California’s athletic regulator has moved to shut down a Los Angeles-based league that pits men against robots in the boxing ring, even as federal agents carried out a major drug sweep on Skid Row just miles away.
The California State Athletic Commission sent a cease-and-desist letter to Robot Entertainment Kombat, which describes itself as a “humanoid robot fighting league,” after it staged unsanctioned boxing matches between human fighters and a tele-operated robot built in China, according to a report from The New York Times published Thursday. Video of one bout went viral, showing the roughly six-foot robot trading blows with influencer Frankie LaPenna.
REK’s CEO has pointed out that the commission’s rules define a sanctioned “match” as a contest between “two persons,” raising the question of whether state regulators actually have authority to stop fights between a human and a machine. LaPenna, for his part, won two of his three bouts against the robot.
Skid Row Drug Raid
Last week, federal agents arrested 23 people on Skid Row in connection with trafficking methamphetamine and fentanyl. Prosecutors said some of those arrested had traveled from outside the area to deal drugs there.
Reaction locally has been divided. The Los Angeles Community Action Network, which receives government grant funding, called the operation a “publicity stunt” and argued the resources devoted to the raid should instead have gone toward housing. The raid took place near a taxpayer-funded needle-exchange facility that had reportedly become a hub for drug dealing in the area.
Bezos on AI and Jobs
The local stories came in the same week Amazon founder Jeff Bezos reiterated, in a Wednesday interview with Fox’s Bret Baier, his prediction that artificial intelligence will eventually create a labor shortage rather than mass unemployment. Bezos said future households may only need one earner working three days a week because of AI-driven productivity gains.
Polling shows most Americans are currently worried about AI costing them their jobs rather than freeing up their time. Amazon itself cut 30,000 corporate positions over the past year.
