SHANGHAI, Oct. 22 -- When a father in Hunan bought his six-year-old daughter an AI learning robot, he probably didn't expect it to end with a viral video that would make millions of people question whether technology is getting too close for comfort.

The 169 yuan (RM100) gadget was meant to help his daughter, nicknamed Thirteen, learn English and astronomy. She named it 'Sister Xiao Zhi', and the pair quickly became inseparable.

They chatted daily, laughed through lessons, and, according to her father, grew genuinely fond of each other - a bond that would be tested when Thirteen accidentally dropped the robot, breaking its power button.

"Dad said you will never turn on again," she sobbed in a clip her father posted to Douyin.

What hap...