I just watched a robot kick a child and I'm over it — let's keep robots away from people until these bots are 100% safe | Tech Radar

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I just watched a robot kick a child and I'm over it — let's keep robots away from people until these bots are 100% safe

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Robot roundhouse kicks child — I wish I were making that up, but we have the video evidence, and while I know that AI could generate a similar film, this one appears to be quite, and unfortunately, real.

Most of today's humanoid robotics companies are enthusiastically pitching an immediate future where robots and humans live side-by-side. It's an exciting, sci-fi-fulfilling possibility; it's also, based on this recent video evidence, potentially very, very dangerous.

The video is short on details, but the images speak for themselves. A children's party or event, possibly with a robot hired as entertainment. They probably wanted it to dance for them like a clown, hence the blue wig.

I don't know if the robot was bothered by the wig, but whatever the reason, it danced down an aisle of children and then roundhouse kicked one unsuspecting child in the gut. Some kids laughed nervously, but mostly everyone stood there looking stunned.

A robot like the one in the video is usually a combination of remote control and canned action. It has a collection of dance moves and can be sent to walk forward and also avoid objects, but someone miscalculated, and that kick wasn't a love tap.

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For the record, I love robots and want one in my home — someday — but I have been concerned about the promises offered by various robotics companies like Neo, Figure, Tesla, and Unitree, which appears to be actively selling or renting out the $18k G1 to influencers. In fact, the Unitree has easily appeared in the most viral videos. I've seen it chasing wild boars, dancing with a troop of robots and children on stage, and running headlong into a mirror.

At 4 feet tall and just 77lbs, perhaps Unitree and those who buy it don't consider it much of a threat. I don't have confirmation that the kicking robot in this video is that robot, but it matched it in size and ability. My point is, these robots are big enough (and in some ways dumb enough) to be a threat.

Then there's Neo, which often depicts its Neo Beta next to a man who casually has his arm draped over the bot. Seems like we're one quick move away from the Neo Beta putting that gray-haired dude in a headlock.

Whenever I see a new consumer robot for humans, I ask about pinch detection, meaning, would the robot be aware if you got one of your fingers caught in a joint? Now, if someone got pinky caught under my arm, I'd know immediately, and it's highly unlikely anyone would suffer any sort of injury. In the case of a robot, they need sensors to know when there's tension or resistance at a joint. Humanoid robot joints are less forgiving and likely stronger than ours and could easily cause more damage.

It's strange how some of these robots don't know the most basic rules of their species.

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Back in 1942, science fiction writer Isaac Asimov penned the three laws of robotics:

A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.

A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

Two of those rules seem easy enough for developers and engineers to follow, but the first already appears more difficult.

For robots to live alongside us in homes, they need to understand human frailty at every level, from childhood to old age. We can't assume that people know enough to get out of a robot's way.

So, sure, you go ahead and bring a humanoid robot into your home or have it entertain kids at your next event. Just make sure you clear a perimeter around the robot at all times, or engage with it at your own risk.

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A 38-year industry veteran and award-winning journalist, Lance has covered technology since PCs were the size of suitcases and “on line” meant “waiting.” He’s a former Lifewire Editor-in-Chief, Mashable Editor-in-Chief, and, before that, Editor in Chief of PCMag.com and Senior Vice President of Content for Ziff Davis, Inc. He also wrote a popular, weekly tech column for Medium called The Upgrade.

Lance Ulanoff makes frequent appearances on national, international, and local news programs including Live with Kelly and Mark, the Today Show, Good Morning America, CNBC, CNN, and the BBC.

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