Is there a word in any language to describe strange secondhand embarrassment you feel toward a robot making a fool of itself?
There really should be. It’s how I felt when I watched this snazzily dressed dancing robot eating dirt at a tech expo. Or, more recently, when I watched another dancing robot have to be restrained at a hot pot restaurant after going rogue, smashing dishes and sending chopsticks flying.
I might use the same word to describe the worry-slash-sympathy I feel when I see a food delivery bot barreling down the sidewalk on the way to deliver a $16 burrito to someone. Maybe my concern is warranted; there’s been a number of cases in cities across the United States where people have vandalized those delivery bots — kicking them, tipping them over.
But it’s just a bot! I tell myself. There are real issues to be concerned about ― and I am concerned about them! ― but for some reason, I can’t help but feel for these little guys, too.
Is that weird? I’m not the only stupid human to feel this way, right?
