A 24-year-old factory worker named Ramji Lal was killed by a pre-programmed welding robot at an auto parts factory in India when he approached from behind to adjust a dislodged metal sheet and was pierced in the abdomen by welding sticks attached to the robotic arm.
On Wednesday, July 1, 2015, at SKH Metals factory in Manesar, India, a 24-year-old worker named Ramji Lal from Unnao, Uttar Pradesh, was killed by an industrial welding robot. Lal had been working as a loader at the auto ancillary company for approximately 18 months. The incident occurred in the welding unit which contained special-purpose machines and robotic welding lines, with 63 workers and 39 robots on duty at the time. The robot was pre-programmed to weld metal sheets that it lifted during the manufacturing process. When one metal sheet became dislodged, Lal approached the robot from behind to adjust it. As he reached to fix the sheet, welding sticks attached to the pre-programmed robotic arm pierced his abdomen, killing him instantly. Co-workers stated that the accident might have been prevented if Lal had approached from the front rather than behind the machine. Police investigated the incident using CCTV footage and worker interviews. The company management and contractor were charged with causing death due to negligence. Worker unions blamed inadequate safety measures and demanded compensation and improved safety protocols for robotic operations.
Domain classification, causal taxonomy, severity scores, and national security assessments were LLM-classified and may contain errors.
AI systems that fail to perform reliably or effectively under varying conditions, exposing them to errors and failures that can have significant consequences, especially in critical applications or areas that require moral reasoning.
AI system
Due to a decision or action made by an AI system
Unintentional
Due to an unexpected outcome from pursuing a goal
Post-deployment
Occurring after the AI model has been trained and deployed