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A humanoid robot was doing a martial arts routine when it stepped forward and threw a roundhouse kick at a young boy standing nearby.
Robot Kicks Young Boy In Stomach During Show In China, Internet Reacts: ‘Who’s Responsible?’
A child visited a botanical garden with his family, expecting a fun day out. Everything was going well as he had gathered with a bunch of other spectators to watch a performance by a humanoid robot. But within moments, the demonstration took an unexpected turn when the robot suddenly kicked the young boy in the stomach, leaving him bent over in pain.
The incident reportedly happened at Urumqi Botanical Garden in Xinjiang, China. A video that captured entire incident unfold was later shared on social media and in no time, it sparked a debate on safety measures surrounding robots.
As seen in the clip, the humanoid robot, wearing an afro-style wig, was carrying out a martial arts routine. Childrens and adults were seen watching and recording the one-of-a-kind performance of the robot. At one point, the robot stepped forward in a fighting stance before spinning around and delivering a roundhouse kick. While it might not have been a deliberate move, a boy, dressed in a pink T-shirt and jeans, who was keenly watching it perform, was struck directly in the stomach.
The child writhed as another kid standing nearby dragged him behind so keep him out of the line of sight of the robot. Spectators appeared shocked and confused. Later, it was reported by a local news outlet that the child was not seriously injured.
Internet Asks “Who’s Responsible When The Machine Gets It Wrong?”
Once the video went viral on social media, it sparked a wide range of reactions, with some asking about safety around such robots.
“So the kid was kicked by the robot and the crowd still focused on the robot?? Instead of shifting to their attention to the kid and making sure he’s okay? Where is our humanity?” asked one concerned person.
“We aren’t dealing with a Terminator scenario where machines are choosing violence. The actual danger right now is hardware developers bypassing safety standards and treating powerful, heavy industrial machinery like harmless toys at public events without putting up physical barriers,” commented a different individual.
“One robot malfunction. One terrified child. Eleven trillion dollars of AI investment. And we still can not answer the most basic question: Who’s responsible when the machine gets it wrong?” someone else said.
A different individual mentioned, “This is not an AI robot but is controlled by a human. This incident occurred because of the event officer’s carelessness in not having barriers between the show area and the watching area.”
Meanwhile, one person said, “I think it was an accident, the robot didn’t go out its way to kick him. The kid got in the way I think of it’s routine it was obviously demonstrating some kind of martial art, wrong place wrong time.”
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