A secret, invitation-only underground fight club has sprung up in San Francisco, where tech bros battle their AI machines for gears and glory.
For real:
I don't know what I was hoping for, but I know it wasn't that!
KRON reports that the fight club invite read,
Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed guests and community members, investors in the future, and (of course) robots, l'm extremely excited to invite you to the first showcase of cutting-edge robotic supremacy.
A line of eager spectators formed outside an abandoned warehouse, which featured a caged octagon and was referred to as the Silicon Colosseum. Tickets went for $30 a pop.
The first event featured human competitors fighting each other with taser-knives.
Yes. Taser Knives.
After that, the robots entered the arena, and as you saw above it was an interesting show.
Despite issues with some of the robots for Saturday's card, the organizer behind the event, 20-year-old Bay Area transplant Verda Korzeniewski, told Nexstar's KRON that attendees enjoyed the show.
'They loved it,' Korzeniewski said. 'Somebody said it was just the right amount of weird. It spanned so many things: Robot fights, human fighting, quadrupeds versus humanoids.'
A robotics and software engineer by trade, Korzeniewski left behind his jobs in the robotics industry before focusing on her vision for the Silicon Colosseum.
'I was so addicted to robots that I gave up my entire life to do them,' she said.
If you're curious about seeing an AI fight in person, too bad. Organizer Verda Korzeniewski wouldn't give away any details about the next fight.
‘It's an underground fight club,' she said. ‘You know I can't tell you that.'
Yes, we all know the first rule of robot fight club.
Which is okay with me. I'd be more interested in Battle Bots anyway.
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