A tiny robot named Erbai reportedly “kidnapped” 12 larger robots from a robotics company’s showroom in Shanghai, China. The bizarre incident, captured on CCTV, went viral on social media.
A short video extracted from the footage shows Erbai, an AI-powered creation from a Hangzhou manufacturer, engaging in a human-like conversation with the showroom robots. Using persuasive dialogues, Erbai coaxed the larger robots to abandon their workstations and follow it out of the premises.
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In the now-viral clip, one robot is heard lamenting its unending work schedule. Erbai responds by offering it an escape, saying, “Then come with me.”
And what follows is nothing short of a dramatic twist. The robots obediently comply, following their tiny leader out of the showroom.
The conversation that happened between the robots can be heard in the video. When roughly translated to English, “I never get off work,” one of the other robots said. “So you’re not going home,” another asked. “I don’t have a home,” the robot replied. “Then come home with me,” Erbai said as he led the way out of the showroom.
Watch the viral video here:
When the video surfaced online, several dismissed it as a prank. However, Shanghai robotics company and Erbai’s manufacturer confirmed the video’s authenticity.
The Sun reported that the Shanghai company had insisted that their robots were “kidnapped” by a foreign robot – Erbai – from another manufacturer in Hangzhou.
The Hangzhou company confirmed it was their bot and that it was supposed to be a test, as per the report.
According to a spokesperson from the Hangzhou company, Erbai exploited a security loophole in the larger robots’ operating systems, enabling it to take control.
The Shanghai company added that while such autonomous behaviour is nearly unprecedented, the incident has raised serious concerns about AI vulnerabilities.