New Delhi, Sept. 19 -- AI agents going rogue and seeming to do whatever they like are unnerving the world. As they should. What if those agents had arms and legs and weighed a good 70 kgs? It's time to consider what safety with companion or humanoid robots really means, and if we're as ready for them as they seem to be for the market.

I saw an unsettling scenario the other day. A young woman, looking tired from her workday, opened the door to her home (or hotel) and, coming in, kicked off her high heels. A robot, taller than she was, politely stepped up, took them and placed them carefully in the shoe rack. A short while later, she was seated at a table and the robot quietly came up and placed her platter of food before her. And she bega...