Arrested? Cops catch hold of humanoid robot after it had a scuffle with a woman on evening walk

A humanoid robot was "arrested" by police in Macau after it unintentionally shocked an elderly woman during her evening walk. The elderly woman reportedly lashed out at the robot and was so startled that she had to go to a hospital due to shock.

Will AI harm humans? While we might have to wait a bit longer for an answer to this question, for now humanoids are indeed getting “arrested” for disrupting the peace of humans. In what seems to be one of the first cases of a robot getting into serious trouble, a humanoid robot in Macau was taken away by police after it unintentionally scared an elderly woman. The robot apparently shocked and startled the woman so much that he had to visit hospital.

The clip of the woman screaming at the robot, and Macau cops taking the humanoid away, became viral on internet a few days ago.

The incident reportedly happened earlier this month when the woman, who seemed to be in her 70s, was walking through a narrow street while looking at her phone, according to the Macau Post. Local police said she suddenly noticed a humanoid robot standing right behind her. The robot, which was being used for promotional activity, had stopped on the walkway and was waiting for space to pass. The woman, however, was not ready for this surprise encounter from the “weird” looking machine.

Police later said the woman “was startled when she suddenly noticed a robot behind her while using her mobile phone,” and the shock of it made her feel unwell. She was taken to hospital as a precaution, but doctors confirmed she had no physical injuries and was discharged the same day.

Many onlookers recorded the entire scene on video. In the clips circulating over social media, the robot can be seen standing near the elderly woman while she angrily speaks to it. Later, the robot is taken away by police officials.

The visuals led many people on the internet to joke that the humanoid had been detained for disturbing the peace. Some posts even called it the “first humanoid robot arrested by police.”