Humanoid robot fights back after man pushes it in store — is the beginning of the uprising?

There is growing consternation over the role of AI in our daily lives, from companies forcing it on every device, platform and app to ballooning costs across every industry. And then there are the robots and often a joking tone about the rise of Skynet.Humanoid robots are becoming more common, with people like Elon Musk continuously commenting about when they will become necessary daily companions. Meanwhile, robots are mostly just crashing out.Rusya'da bir teknoloji mağazasında robot, kendisini iten müşteriye saldırmaya çalıştı. pic.twitter.com/8q16sHfhX0September 1, 2026With that in mind, recent viral CCTV footage from a Russian electronics store recorded a humanoid robot fighting back after a man tried to push it (via Times of India). It's probably the first time we've seen a robot attempt to defend itself.As you can see in the footage, a man in a grey polo is introduced to the robot by an apparent employee of the store. The polo man attempts to shake the robot's hand, which is not reciprocated. After his hand is rejected, the man pushes the bot's shoulder.The black-shirted employee appears to touch the back of the robot, and either the android organically responds to this touch, or the worker presses a button that puts the bot into fight mode. After this, the robot enters a fighting stance and attempts several kicks in the direction of the Polo man.The black-shirted employee is aided by a third man, who runs and blocks the robot until they can stop it.Is it AI? (Image credit: Shutterstock)Here's the problem with viral clips like this today. AI has ruined trust in videos and virality. Exploring reposts of the video, there are plenty of people accusing the poster of reposting AI slop.Sign up to the Tom's AI Guide weekly newsletter summing up all the biggest AI news you need to know. Plus, analysis from our AI editors and tips on how to use the latest AI tools!"A page with 1.3 million followers is presenting an AI-generated video as if it were real news," is an illustrative comment under the original tweet of the video.I found what I believe is the original video from the Instagram account volagstore64. Volga Store appears to be an electronics store based out of Saratov, Russia, a city on the Volga River northwest of Kazakhstan.Based on what I could find from their account, the robot is called Sema (machine-translated) and is a "technical consultant."I don't think the security footage is AI, but it's likely faked, based on other ad videos on the channel that give Sema some personality. They have plenty of silly videos featuring the bot, though none of them are security cam footage.My only real evidence is the unphased woman behind the desk that you can see in the original footage. Either that, or she just does not care, which for retail is probably the truest feeling.What do you think: real and a hint at a Terminator-esque future or fake and just an ad to get people to buy iPhones in Saratov, Russia? Let us know in the comments. Follow Tom's Guide on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. More from Tom's GuideI tried a robot lawnmower for the first time — and there's one thing I wish I'd known before using it in my yardMeet Moya, the AI that winks, smiles and walks with 92% human-like gait — is this the uncanny valley?‘Physical AI and robotics will take every physical task in the next 2-5 years’: Neura Robotics CEO says writing on the wall for human labor