Kai Cenat is under some intense scrutiny after 'disturbing' footage of him apparently 'abusing' his personal assistant robot has gone viral.
The New York social media star, who is the most-subscribed Twitch steamer on the platform, hit headlines last year when he announced he purchased a robot to help him with his everyday routine.
Cenat delighted fans when he revealed he purchased the AI humanoid worth $24,000 on his 'Mafiathon 2' livestream last year, showing how it can help him brush his teeth.
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The show ran for a 30-day non-stop stream, 24 hours a day, during which the robot 'randomly fell' and 'had a seizure' while Cenat was streaming with singer Chris Brown.
Now, further footage from another livestream appears to show the 23-year-old and fellow Twitch friends, Agent00 and Fanum, 'abusing' another expensive bit of tech - a $70,000 robot that he had just purchased.
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The footage, uploaded on YouTube, initially shows the buddies 'building' the robot - and they appear somewhat freaked out when it comes 'to life'.
However, that doesn't last long as they immediately launch a tirade of attacks on the robot, which they later dress up and call Abdul.
The Unitree G1 humanoid stood in the middle of the trio who took turns in kicking and pushing the AI assistant.
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As it stumbles back and forth, it then falls on its face while the men laugh.
In another part of the clip, which has since gone viral on Twitter, the robot appears to try to walk away from the circle of violence but is blocked and pushed backwards by Cenat.
Viewers have speculated whether one of the streamer's friends might have actually been controlling the robot from another room, though.
The streamer can be heard mocking and taunting the robot with 'fight talk' until it ends up face-down on the floor again.
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The streamer says: "Where's your mom at, boy?" while pushing the bot until it falls on its side.
Warning: contains strong language
Fans of the streamer say they have been left 'disturbed' by the footage, slamming the three men over 'bullying'.
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Sharing a 56-second clip of the incident, a Twitter user wrote: "Kai Cenat’s $70k AI humanoid robot just tried running away from the AMP house because it kept getting kicked and bullied by Kai, Agent & Fanum."
"Even though it’s just a robot, there’s something really dark and evil about treating a machine like that, like have some respect and treat it properly," read one comment in response.
Another added: "This isn’t funny, It’s actually quite disturbing to watch.
"I know it’s a machine but the power and control dynamic idk just this is wild. Also, I’ve seen iRobot and if technology ever gets to that level I’m on the robots side and I’ll give the bots all 3 of them no problem."
"This is kinda embarrassing for Kai Cenat," wrote a third, "as it shows the first thing he would do is abuse and bully a robot."
A fourth slammed their actions as 'sick' while dozens made comparisons to the Will Smith's movie, I Robot, joking that it is the start of the robots 'villain arc'.
"This will not age well", another warned.
UNILAD has reached out to Cenat for comment on the backlash.
Topics: New York, Twitch, Technology, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, YouTube, Social Media, Celebrity, US News, Twitter