing to manage the device.</p><p>That said, this isn’t about a camera acting independently without the user. It’s about highly intelligent operation under user direction, intent, and control. The camera should be able to automate far more of the process, including recording comprehensively when the user wants it to, but always within boundaries set by the user. Our goal is for the experience to feel effortless and natural — even to the point where the camera becomes almost imperceptible in everyday life.</p><figure class="van-image-figure inline-layout" data-bordeaux-image-check ><div class='image-full-width-wrapper'><div class='image-widthsetter' style="max-width:2000px;"><p class="vanilla-image-block" style="padding-top:56.35%;"><img id="f7EFeRAHN9KsBSAhTtvNYd" name="Insta360 Luna" alt="Man holding the Insta360 Luna Ultra vlogging camera on a sunny day in a old town" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/f7EFeRAHN9KsBSAhTtvNYd.jpg" mos="" align="middle" fullscreen="" width="2000" height="1127" attribution="" endorsement="" class="inline"></p></div></div><figcaption itemprop="caption description" class=" inline-layout"><span class="caption-text">In future, could Insta360 might make cameras such as the Luna Ultra (above) fully autonomous? </span><span class="credit" itemprop="copyrightHolder">(Image credit: Future / Tim Coleman)</span></figcaption></figure><p><strong>TC: Can you describe the composing, shooting and editing functionalities?</strong></p><p><strong>Insta360: </strong>To build the future cameraman, a camera needs to do three things well: see, understand, and act.</p><p>First, it needs to see more of the world. That’s one reason 360 imaging matters so much to us. A traditional camera captures only a narrow frame, while a 360 camera captures the full scene. That gives both the user and the AI much more context, reduces the risk of missing important moments, and creates a stronger foundation for tracking, reframing, and scene understanding.</p><p>Second, it needs spatial intelligence. The camera has to understand depth, motion, orientation, and what’s happening in the environment — not just record pixels, but actually interpret the scene.</p><p>Third, it needs to act in real time. That means tracking subjects, stabilizing footage, composing shots, predicting movement, and eventually making smarter filming decisions automatically based on the user’s intent. If it can’t respond instantly, it doesn’t really behave like a cameraman.</p><p><strong>JK:</strong> The cameraman sits at the intersection of sensing, on-device AI, and computational imaging. The goal is for the camera to stop being just a recording tool and start becoming an active creative partner.</p><p><strong>TC: Could you unpack a specific future feature being explored that leads Insta360's camera to being an 'active creative partner'?</strong></p><p><strong>Insta360: </strong>When we talk about an ‘active creative partner,’ we mean an intelligent imaging solution that better understands the scene and helps users capture it more intelligently. In dynamic environments, it can keep up with subjects with less user intervention, so people can stay focused on the moment while the camera handles more of the technical work.</p><p>To support that vision, we’ve already built a strong technical foundation, including panoramic generation and a panoramic metric depth model. We’ve already open-sourced these technologies for the industry, and they have potential applications not only in <a href="https://www.techradar.com/news/best-360-degree-camera">360 cameras</a>, but in other products and fields as well.</p><iframe title="What do you make of AI assist tools in today's cameras? Helpful or unnecessary?" description="Let us know by leaving a comment below." minimumCommentCount="0" class="position-center" data-lazy-priority="low" data-lazy-src=""></iframe><p><strong>TC: How is the 'cameraman' different from existing cameras and Insta360 models?</strong></p><p><strong>Insta360: </strong>Insta360 already has some of the foundational capabilities needed for the future cameraman. Features like AI stitching, FlowState stabilization, subject tracking, reframing, auto-editing, and on-device image processing are all part of the camera’s evolution toward more intelligent and autonomous capture. That said, today’s products are still early versions of what that fully realized experience could become.</p><p>We’ve spent years building deep expertise in 360 imaging, and that gives us a strong foundation in spatial intelligence. Compared with a traditional camera that records only a single frame, 360 imaging data provides a complete field of view and continuous spatial context. Combined with our work in spatial modeling and generative intelligence, that helps AI move from simply “seeing” the world toward actually understanding it.</p><p>That’s a key difference in how we think about the future of imaging. And going forward, we’ll continue investing in areas like panoramic depth estimation, world models, and autonomous follow systems.</p><p><strong>TC: What's the timescale for this 'cameraman'?</strong></p><p><strong>Insta360: </strong>This is a long-term vision, and we expect to realize it through continuous product iteration over time. Rather than arriving all at once in a single product, we see it developing step by step as the underlying technologies mature and become ready for real-world use.</p><div class="fancy-box"><div class="fancy_box-title">Did you know TechRadar now has membership?</div><div class="fancy_box_body"><figure class="van-image-figure " ><div class='image-full-width-wrapper'><div class='image-widthsetter' ><p class="vanilla-image-block" style="padding-top:56.25%;"><img id="MZftMKPquR3jRGaoR9TwcB" name="TechRadar-Insider-banner" caption="" alt="Various tech product cutouts next to the words 'Insider TechRadar Learn More'" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/MZftMKPquR3jRGaoR9TwcB.jpg" mos="" link="" align="" fullscreen="" width="" height="" attribution="" endorsement="" class="pinterest-pin-exclude"></p></div></div><figcaption itemprop="caption description" class=""><span class="credit" itemprop="copyrightHolder">(Image credit: Future)</span></figcaption></figure><p class="fancy-box__body-text">Become a TechRadar Insider by simply clicking 'Join Now' at the top of this page. Have a question? Please email <a data-analytics-id="inline-link" href="https://futureplc.slgnt.eu/optiext/optiextension.dll?ID=XWc%2BNZbmPVY1QXCHegXUW5hAZTqddroX0h4zBFHHIu3aOyPDcGIlPjK%2BJMv55n1J8bfl5bA494yjEg3_i0iSaOXD%2BXycXT" target="_blank">membership@techradar.com</a></p></div></div><p><strong>TC: Does this 'cameraman' record autonomously? If so, couldn't that be a privacy concern?</strong></p><p><strong>Insta360: </strong>This is one of the most important questions in the age of AI hardware. Our view is that future intelligent imaging devices should be able to automate recording much more deeply — even to the point of capturing everything the user wants preserved — but always under the user’s authorization and control.</p><p>The core idea behind cameraman is not uncontrolled, limitless recording. It’s about turning the camera from a manually operated tool into an intelligent companion that understands what the user wants to capture and helps do that more effectively. That may require environmental awareness and autonomous recording when the user explicitly enables them, but those capabilities should always be bounded by clear user intent, permissions, and controls.</p><p>In other words, autonomy is important, but user agency is essential. We believe that’s the right balance for the future of intelligent imaging.</p><p><strong>TC: Does Insta360 envision the system ultimately replacing professional content creators, or is the vision aimed at consumers?</strong></p><p><strong>Insta360: </strong>No — this is not about replacing photographers, videographers, or creators. It is mainly about helping consumers capture moments more easily, with less friction and less fear of missing the shot.</p><p>For professionals, we see these capabilities as assistive tools, not substitutes for human creativity. Great photography and filmmaking still depend on judgment, storytelling, taste, and human connection. Our goal is to reduce technical friction in capture, not replace the creator behind the camera.</p><figure class="van-image-figure inline-layout" data-bordeaux-image-check ><div class='image-full-width-wrapper'><div class='image-widthsetter' style="max-width:1920px;"><p class="vanilla-image-block" style="padding-top:56.25%;"><img id="YWbQYvXvEePNxo7MVfccLG" name="Insta360 POV Head Tracker" alt="Man outdoors with Insta360 Luna Ultra around his neck on a neck strap, with Insta360 POV Head Tracker device in his ear" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/YWbQYvXvEePNxo7MVfccLG.jpg" mos="" align="middle" fullscreen="" width="1920" height="1080" attribution="" endorsement="" class="inline"></p></div></div><figcaption itemprop="caption description" class=" inline-layout"><span class="caption-text">The Luna Ultra now works with a POV Head Tracker (see the device in the man's ear), which synchronizes head and camera movement, truly freeing up the user for hands-free immersive POV shots. </span><span class="credit" itemprop="copyrightHolder">(Image credit: Insta360)</span></figcaption></figure><h2 id="the-right-side-of-the-line">The right side of the line?</h2><p>It remains to be seen just how autonomous Insta360 cameras could become, but Insta360's response somewhat allays my fears about where its camera tech could be heading. And I get the logic — the ease of use and streamlined workflow of Insta360's consumer cameras in particular, which include leading 360-degree and vlogging cameras, are integral to their success. </p><p>Cameras such as the<a href="https://www.techradar.com/cameras/360-cameras/insta360-x5-review"> Insta360 X5</a>, and <a href="https://www.techradar.com/cameras/360-cameras/these-handy-insta360-x5-editing-tricks-address-my-biggest-problem-with-360-action-cameras">Insta360's companion app</a> are already packed with smart tools that make 360-degree video content easier to capture and edit. So, thinking ahead, why make the process unnecessarily difficult for the sake of user agency, when an intelligent camera knows which direction to point in? </p><p>Why pour over lengthy 360-degree video clips to manually piece together an edit, when AI knows where the best action is happening and can suggest / make the edit for you? </p><p>It's this intersection of human creativity and automated AI tools where we might start to see more intelligent functions assisting users in shooting, editing and sharing, freeing them up to "be more present" as JK puts it, rather than being bogged down with camera operation. And if any company is in the position to advance this kind of intelligent camera tech, it's Insta360. </p><div style="min-height: 250px;"> <div class="kwizly-quiz kwizly-ONq08W"></div> </div> <script src="https://kwizly.com/embed/ONq08W.js" async></script> </article> ]]>