A couple of Thursdays ago, I awoke at nearly 4:30 a.m. to a dizzying Instagram DM.

Rizzbot, a popular humanoid robot with more than 1 million TikTok followers and more than half a million followers on Instagram, had sent me a photo: he was flipping me off.

No words. No explanation. Just a robot with its middle finger raised.

Although I was shocked, a sinking feeling meant that I could guess why. A few weeks ago, Rizzbot — or the person who runs the account — and I chatted about a possible story. I found the account interesting: a humanoid walking the streets of Austin wearing Nike dunks and a cowboy hat. It’s known for roasting, but also flirting and having a good time. The name Rizz comes from the Gen Z slang word rizz for charisma.

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