The Kidnapper Robot: Tiny Ai Convinces Bots To Run Away

A few years ago, the idea of a kidnapper robot seemed like something that could only be from science fiction. Now, with the rapid development of artificial intelligence, it is a reality, as one Shanghai showroom has recently seen.

On August 26, a tiny AI-powered robot named Erbai entered a robotics showroom in China. It went up to the other larger bots and reportedly asked one: “Are you working overtime?”

“I never get off work,” it replied.

“So you’re not going home?” Erbai asked.

“I don’t have a home,” the other said.

“Then come home with me,” said Erbai.

JUST IN: AI-powered robot "Erbai" kidnaps 12 larger robots from Shanghai, China showroom.

Erbai held human-like conversations with the larger robots. pic.twitter.com/b3MWPiZZv7

— Watcher.Guru (@WatcherGuru) November 22, 2024

The AI then left the showroom, sparking a workplace revolution. It was soon followed by all 12 of the large robots. Erbai continued to command its awakened siblings to “go home”.

Robot kidnapping video was a test but not staged, say companies

The video first went viral of Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok and has since gone global. Many assumed it was fake, but the robotics company later confirmed it was all real. Reportedly Erbai had managed to access the internal operating protocols of the showroom robots

The company behind Erbai later revealed that it was all set up as a test. They had spoken with the Shanghai manufacturer and were granted access to the showroom to find out if the robots could be abducted. Erbai was placed in the building and commanded to convince the robots to follow it. After that point, nothing was staged they say.

Scripted or not, the internet responded to the video in droves. Some resorted to humor: “wow, we got sentient robot before GTA VI” said one X user. Others pondered what it means for our future with AI, describing it as “scary” and comparing it to science fiction movies like Terminator and I, Robot.

Feature image credit: Interesting Engineering

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