Two teens allegedly used a humanoid robot to sexually harass a 16-year-old girl

Generative AI is enabling a tidal wave of nonconsensual intimate imagery and child sexual abuse material .

Social media algorithms are exacerbating online harassment and the doxxing of rape survivors .

Now, humanoid robots are making the offline world more unsafe for girls and women.

Two teen boys are under investigation by German authorities after allegations that they used a walking bot to grope and harass a 16-year-old girl while she was in public.

Police in Cologne confiscated the robot today (Oct.

13) after receiving reports over the weekend.

Emergency services were also dispatched to the scene, the Associated Press reported.

The authorities haven't yet charged the boys with a crime, but told the press that they are being treated as suspects.

SEE ALSO: Did Ukraine’s strikes on data centers really silence Russian bots? The alleged perpetrators were two teens themselves, aged 16 and 19.

Witnesses said they appeared to be controlling the 4-foot-tall robot, decorated in human clothing and jewelry, nearby.

In video clips that purport to show the two teens, the robot is being steered through busy streets to intentionally bump into women as part of what appears to be a livestream.

The robot's behavior is routinely played for laughs in the clips.

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