IN A FIRST, ROBOT COMMITS SUICIDE IN SOUTH KOREA SPARKING ROW OVER WORKLOAD

A robot civil servant employed by the Gumi City Council in South Korea was discovered unresponsive after an apparent fall down a flight of stairs. The incident, which occurred around 4 pm last Thursday, has left the local community mourning what is being referred to as the country's first robot suicide, according to a report from the Daily Mail.

According to the city council, the 'Robot supervisor' was found smashed and lying in the stairwell between the first and second floors of the council building. Witnesses reported seeing the robot "circling in one spot as if something was there" before the incident occurred. The exact cause of the fall is still under investigation, and the city council official said that "Pieces have been collected and will be analysed by the company."

The robot, which was officially a part of the city hall staff, had been diligently assisting with daily document deliveries, city promotion, and providing information to local residents. "It was officially a part of the city hall, one of us," another official said. "It worked diligently." The news of the robot's apparent suicide has sparked discussions in local media and online communities, with people questioning the workload and the reasons behind the incident.

Appointed in August 2023, the robot was one of the first to be used in this capacity in the city. Developed by Bear Robotics, a Californian robot-waiter startup, the robot worked from 9 am to 6 pm and had its own civil service officer card. Unlike other robots, which are typically limited to a single floor, the Gumi City Council robot had the ability to call an elevator and move between floors independently.

South Korea is known for its enthusiastic adoption of robots, boasting the highest robot density in the world, with one industrial robot for every 10 employees, according to the International Federation of Robotics. However, in light of the recent incident, the Gumi City Council has stated that it does not plan to adopt a second robot officer at this time.