ShortList is supported by you, our amazing readers. When you click through the links on our site and make a purchase we may earn a commission. Learn more

Here’s terrifying proof that the robots are preparing their violent war against humanity

It's happened. It's finally happened.

Here’s terrifying proof that the robots are preparing their violent war against humanity
30 August 2016

A slow clap for this world-ending inventor, if you please. 

Californian robotics engineer and guy that’s just kicked the stable doors down and let loose the four horsemen of the apocalypse, Alexander Reben, has made a robot that has one simple aim in its AI life – to hurt humans.

The creation, which is thankfully small enough to kick into a thousand tiny pieces if it starts to enjoy its bloodlust a little too much, is designed to randomly slice open a fingertip at high speed. That’s randomly, as in, unpredictably. As in whenever it damn well feels like it.

Watch it in all its aggressive and stabby action here:

Oh good.

The invention is a giant middle finger in the direction of Asimov's Laws - a trio of rules devised by sci-fi author Isaac Asimov that state a robot must obey its human creator, must protect its own existence (within reason), and must not allow harm to ever come to a human. Someone give Asimov a call, because his rulebook has been well and truly thrown out the window. 

“No one’s actually made a robot that was built to intentionally hurt and injure someone,” Reben told Fast Company. “"I wanted to make a robot that does this that actually exists. That was important to, to take it out of the thought experiment realm into reality, because once something exists in the world, you have to confront it. It becomes more urgent. You can’t just pontificate about it." 

Uh huh, cool story bro. How about you go and watch all five Terminator movies, and come back and think long and hard about what you’ve done.