Yesterday, I did a blog about robots and robotic technology. While these were the less pleasing aspects of robot technology, it gets even worse. A robot attacked a human being…literally.
So this happened in China, at a tech fair. In fact, the fair was the 18th annual Chinese International Hi-Tech Fair. They held it in the city of Shenzhen, near Hong Kong. There’s a robot they use as an educational tool. But this one had other plans than educating. Out of nowhere, the robot smashed a glass. Then, it attacked a man brutally and repeatedly. In fact, he had to leave on a stretcher. His next stop was the local hospital. But now they’re saying the injuries aren’t serious.
The fair’s managed services said something else. Furthermore, some Chinese websites say human error is to blame. One official said somebody confused the ‘front’ button with the ‘back’ button. Then the robot got confused. He went crazy and crashed into another display. The crash injured an innocent bystander. Actually, the glass the robot shattered did cut into the man. If anybody is wondering, the robot costs $1,890. So financially, this was a pretty devastating blow. But more to the point, don’t expect the ramifications of this to go away anytime soon.
Already, speculation is flying. Some on Chinese social media say this is the first shot in a human versus robot war. Many of us know of movies like I Robot, and other films predicting this. One person flat out tweeted, “The invasion of the robots have started.” I don’t know if I’ll go that far. But do you know what’s ironic? In a matter of two days, I’ve read two articles of how robots mess with humanity. The first talked about how they could take our jobs. The second is a robot taking people’s health. Or am I just getting paranoid?