Work stress leads robot to jump to its death in South Korea making it first-ever 'robot suicide'
South Korea’s Gumi City Council is investigating how its top robot officer supposedly jumped to its own death. Was it work overload leading to a malfunction or was the robot depressed?
Robots too can experience ‘work stress’ and a mental breakdown prompting it to even take its ‘life’, it seems.
In South Korea’s Gumi City, known for its rapid adoption of advanced robotic technology, a top robot officer working with the city council was found ‘dead’ after ostensibly leaping down a six-and-a-half-foot flight of stairs.
Emotional breakdown?
This dramatic turn of events has led the city council to speculate if the robot’s demise was an ‘act of suicide’, making it the country’s first robot 'suicide', said news reports
The robot, who was named 'Robot Supervisor' was .moving around in circles and displaying visible signs of confusion before it jumped or fell. According to news agency Agence France-Presse, an official observed the robot “circling in one spot as if something was there” before the incident. The robot could not be revived.
While local and international reports speculated that the robot must have had an "emotional breakdown", experts felt that a technical malfunction due to stress from increased workload may have led to the robot’s end.
'Diligent' city council officer
This robot was working as a city council officer from August 2023 and was considered to be a 'diligent' worker.
This advanced cyborg, built by California-based start-up Bear Robotics, could move between floors independently by calling an elevator.
It is the first of its kind to hold such a position, and helped with daily document deliveries, city promotion, and information dissemination. Like other employees, the robot supervisor also worked regular hours from 9 am to 6 pm and even had a civil service officer card.
Gumi City Council has initiated an investigation into the incident, suspecting the robot might have been ‘depressed’. “Pieces have been collected and will be analysed by the company,” officials stated. At the moment, the Council is not going to replace the Robot Supervisor with another robot, said reports.
South Korea boasts the highest robot density in the world, and is said to have one industrial robot for every ten human employees,according to the International Federation of Robotics.
However, this 'robot suicide', said reports, will force people to re-evaluate the excessive use of automation, particularly in roles traditionally occupied by humans.