Welcome to the wild west of tech, where you might cross paths with a cowboy robot on your way to the bar.
Footage has surfaced of a robot running through Downtown Austin in a cowboy hat, and nobody really knows why.
The public’s reaction?
Let’s just say… people aren’t exactly thrilled.
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Meet Jake: the cowboy robot
His lone ranger’s name is Jake.
He’s roughly the size of a child, shaped like a human, and wears sneakers and a cowboy hat.
The robot first appeared in Austin, Texas, in early June, popping up in TikTok and Instagram videos as he strolled down South Congress Avenue and Barton Springs Road.
Sometimes he shakes hands. Sometimes he just walks. One clip shows him flashing a screen that says ‘in training’ – training for what, no one knows.
According to the Austin American-Statesman, Jake is a Unitree Robotics G1 model, developed by a China-based company and priced at over $16,000.
While the robot may seem autonomous, he’s reportedly controlled by a human via wireless remote.
Who owns him? Still unclear. Why Austin? Also a mystery. But one thing’s for sure: he’s making himself at home.
The public isn’t so sure
While Jake’s just walking around and occasionally waving, the public’s reaction paints a very different mood, with commenters on TikTok clearly less than impressed.
“This is how it starts,” wrote one viewer. Another added, “I don’t like it.”
Some even joked about how restrained bystanders were for not tripping the bot.
But beneath the jokes was unease.
AI-powered machines are already serving popcorn at LA diners, playing in their own soccer league, and rolling through neighborhoods delivering groceries.
The more they crop up, the more they blur the line between spectacle and normal. But it seems they’re here to stay, so maybe it’s time to embrace them.
Welcome to the next frontier, where the cowboys are coded.
See Jake on the move in the video below:
@abc7newsbayarea A robot wearing a cowboy hat turned heads as it was spotted running through downtown Austin, Texas, in June. The cowboy bot has received a lot of attention from local press with citizens posting their sightings and interactions with it. As of the time of writing, it was not known who made the robot or why it was wandering the Texas capital. #robot #running #austintx #cowboy #abc #abc7news #fyp #foryoupage ♬ original sound – ABC7 News
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