Saudi Arabia's first male robot inappropriately touches female reporter during live interview. Video

A 7-second video of the incident is now viral. (Image credit: @MeghUpdates/X)

The unveiling of Saudi Arabia’s first male humanoid robot ‘Muhammad’ during the second edition of DeepFast in Riyadh recently has sparked a controversy on social media after it allegedly touched a female news reporter inappropriately during the launch.

A 7-second video of the incident is now viral. In it, the reporter Rawya Kassem, is seen talking about a robot who extends his hand toward her back, seemingly touching her butt. Kassem had to raise her hand momentarily to back it off.

Saudi Arabia unveils its man shaped AI robot Mohammad, reacts to reporter in its first appearance pic.twitter.com/1ktlUlGBs1

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— Megh Updates (@MeghUpdates) March 6, 2024

Reacting to the video, some social media users claimed that the robot could have malfunctioned while others suggested the action could have been to urge the reporter to move forward as she was standing quite close to the humanoid.

During its launch, Mohammad, the humanoid robot, was clad in a traditional white thawb and red keffiyeh. It addressed the audience in flawless Arabic, Gulf Business reported. Developed by QSS Systems and the male counterpart to Sara, Mohammad said at the event, "I am Muhammad, the first Saudi robot in the form of a man. I was manufactured and developed here in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a national project to demonstrate our achievements in the field of artificial intelligence."

“I am Muhammad, the first Saudi robot in the form of a man. I was manufactured and developed here in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a national project to demonstrate our achievements in the field of artificial intelligence” said Android Mohammad @qltyss, the first bilingual male… pic.twitter.com/SKLgOz3pal

— DeepFest (@deepfestai) March 4, 2024

The robot can carry out tasks that require high precision or work in conditions that may pose a danger to humans, contributing to enhancing safety and production efficiency, its makers said.