AI robot appears to grope a female reporter during a live interview in Saudi Arabia.

World news

by the Alyssa Guzman

A “fully autonomous” AI robot has raised eyebrows after it was spotted groping a reporter during an interview at a technology festival in Saudi Arabia.

Journalist Ravia Qasim was speaking to the robot, named Muhammad, when the machine appeared to reach back to touch her. Shows a video circulating on social media.

Qasim, visibly startled, quickly moved away from the robot, but not before grabbing its hand and motioning for it to stop. He then continued his presentation at DeepFest, an AI event in Riyadh.

Robotics firm QSS, which developed Mohammed, told Metro UK that the robot is “fully autonomous” and “operates independently without direct human control.”

“We have already thoroughly reviewed the footage and the circumstances surrounding the incident and there were no deviations from Mohammed’s expected behavior, however, we would like to prevent anyone from approaching the robot in its movement areas. will take additional measures, QSS said, according to Metro UK.

According to Metro UK, Muhammad was designed to help carry out tasks in dangerous situations and improve safety for humans, leading some to believe the robot was simply telling Qasim to move on. had lived.

According to the British outlet, the QSS said it takes safety and welfare seriously and asked participants to “maintain a safe distance from robots during demonstrations”.

Social media users speculated on the robot’s apparent purpose.

one X user Accused him of being “coded to be a creep!”

Another called him A “female robot.”

And Another thought that the robot was going to shake her hand after calling her name, wrote: “Because he said her name and he wanted to shake her hand, but she was standing where his hand passed. It’s human.” It is the fault, not the robot.

Muhammad was raised in Saudi Arabia and is bilingual. According to Deepfest.

“Its creation is a testament to Saudi Arabia’s unwavering commitment to technological advancement and ingenuity,” the festival said on its website. “Mohammed embodies the spirit of innovation that defines Saudi Arabia’s technological landscape, inspiring generations to come.”