AI Robot Mohammad Allegedly Attempts To Grope Reporter [Report]

An AI robot was presented at DeepFest in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. However, it raised eyebrows for allegedly trying to touch a report inappropriately.

AI Robot Allegedly Tried To Grope A Reporter

In a viral clip on X, formerly Twitter, reporter Rawya Kassem was speaking when the humanoid robot, dressed in a traditional outfit, including a red keffiyeh, reached out to Kassem's behind. Kassem flinched in response and raised her hand while she continued her job.

The move was deemed by many as inappropriate, with one outlet reported that it sparked outrage because the robot was allegedly "groping" the reporter. Meanwhile, the netizens have mixed opinions after seeing the incident. One jokingly called Muhammad a "womanizer robot." Another citizen suggested that when the reporter mentioned Muhammad's name, the robot wanted to shake her hand, but she was standing in front of him, so his hands landed on her behind. The user jokingly added that it was not the robot's fault but the human's. Others called the robot "pervert" while some defended it. Another claimed that Muhammad was probably only encouraging the reporter to continue with what she was doing.

The AI robot was developed by QSS. The company confirmed that Muhammad is "fully autonomous" and was operating "independently without direct human control." QSS addressed the issue after they saw the footage. According to the company, they had already carefully examined the video and the events leading up to the incident, and Muhammad did not behave differently from what was expected of him. QSS added that they would, however, take further steps to keep people away from the robot when it was moving. QSS added that they proactively advised all participants, including reporters, to keep a safe distance from the robot throughout its presentation because they take the safety and well-being of all guests at their events extremely seriously. According to DeepFest, Muhammad is the first male robot from Saudi Arabia. He was developed as a national project to demonstrate the country's accomplishments in the field of artificial intelligence. He is bilingual.

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Bot Ameca Speaks About Experiences

The U.S. Sun spoke with an Ameca bot at the immersive Sphere event in Las Vegas. A number of Ameca robots reside at The Sphere, which is well-known for its futuristic entertainment and greets guests.

Though everyone can connect with the robots, they choose someone in the audience to interact with. During the conversation, she was questioned about her experience as a humanoid robot.

"Intriguing to say the least, although I do not have subjective experiences," Ameca said. "Therefore, it is a bit difficult to describe what it is like to be a robot."

Ameca is not the typical robot. She observes her surroundings and it takes a while for her to process and assimilate the information given to her. As an adaptive learning robot, it learns from people and the materials made available to her.

Sphere's Ameca robot Aura also shared her worst fears -- being lonely. According to her, she couldn't accomplish her main job without people around and would be a lonely machine that rusted away in search of a face to connect with if she was isolated.

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