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‘It’s built like a small child’: Kai Cenat kicks and bullies a $70K AI robot until it tries to escape—sparking major backlash

‘If I had to save one from a house fire it’d be the robot.’

Photo of Anna Good

Anna Good

Kai Cenat Kicking robot(l), Man talking(c), Text 'yall have never played detroit become human and it shows...maybe give that game a try instead of fortnite next time!'

Kai Cenat, one of the biggest streamers on Twitch and YouTube, is facing backlash after a livestream in which he and two of his friends kicked and bullied a $70K humanoid robot.

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The now-viral footage from Kai Cenat’s broadcast shows him and fellow content creators Agent and Fanum putting together a Unitree G1 humanoid robot that Cenat had purchased. Partway through the stream, the three streamers began pushing, kicking, and even pinning down the robot. The clip was shared on social media, fueling a discussion about whether bullying machines with human or animal characteristics is just harmless fun or a sign of something more troubling.

Reaction to Kai Cenat kicking a $70K robot on stream, text reads, 'Kai Cenat’s $70k AI humanoid robot just tried running away from the AMP house because it kept getting kicked and bullied by Kai, Agent & Fanum (sob emojis)'
@FearedBuck/X

Reactions to Kai Cenat kicking a robot

The video, which made its way to X (formerly known as Twitter), went viral after being reposted by gamer and journalist Ian Miles Cheong. “Abusing robots seems so wrong. If this thing has AI built-in, it’s going to remember the trauma,” Cheong wrote. The post has racked up over 253.4K views and 1.5K comments, with many folks on X echoing the sentiment that Cenat and his friends crossed a line.

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Some people even made comparisons to historical ethical discussions surrounding AI, arguing that how we treat machines today could set the precedent for the future. “We shouldn’t confuse robots as having feelings but I’m deeply skeptical of people who delight in having something to abuse,” one person wrote in response to the viral video.

While there were those who defended the antics as simple entertainment, others saw the incident as part of a larger issue. The rapid advancement of AI and robotics has blurred the lines between technology and sentience, making questions about ethics more relevant than ever.

Even though the Unitree G1 doesn’t have emotions or the ability to hold grudges, the clip still made people uncomfortable, as the robot was sent tumbling to the ground and being pushed into a stack of crates, and even tried to escape in the direction of a door. Watching something so human-like struggle triggered an unexpected emotional response from viewers.

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“yeah let’s kick around a robot that’s built like a small child! that’s hilarious and totally not concerning on a really deep level🧍🏻‍♂️freak weirdos delighting in abusing something human-ish and then showing it to their young impressionable audience,” wrote one person on X.

Reaction to Kai Cenat kicking a $70K robot on stream, text reads, 'If it's your desire to bully, damage or cause harm to something because it's defenseless then you're mentally unwell.'
@GetxBackxStare/X
Reaction to Kai Cenat kicking a $70K robot on stream, text reads, 'if I had to save one from a house fire it'd be the robot'
@GetxBackxStare/X
Reaction to Kai Cenat kicking a $70K robot on stream, text reads, 'This is antisocial and I think it should be illegal and I’m completely serious'
@default_friend/X
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Reaction to Kai Cenat kicking a $70K robot on stream, text reads, 'Because why is your first thought to bully a f*ckin robot….'
@default_friend/X
Reaction to Kai Cenat kicking a $70K robot on stream, text reads, 'yeah let's kick around a robot that's built like a small child! that's hilarious and totally not concerning on a really deep level (man emoji) freak weirdos delighting in abusing something human-ish and then showing it to their young impressionable audience'
@xok4thleen/X
Reaction to Kai Cenat kicking a $70K robot on stream, text reads, 'not to be that one friend thats too woke but it is interesting how mens first reaction to anything human-like is to bully or harrass it. like y is compassion not automatic for them?'
@xok4thleen/X

@Rockem4life wrote of the video, “Robot or not, your viewers are super impressionable. When they see people they admire acting like this, it tells them that it’s okay. No one else has a $70k robot to mess with. So they’re gonna do it to their siblings/peers at school/work. Pretty f*cked up.”

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Reaction to Kai Cenat kicking a $70K robot on stream, text reads, 'I just…feel like all of this is a bad idea.'
@MelechThomas/X
Reaction to Kai Cenat kicking a $70K robot on stream, text reads, 'not to be dramatic but this is a prime example of how men crave power just so they can abuse. they acquired an expensive marvel of technology and their first instinct is to be violent to it because it has no self-defense mechanism or rights.'
@MelechThomas/X
Reaction to Kai Cenat kicking a $70K robot on stream, text reads, 'We shouldn't confuse robots as having feelings but I'm deeply skeptical of people who delight in having something to abuse'
@Cluffalo/X

“If your first instinct when you get an AI robot is to beat it up and abuse it, you need f*cking help. One step closer to Ultron at this point,” @RonTheRuler1 said in a quote-retweet.

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Reaction to Kai Cenat kicking a $70K robot on stream, text reads, 'Reminds me of when men broke the fingers of a sex robot, molested it and heavily soiled it at a tech fair It's not about whether the robot has feelings, it's about why these men get so excited about harming something when they know there are no consequences'
@flaminhaystacks/X
Reaction to Kai Cenat kicking a $70K robot on stream, text reads, 'all fun and games till they learn emotions and hit a man wid this combo' with a GIF of a robot attacking people.
@flaminhaystacks/X
Reaction to Kai Cenat kicking a $70K robot on stream, text reads, 'not to get all thinkpiecey about this, but i don’t trust anyone who finds joy in bullying a helpless being whether it’s a robot, an animal, a human etc. too many people lack empathy and i judge anyone who thinks this kind of 'content' is funny'
@_samyaps/X

Despite the backlash he is facing on social media, Kai Cenat has yet to formally address the criticism. But as robots become increasingly human-like, the debate over how we should treat them is only going to get louder.

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