--- title: "New AI Can Control a Robot Even If Its Legs Get Chainsawed Off" description: "A video making its rounds on social media shows an engineer from a startup called Skild AI taking a chainsaw to the limbs of a robot dog." date: "2025-09-25" modified: "2025-09-25" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/robots-and-machines/new-ai-control-robot-chainsaw-legs-off" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Machine Learning" - "Robot Dogs" - "Robotics" - "Robots and Machines" --- # New AI Can Control a Robot Even If Its Legs Get Chainsawed Off ![A video making its rounds on social media shows an engineer from a startup called Skild AI taking a chainsaw to the limbs of a robot dog.]() *Skild AI* Robots are being put through all kinds of abuse these days. They're being [kicked](), [punched](), [shoved](), and even [dragged by a chain around their neck]() — all in an apparent effort to teach them how to adapt to the oh-so-cruel physical world around them. In the latest instance of a robot being brutalized, a video [making its rounds on social media]() shows an engineer from a startup called Skild AI taking a chainsaw to the limbs of a robot dog. "We built a robot brain that nothing can stop," the company wrote in an accompanying [tweet](). "Shattered limbs? Jammed motors? If the bot can move, the Brain will move it — even if it’s an entirely new robot body." The video is as disconcerting as it is impressive, demonstrating the effectiveness of an AI that can seemingly be dropped into pretty much any robot body — even a severely mutilated one — and still adapt and move. Even with all four of its limbs lopped off, the robodog starts to hobble around almost immediately — albeit in a far less dignified way. https://youtu.be/JQAfxp-FB0I To construct what it's calling an "omni-bodied robot brain," Skild trained an AI to "control not just one robot, but a whole multiverse of robots with different bodies," according to a recent [blog post](). "It cannot memorize the solution for one body, it must find a strategy that works across all of them." "We created a universe with 100,000 different robots and trained our AI to control them all," the company explained, claiming "we were often surprised with its ability to adapt to scenarios that were very different from what it saw at training time." In a series of experiments, the company showed off its new robot brain's ability to respond to a variety of different scenarios, such as the [loss of limbs]() and [broken legs](), to [jammed wheels]() or being forced to [walk on stilts](). Skild says that its "results show early sparks of intelligence in the world of atoms," hinting at a future where robots can adapt to virtually any environment or body, allowing them to "one day reliably assist humans in factories, hospitals, homes, and more." However, whether that justifies all of the abuse we've put those poor robots through over the years is debatable. We certainly wouldn't want to be at their mercy if they were ever to surpass our own intelligence. To some, that future is far closer than we might think. "Deep learning is coming for robotics," Palisade Research director Jeffrey Ladish [tweeted]() in response to Skild's demo. "It's plausible to me that AI will exceed human performance at strategic cognitive tasks around the same time robotics will exceed human-body performance at most tasks." "And if not, superhuman AI will quickly allow robots to leapfrog humans," he added. **More on robot abuse:** [*Disturbing Video Shows Man Jerking Robot Around by Chain Around Its Neck*]() ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()