A strange-looking robot dog is drawing attention online after it was spotted walking through the streets of California with a hyper-realistic human face that appears to resemble Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. Video shared by WIRED on TikTok, showing the robot up close as it moved around in public, has left many people unsettled by its appearance.
The machine walks on four legs like a typical robotic dog, but its brown-colored body and a head with a lifelike face modeled after Musk give it a human-like presence. Passersby stopped to look at the unusual creation as it moved along sidewalks in San Francisco. It also interacted with a WIRED correspondent, Lauren Goode, who filmed it raising a hand at her as if in greeting.
According to information from the NODE Foundation, the robot is part of the “Regular Animals” project created by digital artist Beeple, also known as Mike Winkelmann. The project is meant to reinterpret “pop portraiture, sculpture, and generative art through the lens of technology” and will be showcased in an upcoming exhibition later this month.
What People Are Saying About the Robot Dog
Online, reactions to the video have been strong, with many people describing the robot as disturbing or unsettling. One person wrote, “This is so creepy!” Another admitted, “This is filling me with anger and I don’t know why.” A third said, “I hated this. Thanks for nothing,” and someone else commented, “Do we really need this tech gimmick nonsense in our lives 🙄.”
Some netizens also found the appearance scary and left comments like “I’m going to have nightmares” and “That is absolutely terrifying 😳.”
However, not all of the reactions were negative. A few people actually thought it was “an accurate representation” of Musk and even joked that “somehow it’s more charismatic than the real guy 😂😂.”
While California locals are still trying to make sense of the unusual combination of art and technology, the video has continued to make the rounds online.
