This Robot Autonomously Breaks Asimov’s First Law and Makes You Bleed

Isaac Asimov’s “First Law” of robotics states:

A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

With hopes of spurring an ethical debate around a future robot uprising, Alexander Reben has developed a machine that breaks this rule by autonomously choosing who it would like to inflict pain upon. If a person dares to put their finger near the bot, the device will decide using an algorithm as to whether or not to prick a their finger with a needle, causing them to bleed.

As you can see in the video below, the robot — which doesn’t appear to be intimidating at first glance — consists of a mechanical arm attached to the top of a black box. There are two brackets, where a volunteer places their finger to alert the machine of its presence.