Outrage over Saudi Arabia robot touching female reporter 'inappropriately' ensues; netizens scream 'pervert'

Android Muhammad, the first male robot in Saudi Arabia, is under scrutiny after it was seen on camera reportedly assaulting a female reporter during an event. The event that the robot was unveiled at was live when the incident occurred. The robot, which was designed to move its hands, was shown standing next to TV reporter Rawiya Al-Qasimi in an 8-second viral video.

Journalists are essential to keeping the public informed and making powerful organizations and individuals responsible. Worldwide, harassment of women, particularly those who work as TV anchors and reporters, is a worrying problem. People have occasionally been seen making fun of female reporters, even in front of cameras.

Many were taken aback when Android Muhammad, Saudi Arabia's first male humanoid robot, caused a stir when it was accused of "harassing" a lady. This robot, which debuted at the second DeepFast event in Riyadh, has caused a stir on social media when it was purportedly seen inappropriately caressing a female news reporter.

A seven-second video, with the AI robot standing next to TV reporter Rawiya Al-Qasimi, was circulated online. The robotic arm's motions, which resembled "harassment," attracted spectators' attention. The reporter's uneasy look was also apparent at the same time.

Online users were agitated by the footage, with many asserting that the event was caused by the way it was scripted. However, because most people thought the robot "harassed" the woman, it ended up being a contentious issue. The clip was posted on the social media platform X (Formerly Twitter) by the handle ‘TansuYegen’ on March 5, 2024. The share was captioned, “Saudi Robots were announced today.”

The post startled viewers when it went viral on social media. Online users quickly flocked to the comments area, flooding it with a wide range of responses. While some people thought the robot's hand movements were "natural," others questioned the programmers who created it.

Some people believed it to be inappropriate and called it "harassment" and "ever-teasing." Over 189,000 people have watched the video to date, and the figure is definitely still rising.