When we think about existential threats from new technologies, we usually think of things like the recent negotiations between Anthropic and the Pentagon about how AI could be used in the military. It’s scary to even think about it. How long will it be before a nuclear weapon can be detonated without human intervention?
We’ve spent so much time thinking about these potential disasters that we haven’t prepared for the more immediate danger in our midst: dancing robots.
According to a video posted on the Chinese social network Xiaohongshu by user Meooow, a dancing robot from Haidilao, a hotpot restaurant in Cupertino, California, boogieed so hard and got so close to the table that it started breaking plates and sending cutlery and chopsticks everywhere, prompting restaurant staff to intervene.
As seen in the video, at least three employees can be seen trying to restrain the arm-flailing robot. One Haidilao employee appears to be looking at his phone in an attempt to switch something from the app that controls the robot. The robot, which appears to be the AgiBot
If you’re not familiar with hot pot, you should know that, as the name suggests, it’s a very hot pot containing soup. No one likes spilled food, but if a robot knocks over a bowl of bone broth, it’s not just a culinary disaster – it could seriously burn someone. Not to mention the potential for blunt force damage from the automatons now running amok.
When The Killers sang “Are We Human or Are We Dancers,” we didn’t realize they were asking us to take a stand in a futuristic robot war.
Haidilao confirmed the mechanical failure in a statement to NBC News but denied the robot was “malfunctioning or out of control.”
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“In this case, the robot was brought closer to the table at the guest’s request, which is not a typical operating setup,” the Chinese hot pot restaurant chain said in a statement. “The limited space affected movement during the performance.”
AgiBot did not immediately respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment.
Haidilao experimented with a ‘smart restaurant’ in Beijing using robotic servers and broth mixing machines. This Haidilao restaurant appears to have used the robot just for entertainment purposes, but things got out of hand when it got too close to customers and started dancing.
Many startups are working to bring robots to the foodservice industry, like Shin Starr, which is working to create a fully autonomous kitchen. Pudu Robotics’ BellaBot, a cute cat-like robot, can guide customers to their seats and retrieve their food when they’re done.
Perhaps it is safer than humanoid robots, at least for now. BellaBot has no limbs.
