Canadian billionaire and former Shark Tank investor Kevin O’Leary has now taken aim at the US government’s support for Intel after a viral video showed a robot malfunctioning near a tray of fries. O’Leary shared a post on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) and said that the incident is “not funny” and blamed the failure on government-subsidized Intel chips. “This is what happens when you use government-subsidized Intel chips. You don’t wanna put them inside a robot. We should have never funded that company. It should have died,” O’Leary wrote.
Safety concerns and “Kill Switch” proposal
O’Leary went further, suggesting robots should have simple safety mechanisms to prevent accidents. “Maybe the idea of a kill switch is not a bad idea. Like, just pull one of its eyes out, it stops right there. That’s the way it should be,” he said. He also mocked the chip flaw, quipping that the robot failed “when they get near fries.”
Humanoid robots driving AI innovation
This criticism about humanoid robots comes at a time when the tech is gaining traction. Recently, Tesla CEO Elon Musk also claimed that company could be among the first to achieve artificial general intelligence (AGI) embodied in humanoid robots. Musk further suggested that Tesla may also lead in creating “atom-shaping” robots capable of advanced tasks.On the other hand, Nvidia-backed Figure AI released a footage of its Helix O2 humanoid robot doing household chores Musk questioned whether the robot was acting autonomously or remotely controlled.Along with this, Chinese company Xiaomi has also deployed humanoid robots in its EV assembly plant. The company claims that it is achieving three hours of autonomous operation with a 90.2% success rate in tasks like placing self-tapping nuts in die-casting workshops.O’Leary’s remarks highlight growing skepticism about government subsidies in the tech sector, particularly when linked to safety concerns. As humanoid robots move closer to mainstream adoption, the debate over reliability, funding, and safeguards is intensifying.
