When considering the existential risks of emerging technology, we often focus on scenarios like the recent negotiations between Anthropic and the Pentagon over AI military applications. The thought is alarming—how soon might nuclear weapons be triggered without human input?
We’ve been so preoccupied with these hypothetical disasters that we’ve overlooked a more immediate threat: dancing robots.
At Haidilao, a hot pot restaurant in Cupertino, California, a dancing robot got carried away, moving too close to a table and smashing plates, scattering dishware and chopsticks until the staff intervened, according to a video posted on Xiaohongshu by user Meooow.
A video on Twitter shows at least three employees trying to control the robot as it continues moving its arms. One employee is seen on her phone, likely trying to adjust app settings for the robot’s control. The robot, likely an AgiBot X2, which debuted at CES in January, might have a kill switch that staff were untrained to use.
Hot pot involves extremely hot soup pots. If the robot had knocked over a boiling bowl of broth, it could have caused burns, beyond just a mess. Plus, consider the potential physical danger from a robot suddenly becoming unwieldy.
When The Killers sang “Are we human or are we dancer,” they perhaps didn’t foresee doing so amidst future robot conflicts.
Haidilao acknowledged the incident to NBC News but denied the robot malfunctioned, stating it was maneuvered closer to a table at a guest’s request, outside its usual parameters. The limited space affected its movement.
AgiBot was not immediately available for comment.
Haidilao has tested a “smart restaurant” in Beijing with robot servers and broth machines. The Cupertino restaurant might have used the robot primarily for entertainment, but proximity to diners led to chaos.
Many startups aim to integrate robots into the food service sector, like Shin Starr, developing autonomous kitchens. Pudu Robotics’ BellaBot, a cat-like robot, directs customers and delivers food.
Perhaps such limbless designs are currently safer than humanoid robots.