A robot “raises its hand and touches the buttock of a reporter” – Publinews – 2024-03-10 02:01:05

Users debated whether what happened with the Saudi Arabian robot was actually harassment or an accident. “The robot is related to the patriarchy”, “Repressed desires of the developers”, are some of the comments on networks.

This March 8, which marks International Women’s Day, a group of engineers decided to present their creation, the robot, Muhammad, to the media, but the android’s reaction was unexpected.

The video of a “male” robot harassing a television reporter at a technology event held in Saudi Arabia went viral on social networks.

The presentation of the first Saudi male humanoid robot took place during the technology exhibition held in the main business center of that country. However, the android’s presentation was overshadowed by its behavior, because while the reporter was broadcasting live, the robot raised its hand and grazed her buttock.

Social media users debated whether what happened between the reporter and the Saudi Arabian robot was actually harassment or was planned by the engineers to become a trend.

The incident, captured on video, has divided opinion internationally. While some argue that the robot’s movement was accidental and without the intention of touching the reporter, others consider that it could be interpreted as a case of harassment, given that the humanoid’s objective “seemed clear.”

The engineers responsible for the creation of “Muhammad”, which operates through artificial intelligence (AI), apologized and assured that it was a technical failure in the robot and not a case of real harassment.

They stated that they would investigate the incident with the aim of improving their invention and avoiding similar situations in the future.

The case has generated a debate about the limits of interaction between humans and robots, as well as about the responsibility of the creators of artificial intelligence, as netizens assured that this type of humanoids must respect the rights and dignity of people.

Some users commented:

“Repressed desires of developers”, “Even robots are sick”, “Just move your arm back and forth. It’s nothing out of this world, don’t want to see “harassment” where there isn’t any. A tree could have been in front and it would have touched it anyway”, “The robot is related to the patriarchy”, “The bad habits of humans are already rubbing off on them. One more step towards singularity”, are some of the comments on social networks.