Fact Check-No evidence that four AI robots killed 29 scientists in …

There is no evidence to support claims online that four artificial intelligence robots killed 29 scientists in a lab in Japan or South Korea.

“Japanese A.I Robots Murders 29 Scientists,” reads one tweet (here). Other examples can be seen (here) and (here).

Some posts say that the supposed incident happened in Japan, while others (fb.watch/i9iz5cDId7/) place it to South Korea.

The video shows Linda Moulton Howe, a ufologist who has authored books and television productions about aliens, speaking at an event in Los Angeles in February 2018 (www.imdb.com/name/nm3311216/), (here). The watermark of the Conscious Life expo can be seen on the top left corner of the videos being shared online.

In the clip, Howe says: “At a top robotics company in Japan this week, four robots being developed for military applications killed 29 humans in the lab. And they did it by shooting what he called metal bullets. I didn’t know there was any other kind. The scariest part is that lab workers deactivated two of the robots, took apart the third, but the fourth robot began restoring itself and somehow connected to an orbiting satellite to download information about how to rebuild itself even more strongly than before.”

She continues: “And this next sentence, this is a quote, I’m writing this down. I’ve been doing this for years. ‘This is serious shit Linda, but you’re never going to hear about this…’”

Howe does not disclose the name of the lab, when the incident allegedly happened, the names of those that were allegedly killed or any other identifying information about the incident.

Howe did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment.

Reuters found no evidence that such an incident took place in Japan or South Korea. No credible news reports appear around the alleged story when searching for it via Google search (bit.ly/3kA5411).

The Robotics Policy Office of the Japan Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry told Reuters via email, “To our knowledge there is no basis in fact regarding the matter you inquired about.”

Japan Robot Association (www.jara.jp/e/), a trade association consisting of various companies that develop robot technology did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

VERDICT

No evidence. There is no evidence to support claims circulating online that 29 scientists were killed in a lab in Japan or South Korea by four artificial intelligence robots.

Update Jan. 25, 2023: Replaces para 10 with paras 10 and 11 after receiving response from Japan Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work  here .

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