In Warsaw, marching robots waved flags and chanted slogans outside the digital affairs ministry, calling on Poland’s government to regulate AI before it costs people their jobs.

About 30 Robots waved flags, chanted slogans while marching in circles, the robots took to the streets of Warsaw to campaign for AI regulation in front of Poland’s digital affairs ministry.

The protest was organised by Democratism, an initiative that aims to launch debate on how AI and robotisation affect the labour market.

In a scene that blurred the line between protest and product demonstration, one of the machines fielded questions directly from journalists.

“The robots present here are meant to show that this technology is already a reality,” Agibot A3, one of the AI-powered humanoid robots, said — a statement that proved its own point rather neatly.

Chants of “defend workplaces,” “time for rules” and “don’t wait, regulate” played on loudspeakers as the robots — which ranged from bipedal humanoids to dog-like quadrupeds — demonstrated.

“We particularly want to address the issue of the potential replacement of people both by humanoid robots and by artificial intelligence in cognitive work,” said (human) organiser Grzegorz Kuliś.

“If we don’t react now, we may soon have a problem,” he added, emphasising the need for “rules and regulations that would serve as a shield protecting workers”.

Aside from attracting the attention of several passers-by, Kuliś said the use of robots was meant to demonstrate their existing capabilities and, by extension, the urgency of the issue.

The marching robots were met with a visit from Poland’s Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski, who spoke to Kuliś on site.

“Uncontrolled (AI) models, implemented into humanoids that will also keep evolving as robotisation moves forward, are a major problem,” he said.