'Are you freaking crazy?' Bot harasses woman, gets led away by cops
- Reference: 1773424104
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2026/03/13/china_bot_berated_woman_freaking_crazy/
- Source link:
Witnesses said the woman was out for a walk around Rua Sul do Patane in Macau around 9 p.m. on March 5, looking at her phone, when the bot approached her from behind and she turned, startled.
The next part is caught on video.
[1]
According [2]to the clip , the woman [3]shouted in Cantonese : “You’re making my heart race! You’ve got plenty to do, so what’s the point of messing around with this? Are you freaking crazy?”
[4]
[5]
The Unitree Robotics G-1 then appeared to do a “raise the roof” motion with both arms while she continued to shout. The video cuts to the police escorting G-1 away.
The Unitree Robotics G-1 sells for about 85,000 yuan in China, but can be bought in the US through [6]Alibaba for $15,300 . According to the product listing, it is powered by Nvidia Orin chips which max out at 100 TOPS and comes equipped with 3D LiDAR depth cameras to scan its surroundings. Internally it runs on 16GB of memory, has 2TB of storage, and a 13-cell 9000mAh battery.
[7]
However, the 80-pound robot has virtually no upper body strength, with a maximum arm payload of about 6 pounds.
Police said the robot did not make contact with the woman, but she was hospitalized for evaluation and later released.
The robot was returned to its operator, who was nearby testing the unit and improving performance for an upcoming promotional use to market an education center nearby, the paper stated.
[8]
The same robot was used in a three promotional activities for the education center last week, according to the Macau Post. And it had even walked the UNESCO World Heritage site Ruins of St. Paul’s and Cotai Strip, according to the operator who said it generally received positive feedback.
Police did not cite the bot's operator but told him to be more careful when deploying AI to the edge.
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[2] https://x.com/CyberRobooo/status/2030290624084332944
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Better to keep things simple and kill it with fire
Thanks to its liquid metal poly-alloy construction, it can just re-form itself after that; the silver blobs of melted metal coalesce and run together, the G-1 unit then resuming its remorseless promotional activities without pity or fear.
"Remorseless promotional activities" is peak 2020s AI behaviour.
Very much like certain politicians from various Western countries. Which begs other questions. And... I need a beer.
Not kidnapped.
Stolen, although I prefer the word "salvaged". Plan it in advance, keep it legal!
Remember, it's an it, a thing, a tool[0], and nothing else.
[0] A tool used by tools to harass old ladies. It's going to get worse, mark my words ...
Just burn its sensors out with a laser pen from a safe distance and enjoy a little bit of modern situational comedy.
My vision is impaired, I cannot see! [repeat with increasing amounts of panic]
The robot was about to steal the woman's bag
Where is Will Smith when you need him?
Re: The robot was about to steal the woman's bag
Playing hockey and getting paid for it, of course!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Smith_(ice_hockey)
"its operator, who was nearby"
And what, pray tell, was doing about the whole thing ?
Drinking beer ?
Re: "its operator, who was nearby"
Drinking beer and harassing a little old lady remotely.
Just the toy for the cowardly wannabee lager lout on your xmas list.
This was CLEARLY a publicity stunt
Without even watching the video it is obvious they got the reception they want. Some nameless Chinese robot maker now has a reputation for making a sassy robot that's so lifelike it is getting arrested like a real person. And not only media in China but all the way out to the Reg fell for it. Bet their stock is up 1000% since they posted that video.
But look at the impressive rate of progress here. These things have only been available for a few months, if that, and already they're getting arrested. It takes humans years to get to that stage!
Hmm, isn't China also trialling robot police officers? I can already see the slow motion lurching of hot pursuit as robot cop chases robot villain. This is going to be entertaining!
I can already see the slow motion lurching of hot pursuit as robot cop chases robot villain. This is going to be entertaining!
Cue Yakkity Sax!
Interesting thought. If one of these things got too annoying, could it be kidnapped?