TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — The agile robot dog springs up on all fours, takes a step forward and charges at the tense crowd at a Tokyo exhibit, held back by a simple yet strong metal chain.

The silver mechanical creature then starts thrashing around violently, to gasps and exclamations from spectators at the installation, designed to probe humanity’s relationship with increasingly realistic machines.

The Japanese media artist behind it told Agence France-Presse he hoped the audience would consider the dangers posed by artificial intelligence but also feel “pity” for the struggling robot.

“Our future is going to be stressful, because people treat robots as objects, but we feel empathetic stress with these movements and reactions,” said Takayuki Todo, 40.

Global tech giants are investing vast sums into humanoid and other lifelike robots, with grand plans for factory automation, home help and other futuristic “physical AI” services.

But so far actual use cases remain scarce and fully automated robots are still a rare sight, with most impressive displays — including Todo’s —relying on remote operators to control the robot’s movements.

For the artist, the point of the three-day installation at the Tokyo Prototype festival is to provoke thought.