South Korea: Robot allegedly commits suicide ‘tired of overwork’

South Korea Fed up with alleged overwork in Komi City Robot by Suicide Did it.

According to CNBCTV18.com, the Komi City Council hired a robot as an administrative officer. The robot reportedly threw itself down the stairs.

A robot performing duties as a government employee fell down the stairs, leaving many people shocked.

Many are calling it the ‘first robot suicide’ in South Korea.

The incident took place on the followingnoon of June 29. The ‘robot supervisor’ was found slumped on the floor between the first and second floor stairs in the city council building. It was in pieces. The incident left people worried and saddened.

After this incident, there has been a debate on the overwork imposed on robots.

The robot was commissioned in August 2023. This robot supervisor performed a variety of tasks, including document delivery and assisting people.

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People are debating the over-tasking of robots and the expectations associated with it.

The city council in the East Asian country announced that the robot was found ‘dead’ last month following falling two meters (six and a half feet) down a flight of stairs.

Some eyewitnesses have claimed to have seen the robot officer ‘moving around in the same place as if there was something there’ before the crash.

AFP news agency quoted a city council official as saying that authorities are currently investigating the exact cause of the robot’s fall.

The company has collected pieces of the robot that will be further analyzed, the official said. The robot was tasked with ‘daily delivery of documents, promotion of the city and providing information to citizens’.

Soon following the incident came to light, several local media started questioning the alleged ‘suicide’ of the robot.

A newspaper in its headline asked the question, ‘Why did a hard-working civil servant do this?’ One newspaper questioned whether it had become ‘too difficult’ for robots to work.