They Bought a Plane Ticket for a Humanoid Robot
Maybe as a stunt, maybe because they really do travel around with a robot in tow. Either way, here in the United States someone bought a plane ticket for their robot. A real seat, by the window.
He registered it as Stewie, a humanoid, and it boarded a Southwest flight from Dallas to Las Vegas like any other passenger. They let it on. The next day the airline rewrote the rules. No more human-like or animal-like robots. Not in the cabin, not in the hold. Any size, any purpose.
The real reason is the lithium battery these robots carry inside. The big ones catch fire now and then. The FAA here in the United States has counted 29 cases of smoke, flames or abnormal heat from batteries since the start of 2026 alone.
If you follow me, you know I’ve made several proposals in institutional settings to regulate humanoid robots. Well, here’s one of them, in its own way: no humanoids in the cabin. Now we need what I’ve been saying for at least two years. A large, clearly visible ID plate, and the obligation to be recognizable as a robot. Because I’m not sure it’s clear to everyone, but we’re building machines more and more like us. And at some point an airline has to put it in writing that a robot is not a passenger.
What do you think?
#ArtificialDecisions
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