Robot suicide
The pressure of work is now coming to robots as well. Yes, you read that right. A robot recently committed suicide in South Korea.
It is believed that she committed suicide due to work pressure. South Korea’s Gumi City Council announced on June 26 that its chief administrative officer, a ‘cyborg’ robot, had jumped to his death from a six-and-a-half-foot flight of stairs. The robot was observed by an officer ‘circling the same area’ before the accident. Now is that robot death really a suicide? Or is it a technical error? Arguments started on social media about that. Elected as a city council officer in August 2023, the robot can move between floors on its own via a lift.
An investigation into robot suicide
South Korean officials said an investigation into the death of the ‘cyborg’ robot (ROBOT) is ongoing. Gumi City officials said that they will immediately start an investigation into the death of the robot in terms of why the cyborg did that. The pieces of the robot have been collected and the company will analyze them, he said.
A robot made in California
This robot (ROBOT) was specially designed by California-based root startup Bear Robotics (mainly known for restaurant serving robots). He was appointed as an officer of the Gumi City Council in South Korea. It “helps in daily document deliveries, city promotion, other important information,” said an official. Like other regular employees, this employee who works from 9 am to 6 pm also has a civil service officer card.
A diligent employee
Another official said the cyborg robot was a ‘devoted’ employee. As of now, the Gumi City Council is not considering bringing in another robot officer. South Korea is known as a fast adopter of robotics technology. According to the International Federation of Robotics, South Korea has the largest number of robots in the world. Here there is one industrial robot for every ten human employees.
Various arguments.
At a time when humanity is in short supply, many arguments are already being heard on this incident which took place. Many are commenting that the cyborg robot committed suicide due to “work stress”. The incident is reminiscent of the 2004 sci-fi action film I, Robot starring Hollywood star Will Smith. In it, an advanced robot experiences the human act of ‘dreaming’. Japanese researchers recently discovered a way to add living skin tissue to a robotic face.