A ‘male’ humanoid robot unveiled in Saudi Arabia has gone viral after inappropriately touching the backside of a female reporter, prompting lots of questions.
The Saudi robotics company QSS unveiled its most talked-about robot, “Muhammad the Humanoid Robot.”
Muhammad the Humanoid Robot was officially unveiled at the DeepFest in Riyadh in the first week of March 2024.
The robot was fully dressed in the usual traditional Saudi attire. In terms of language and communications, the robot is programmed to speak both Arabic and English.
In the DeepFest post on X, Muhammad was described as “the first Saudi robot in the form of a man,” as well as a national project to highlight Saudi Arabia’s AI achievements.
The robot, while the presentation was going on, was positioned in such a way that it ended up facing a reporter for Al Arabiya, Rawya Kassem, as it spoke with the audience.
During the conversation, Muhammad the Humanoid Robot was seen extending its hand to touch the back side of Rawya Kassem.
The video went viral after the incident and caught the moment Muhammad the Humanoid Robot attempted to touch her backside.
The question many are asking is whether the robot was trained and programmed to detect the features of the opposite gender and act in the manner it did, or if it was mere coincidence.
In the video, Kassem responds by glaring at Muhammad and then raising her hand before continuing to speak.
It moves by the robot, sparking a heated debate on X, with many accusing the robot of inappropriate behaviour for touching the female reporter.
QSS, which did not respond to BI’s request for comment on the viral video, told Metro that the robot was “fully autonomous” and was operating “independently without direct human control.”
They have also indicated that before the encounter with Muhammad the Humanoid Robot, all present were given protocols that included standing a distance away from the robot.
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They “proactively informed all attendees, including reporters, to maintain a safe distance from the robot during its demonstration.” He stated
According to Metro, QSS added that it had reviewed the footage and the circumstances surrounding the incident, finding that there were “no deviations from expected behaviour” of Muhammad.
It said it would take “additional measures” to prevent anyone from “getting close to the robot within its areas of movement.”
A ‘male’ humanoid robot unveiled in Saudi Arabia goes viral after it inappropriately touched a female reporter. – VIDEO
According to a November 2018 article in Business Insider, humanoid robots may be the next big thing to emerge from the AI boom.
The market research firm MarketsandMarkets predicts that by 2028, this sector would be worth $13.8 billion.
It will be quite some time before these machines begin to threaten your employment.