A Saudi humanoid robot was captured groping a female reporter on camera — and the company behind it is defending its behavior., QSS, the AI firm behind the humanoid robot in question, said that it had warned attendees of the DeepFest conference in Riyadh not to stand too close to "
In the video, the so-called android is seen decked out in the white thobe tunic and keffiyah headscarf that's part of theas it stands beside another, female-attired robot wearing a traditional headscarf. In front of the robotic pair stood two reporters, one female and one male. As a short clip of the incident shows, the Muhammad robot seems very much to be reaching toward the female journalist and briefly lifting up the back of her blazer.
The company added that it had "proactively informed all attendees, including reporters, to maintain a safe distance from the robot during its demonstration," suggesting that if anyone got touched, it was their own fault. "We have already conducted a thorough review of the footage and the circumstances surrounding the incident and there no deviations from expected behavior," the company toldin its statement, "however we will take additional measures to prevent anyone getting close to the Robot within its areas of movement."are, of course, commonplace in allegations of sexual misconduct — and now, apparently, they can apparently be applied to the world of robotics as well.