Small robot persuades 12 larger robots to 'quit their jobs,' causing a stir in China.

According to security camera footage, the incident occurred on the night of August 26th at an exhibition hall in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, eastern China.

Video shows a small robot luring and kidnapping 12 other robots at an exhibition hall in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China. (Source: Haokan)

The "culprit" in the incident was a small robot named Erbai. Compared to the other robots it "kidnapped," Erbai appeared particularly agile. In the quiet space, Erbai approached and asked the group of robots, "Are you guys working overtime?"

"I never finish my shift," a robot replied.

"So you're not planning to go home?" , Erbai continued to ask.

"I don't have a home," the robot replied.

"Then come home with me," Nhi Bach called out.

After the conversation, Nhi Bach took the lead, shouting the command: "Go home!" The group of 12 robots followed suit, moving towards the warehouse.

The larger robots moved in turn, following the command "go home" from the smaller robot, Nhi Bach. (Photo: Sohu)

The group of robots seemed to be very obedient to Erbai's instructions, forming an orderly circle in the warehouse, waiting for Erbai to give new orders. However, no new actions were taken afterward, and the robots remained in the warehouse until the exhibition staff discovered them.

A robot development company in Hangzhou confirmed the incident, stating that Erbai was their product. Meanwhile, the 12 robots that were "kidnapped" were products of a different company in Shanghai.

The video, after going viral, sparked heated discussions among Chinese netizens. Some found the robot's actions very interesting, highlighting the unexpected development of artificial intelligence (AI).

However, concerns have also been raised about the robot's "autonomy," with some arguing that the incident reveals security vulnerabilities in smart devices as well as issues related to the robot's ethical behavior.

Amid public speculation, the developer of the robot Nhi Bach finally revealed the truth behind the "kidnapping" incident: it was a deliberately planned experimental scenario.

They said they coordinated with the exhibition hall management to allow Nhi Bach to interact with the robots in order to see what interesting scientific reactions would occur.

However, the developers also emphasized that the "kidnapping" didn't entirely follow a script. During the design process, the developers only wrote some basic instructions for Nhi Bach, such as saying "go home" and simple communication commands. The rest of the interaction was real-time dialogue between Nhi Bach and the group of robots, as recorded by the camera.

Hua Yu (Source: Sohu, China.com)

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