Mike Rogers falls for AI hoax seconds after dismissing tech fears

During a campaign event in March, Michigan U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rogers (R) mocked artificial intelligence “fearmongering,” only to admit seconds later that he was personally terrified by a viral video of autonomous Chinese robot soldiers that was generated by A.I.

The comments came during a March 17 event hosted by the Oakland University College Republicans. Rogers, a former U.S. representative and FBI agent, has leaned into his national security and private-sector tech credentials during his campaign. Audio from the event obtained by Heartland Signal shows Rogers initially downplayed the societal anxieties about A.I., specifically among young Americans.

“I’m in a company right now that uses A.I., so I’m sure they’re terrifying you young students, that A.I. is going to kill you, and take your job, and stuff you in a trunk, right? Oh man, the fearmongering of all of that A.I. stuff,” Rogers joked.

During his tenure in Congress, Rogers served as the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. After leaving Congress in 2015, Rogers spent years advising and investing in cybersecurity and tech companies.

Seconds after dismissing fears about A.I., Rogers changed the subject. He expressed concerns about a video he believed showed a legitimate breakthrough by the Chinese military.

“Did you see that video of the Chinese soldiers? They are completely autonomous soldiers, you see this?” Rogers told the crowd. “That was a little terrifying to me. It was a little scary. I mean, they were functioning as soldiers. They’re completely robotic, armored up and they were doing a combat lane run. And were performing pretty well.”

Rogers then critiqued the fictional robots’ design, telling the students that “us soldiers know the first thing we’re going to do is take out your robot’s legs.” He added, “But what scared me is how advanced they were, crazy, crazy.”

The video is fake

A fact-check conducted by the German public broadcasting outlet Deutsche Welle (DW) thoroughly debunked the footage Rogers described. DW’s report found subtle inconsistencies found in many A.I. generated videos, including deformed hands and images appearing merged together. DW also spoke to forensic ballistics expert Philipp Cachee, who found errors when the robots fired assault rifles in the video and concluded it is “almost certainly” A.I. generated.

“There is no shell ejection in at least two places, and at 0:23, an empty magazine is loaded into the weapon,” Cachee told DW.

Rogers also amplified the fake video online. He reposted the video on his LinkedIn page in March, a month after DW published their fact check.

Rogers’ campaign did not immediately respond to a request to comment for this story.

Michigan Democratic Party Spokesperson Joey Hannum gave the following statement to Heartland Signal:

“Mike Rogers is embarrassing himself yet again as he talks about anything other than the affordability crisis affecting working families,” Hannum said. “Michiganders want a leader who is laser-focused on lowering costs — not someone like Rogers who is too busy dismissing their cost concerns while getting rich off the industries he used to regulate.”

While the video is fake, it portrays robots developed by Unitree Robotics, a Chinese tech company that markets its products for civilian use. In a letter sent to members of the Trump administration in May 2025, the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party expressed concerns about Unitree products being used in the United States. They alleged that Unitree has participated in military programs and defense research for the Chinese government.

Rogers’ second Senate run

Rogers is seeking a Michigan U.S. Senate seat for the second consecutive cycle, after now-Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) narrowly defeated him in 2024. The race does not have an incumbent with Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) retiring after his term expires in January.

Three candidates are vying for the Democratic nomination in the Aug. 4 primary election, U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow and former Detroit Health Director Abdul El-Sayed. In a poll published by TIPP Insights on June 1, all three Democrats slightly led Rogers in potential general election matchups. The seat is considered a toss up, and a vital election that could determine which party controls the U.S. Senate during President Donald Trump’s last two years in office.