- A Unitree G1 humanoid robot kicked a child during a show in Xinjiang, China
- The child was not seriously injured, but the mother criticized slow staff response
- The incident raises questions about liability for harm caused by autonomous robots
To offset its ageing workforce, China has been heavily investing in automation and robotics to produce humanoid robots. Although these robots have made significant technological strides in the last few years, they are far from perfect, as was recently demonstrated in a viral social media video. A Unitree G1 humanoid robot, wearing a blue clown wig, executed a perfect roundhouse kick on the stomach of a young child in the audience, who was left writhing in pain on the ground.
According to the Chinese newspaper Shanghai Daily, the incident occurred in Xinjiang, a northwest region of China. Fortunately, the child was not seriously injured, but the mother complained about the slow reaction of the staff members.
"A robot at a Xinjiang tourist attraction kicked a boy during a show. The child was not seriously hurt, but the mother reported the site staff were slow to react," the publication stated.
"This raises an interesting question: who is held responsible for the harm a robot causes to a human? For the purposes of this question, assume the robot is autonomous and not being remotely operated by an individual," said one user, while another added: "Not going to lie. That was the kids' fault for standing there. He saw everyone else move. You need to move too."
A third commented: "That robot knew exactly what it was doing. They are starting to turn on us already. Terminator movies were right."
A fourth said: "I am yet to see a video of these weird artificial intelligence robots functioning as they were intended. Poor child."
Check The Viral Clip Here:
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Last month, during a school Sports Day meet in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, a robot's performance went similarly wrong. Seconds into the performance, the robot tripped over itself and fell to the ground after getting confused by the presence of too many people.
Upon tripping, the robot began throwing kung-fu kicks at the performers. As it moved erratically, the performers were left baffled and stepped back cautiously. The situation created concern among those on the field as the robot continued its uncontrolled movements.
