Chess-playing robot fractures 7-year-old boy’s finger during tournament in Moscow

Chess-playing robot fractures 7-year-old boy’s finger during tournament in Moscow

In a shocking incident at the Moscow Chess Open competition, a chess-playing robot fractured a 7-year-old boy’s finger when the youngster attempted a quick move without giving the device enough time to finish its task. The incident, which took place on July 19, has left the young player, Christopher, with a broken finger.

According to Sergey Smagin, vice president of the Russian Chess Federation, the boy is one of the top 30 young chess players in Moscow and is just nine years old. The incident occurred when the robot did not appreciate the boy’s haste and grabbed his index finger, giving it a firm squeeze. Despite the quick actions of onlookers who rushed to aid the boy, the fracture was unavoidable.

“The boy is all right. They put a plaster cast on the finger to heal faster. Yes, there are certain safety rules and the child, apparently, violated them and, when he made a move, did not notice that he had to wait. This is an extremely rare case, the first I can recall,” Smagin said.

The incident was captured on camera and the footage has now gone viral. It shows the child briefly held by the robot’s grasp until a woman rushed to save him. Eventually, three men stepped in to rescue the boy’s finger from the robot’s grasp.

Despite this incident, Smagin defended Artificial Intelligence (AI), stating, “All acquisition that advanced AI will destroy humanity is false. Not the powerful AI or breaching laws of robotics will destroy humanity, but engineers with both left hands.”

The incident serves as a reminder of the importance of following safety rules and guidelines when interacting with AI-powered devices, especially in competitive settings like chess tournaments.