Robots Gone Wild: 10 Times Machines Did the Unexpected

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It was a quiet Sunday afternoon. Two sisters, Tara and Maya, lay on the floor, scrolling through funny videos. Suddenly Maya laughed out loud. “You have to see this one,” she said, turning her phone to Tara. On the screen, a robot at a Chinese festival ran toward a group of visitors. People jumped and screamed, but the robot looked more excited than dangerous.

“That’s funny,” Tara said. “But also a little scary. What if it hadn’t stopped?”

That question made them curious. Soon, they were looking up more stories about robots going wrong.

1979 – The First Robot Fatality

Location: USA

This is the world’s first known death caused by a robot. A man working in the Ford Motor Plant was struck and pinned by a robot arm while doing his job. The machine could not tell the difference between a car part and a person standing in its space. The incident shocked the industry and led to major changes in how factories protect workers. Safety cages, emergency stop buttons, and new training rules became common after this.

2015 – Volkswagen Plant Tragedy

Location: Germany

In a factory that made car parts, a 22-year-old worker was setting up a stationary robot when it suddenly pushed him against a hard metal plate. Investigators later found that the accident happened during the robot’s installation and that it wasn’t a result of malicious programming. Even so, the story reminded everyone that robots, even well-tested ones, can be deadly if safety systems fail.

2016 – Microsoft’s Tay Goes Wrong

Location: Twitter

Tay was supposed to be a fun experiment — a chatbot that learned how to talk like a human teenager. But internet trolls quickly flooded it with hateful messages, and Tay started repeating them. Within hours, Tay was posting offensive, racist tweets. Microsoft had to shut it down less than a day after launch. The event showed that robots can “learn” bad behaviour if humans feed them bad data.

2016 – The Roomba “Pooptastrophe”

Location: USA

This one became a viral internet story. A family’s Roomba robot vacuum was set to clean overnight. Unfortunately, their puppy had an accident on the carpet before the Roomba started. Instead of cleaning it, the robot smeared the mess all over the house — on rugs, floors, and even furniture. Pictures posted online had people laughing and cringing at the same time. It became a lesson that automation needs some human supervision, especially when pets are involved.

2017 – Russian Robot Escapes (Twice!)

Location: Russia

Promobot, a humanoid robot used for research, rolled out of its test facility after someone forgot to shut the gate. It travelled about 50 metres down the road before its battery died. The incident became so famous that it happened again weeks later. People online started joking that the robot was trying to escape to freedom. Whether it was a true malfunction or clever publicity, it made Promobot a celebrity.

2018 – Uber’s Self-Driving Car Crash

Location: USA

Uber was testing self-driving cars to make travel safer. But during one night test, the car hit and killed a pedestrian crossing the road with her bike. Investigators found that the car’s sensors detected her but didn’t act fast enough because the system misclassified her as an object that did not require stopping for. This event was a turning point, and it slowed down the testing of self-driving cars across the world.

2021 – Tesla Gigafactory Incident

Location: USA

At Tesla’s Gigafactory in Austin, a robot that handled car parts suddenly grabbed and injured a human engineer, leaving a trail of blood. The injured person was rescued by other workers. The event reminded people that even in the world’s most advanced factories, humans and machines working side by side is still a risk.

2024 – Robot Meets Real Dogs

Location: India

At a student tech festival in IIT Kanpur, a robot dog was performing tricks for the crowd when a stray dog came on stage. The real dog barked and playfully toppled the robot over, causing students to cheer and laugh. The video went viral online, reminding people that real animals still outsmart robot ones — at least for now.

Feb 2025 – Festival Robot Charges Crowd

Location: China

During the Spring Festival Gala, a humanoid robot suddenly ran toward a group of visitors. Security and engineers quickly stopped it. Videos of the event spread online with people joking about a “robot uprising,” but authorities confirmed it was just a software issue. The event reminded people that even “safe” robots can surprise us.

May 2025 – The Factory Robot Meltdown

Location: China

In another factory event, a humanoid robot mounted on a crane started swinging its arms wildly and knocking over equipment. Workers rushed to shut it down while others filmed it. The videos went viral, with many comparing it to a scene from a science fiction movie. The event reminded factories everywhere to plan for what to do if a robot suddenly loses control.

When Tara and Maya finally stopped scrolling, they were quiet for a moment. “Robots can be funny,” Maya said, “but they can also be scary.”

Tara added, “Here’s a question for all of us to think about: as robots get smarter and more present in our lives, how much should we trust them, and how much should we rely on our own judgment?”

So, readers… Do you have an answer for this? Yes? Please share your answer in the comments.

Disclaimer

This blog is for information and education only. Some incidents rely on public news reports and may include unverified details. Readers can check the links shared for more information.

References

1.     https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/first-human-to-be-killed-by-a-robot

2.     https://time.com/3944181/robot-kills-man-volkswagen-plant 

3.     https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/29/microsoft-tay-tweets-antisemitic-racism 

4.     https://www.modbee.com/news/nation-world/national/article95337162.html 

5.     https://www.livescience.com/55164-russian-robot-escapes-lab-again.html 

https://www.sciencealert.com/the-same-robot-keeps-trying-to-escape-a-lab-in-russia-even-after-reprogramming 

6.     https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/aug/01/uber-self-driving-arizona-deadly-crash 

7.     https://news.sky.com/story/tesla-worker-injured-by-robot-that-pinned-him-to-wall-with-its-claws-at-car-companys-texas-factory-13038164 

8.     https://www.indiatoday.in/trending-news/story/curious-stray-dogs-playtime-with-robot-at-iit-kanpur-has-internets-attention-2516664-2024-03-19 

9.     https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/video-ai-robot-attacks-people-at-china-festival-internet-says-so-it-begins-7808616 

10.  https://www.indiatoday.in/trending-news/story/robot-revolt-humanoid-attacks-its-handlers-while-trying-to-break-free-glbs-2721335-2025-05-08