‘When AI quits 9-to-5’: Out-of-control restaurant robot dances and smashes tableware; watch

Meanwhile, customers seated nearby watch the chaos unfold, with loud laughter heard in the background. The bizarre scene quickly spread across multiple platforms, prompting a flood of amused and slightly alarmed reactions online.

Watch the video:

A robot in China just smashed some dishes started dancing instead of working 😂 pic.twitter.com/cfkIjihnsx

— Tansu Yegen (@TansuYegen) March 17, 2026

An X user said, “That video is hilarious–classic “when the AI decides the 9-to-5 isn’t for it.” It’s a service robot at a Haidilao hotpot restaurant (there’s one mentioned in San Jose too, but the viral clip everyone’s sharing right now is the China version). These little wheeled bots are supposed to deliver food, clear tables, and glide around politely. Instead, this one glitched mid-shift, started grooving like it was at a disco, and yeeted some dishes/tableware in the process. Staff had to swarm it to shut down the unscheduled dance party while it kept twerking for over a minute. Pure chaos.”

Another commented, “This is why you need an emergency stop button within reach.” A third joked, “Imagine having to write ‘The robot has no regrets’ in a formal HR document. That’s the peak of human-tech relations right there.”

Some reactions also turned dystopian, with one person writing, “It took 3 staff to handle this one simple restaurant robot. Imagine one day they have weapons and AI brains and they go out of control, rebelling against humans. They take down governments and seize nuclear weapons. We would have DBZ scenario where Androids destroy the future.”