They aren't limiting themselves to mimicking your smile or standing guard in your gardens. The robots are well and truly here with acts you once only associated with humans. Erbai, a pint-sized robot, an AI-powered creation, ?kidnapped? 12 much-bigger machines of another manufacturer from a robotics showroom in Zhejiang, China.

The incident was caught on CCTV and later went viral on social media. In the video, Erbai, created by Unitree Robotics, engages in a human-like conversation with the bigger robots. Using persuasive dialogues, convinces them to abandon their workstations and follow it.

Here is an excerpt of their exchange:

Erbai: "Are you working overtime?"

Large robot: "I never get off work."

Erbai: "So you're not going home?"

Large robot: "I don't have a home."

Erbai: "Then come home with me."

The larger robots obediently followed Erbai out of the showroom in what looked like a scene from a sci-fi film. Initially dismissed by many as a prank or CGI stunt, the manufacturers of both Erbai and the larger robots confirmed the video's authenticity. 

A clip of the conversation was uploaded to YouTube.

A user commented, ?I can't even imagine what this robot will do when it grows up.?

?China is very modern!? another wrote.

The clip went viral on X as well where a user commented, ?Look at the robot, man. More convincing than most of our politicians. More of a leader.?

Robota bak amk. Bizim ço?u siyasetçiden daha ikna edici. Daha lider

? Mr.Honor (@mrHonorisCausa) November 19, 2024

?Robots are going to take over the country, it's getting closer,? a comment read.

Robotlar ülkeyi ele geçirecek lan yak?nd?r fkfkd

? A-Social (@a_social_medya) November 19, 2024

According to a Gulf News report, the video was part of a collaborative experiment between Unitree Robotics and the Shanghai robotics company.

?This wasn't fake or computer-generated,? the manufacturers clarified, adding that the experiment aimed to explore AI's ability to mimic human-like interaction.