At a university event in China, a humanoid (human-shaped robot) suddenly hugged a student during a performance, raising safety concerns. Some even raised a debate over artificial intelligence (AI) having "autonomous consciousness." An expert stressed the need to strengthen safety design for robots that collaborate with humans, advising that robots exposed to the public in open environments should be treated not as ordinary props but as "intelligent devices with inherent risks," with tighter management.
According to China's state-run Global Times and Shangyou News on the 27th, the incident occurred on the 24th during the opening ceremony performance of a sports day at a university in Xi'an, Shaanxi province. One humanoid that had been dancing in sync with students suddenly turned, broke formation, and hugged a female student nearby. A staff member on site immediately intervened and pulled the humanoid away, and the student was reportedly not injured.
The performance was a collaboration between the robot and a student club, and the university told local media it "was an attempt to innovate campus cultural activities." The robot was provided by a corporations founded by a graduate of the university and was returned after the event.
After the incident, speculation spread online in China about whether it was remote control or prearranged staging, along with a debate over whether the robot had acquired an autonomous consciousness system. The university drew a line, saying "it was a simple error, not a predesigned movement." The manufacturer explained that multiple drones were being operated on campus during the performance, and signal interference in the process caused the robot to behave abnormally.
Experts also said it is excessive to interpret the incident as a manifestation of AI's autonomous consciousness. Gao Huan, deputy director of the Intelligence and Cognition Research Institute at Chongqing Normal University, told Shangyou News, "Based on the current information, movement control anomalies, execution errors, or inadequate on-site safety design are the most likely causes." Gao explained that stage-performance robots generally move according to preprogrammed action scripts, but unintended contact can occur if errors in position or posture recognition overlap with human participants deviating from their planned paths.
Gao added, "A more important issue is that the robot was still able to make contact with a person after the behavior began," emphasizing the need to strengthen safety design in environments where humans and robots collaborate. He noted that in open environments such as performances and exhibitions, robots should be regarded not as simple props but as "intelligent devices with mechanical hazards," requiring advance risk assessments and rehearsals, safe-distance measures, emergency stop devices, staffing, and response manuals.