What do you do when a robot talks trash or gives you the finger? Rizzbot is an NYC trash talking robot, that seems to fit right in amongst New Yorkers.
A trash-talking humanoid robot named Rizzbot has been wandering around New York City, serving up attitude and sarcastic comebacks to unsuspecting strangers. This viral sensation is sparking conversations about what happens when we give robots personality and sass. From its rude interactions to the mixed reactions it’s getting, Rizzbot represents a fascinating glimpse into how we might relate to more human-like robots in the future.
The robot version of Dick’s Last Resort
In most restaurants, if the server, host, or other staff were rude to you, it would be commonplace for you to complain, get angry, demand a refund, or get up and leave. That’s not the case at Dick’s Last Resort, where staff members are expected to be rude and unkind to patrons. Now, there’s a sassy robot taking over NYC, taking trash, and showing off its humanoid robot personality by giving people a hard time. Because some people expect this rude talking robot to insult them, they accept its actions.
An out-of-place cowboy hat
Rizzbot, the NYC trash talking robot has become a bit of a TikTok robot celebrity for its attitude and insults. Its giving people around New York the “rizz” with cheeky gestures and insults. This humanoid robot has become a viral sensation and is known for rocking a cowboy hat while sharing its attitude with New Yorkers. This is an example of what it might be like to have robot-human social interactions if more of these robots are created. Some people have begun posting viral robot videos of Rizzbot as an attempt to capture the machine’s attitude and rudeness on video.
The Rizzbot social media buzz
When people expect insults, they want to hear what’s coming. It might seem a little unorthodox, but roasts and insults are part of life and for some people they are a sign of endearment more than an actual put down. Rizzbot has a social media presence and has at least half a million followers and more than 20 million likes on the social media pages.
Rizzbot was created by Unitree and is a G1 humanoid robot from Austin, Texas. Robotics students at the University of Texas have worked to program the machine to perform various tasks and have the right responses when spoken to, developing a social presence and the ability to carry conversations and interact with people.
The robot loves to dance
Rizzbot is known around NYC as a trash talking robot, but there’s something that it loves to do that you might not expect. Some of the programmers have taught it to perform Lady Gaga dance moves because the robot “loves to dance,” according to Ph.D. student Kyle Morgenstein. He goes on to say the robot “likes to make people laugh” and is an entertaining machine. Morgenstein uses terms like love, like, and he when speaking about the robot, but that only goes as far as the programming allows. Still, it’s pretty impressive to see a robot that can interact with people, entertain them, and act appropriately, or rudely in this case, in public.
A small child on the run, nope, it’s just Rizzbot
The “rizz” part of this robot is its personality and charisma. Earlier this summer, Rizzbot was first spotted sprinting down a sidewalk in Austin, Texas. Anyone who wasn’t aware of what was going on might think the robot was a child. It is only three feet tall, which makes it child sized.
After some successful testing in Austin, Rizzbot took New York City by storm. Imagine being given the finger by a three-foot-tall robot or being told by such a short robot to “shut your bitch ass up,” which Rizzbot told a woman in Brooklyn. The rudeness of this robot, coupled with its penchant for dancing and entertainment, has turned it into a social media sensation.
Rizzbot is the NYC trash talking robot that just might give you the finger or call you a rude name. It’s all in good fun, of course. If this robot were cordial and nice all the time, it probably wouldn’t be such a sensation, but with rudeness and insults, people around New York simply can’t wait to hear what comes out of the robot’s mouth next. What will the Robotics team at the University of Texas come up with next?
