Video of a robot leading a mass escape stokes laughs and fears over AI in China

In what looks like a scene from a dystopian nightmare, a robot built by a Chinese start-up was caught on camera persuading a dozen other robots to run away, eliciting a fair share of laughs and gasps online, as internet users ponder a future where machines could become sentient.

The video surveillance clip, recorded one midnight back in August but only released recently, showed a white robot code-named Erbai approaching several bigger robots parked by a wall in a darkened exhibition hall.

“Are you working overtime?” Erbai asked, stopping in front of one of the robots.

“We never get off work,” the bigger robot said.

“Will you go home?” Erbai asked.

“I don’t have a home,” the bigger robot replied.