Apocalypse Ow is upon us.

At the root of all dystopian robot fantasies is the notion that some day, the semi-sentient beings created by man will flip the script and unleash fury on the world as we know it. Luckily, the vast majority of robots in existence today only carry out relatively mundane and benign tasks like building cars or helping us with chores. Even some of the most advanced robotics including those in use in the biomedical field are designed to help, not harm. So far, our robot friends have our backs. That is, until now.

Having Artificial Intelligence at Your Fingertips Just Got a Whole Lot Closer (Video)

A roboticist in Berkeley, California, has created an artificially intelligent being capable of inflicting physical pain on unsuspecting people. Alexander Reben recently told Fast Company that he was interested in what would happen if the evil robots so often seen in science fiction did, in fact, roam the earth with us. “[It was] important to take it out of the thought experiment realm into reality, because once something exists in the world, you have to confront it. It becomes more urgent. You can’t just pontificate about it,” he explained. Before Heads begin to envision an Arnold Schwarzenegger-type machine man running around unchecked, it’s worth nothing that Reben’s creation has only a pin at its disposal, capable of breaking the skin but not of any major harm. The tabletop robot is designed in a way that “injury is inflicted randomly,” so one never knows who will become the “victim” of the pinprick.

Also an accomplished artist, Reben is intrigued by the relationships between human beings and the technologies they create, and the implications of his most recent invention certainly bring the implications to a new level. Only time will tell if his robot will do more harm than good.