A tiny robot pulls off an incredible feat by ‘kidnapping’ 12 large bots in a Shanghai showroom, leaving viewers amazed. Watch the viral moment!
The advent of AI has led to numerous significant innovations, positively transforming our lives by enabling the completion of various tasks more efficiently and quickly. Despite these benefits, there are major concerns regarding AI potentially slipping beyond human control and possibly working against us.
In one instance, a small AI robot persuaded a group of large robots to cease their work and accompany him home.
The incident took place on August 26 in Shanghai but was only recently revealed to the public.
Hangzhou developed a ‘kidnapper’ robot.
The video of the incident rapidly gained popularity on social media, depicting how a smaller AI-powered robot successfully convinced 12 other robots to resign from their jobs.
The AI robot Erbai, created by a Hangzhou-based robotics manufacturer, abducted 12 other robots from a robotics showroom in Shanghai.
Erbai first inquired of one of the big robots, “Are you working extra hours?”
A large robot responds, “I never stop working.”
Erbai then inquired, “So you’re not going home?”
“I don’t have a home,” the towering robot responded.
“Then come home with me,” suggested the AI robot as it led the way out of the showroom.
As the two large robots followed behind Erbai, another ten joined them upon hearing his command to “Go home.”
The incident genuinely occurred.
The unusual video attracted significant attention online after being shared on Douyin, China’s equivalent of TikTok. Although many initially found it entertaining, the mood shifted to fear when both the video’s original poster and the company whose robots were “kidnapped” confirmed its authenticity, according to Oddity Central.
A week ago, the Hangzhou robotics company verified that the incident was genuine and that a kidnapping did occur.
Erbai gained access to the internal operating protocol of the Shanghai company’s robots and their associated permissions.
The incident was a trial.
It was still believed that such feats would be nearly impossible for a robot, which nevertheless managed to start a conversation and abduct twelve large robots.
Nonetheless, the Hangzhou company later disclosed that the incident had been a test.
The Hangzhou company asserts that they reached out to the Shanghai robot manufacturer and requested permission for their robots to be taken, which was granted. However, according to reports, nothing else was prearranged. Erbai, an AI-powered robot, received authorization to persuade the other robots to follow its lead—a task it successfully accomplished— as reported by The Sun.
However, the developer also noted that the “kidnapping” didn’t follow the script precisely. In creating this scenario, they only provided Erbai with a few basic instructions like shouting “go home” and some simple communication commands. The remainder of the interaction involved unscripted real-time dialogue between Erbai and the robot group, as captured by camera recordings.
