Why Did A Robot Commit Suicide In South Korea? Hint: Workload

In a never-heard-before occurrence, a robot allegedly threw itself off a flight of stairs, in a case of suspected suicide. The robot was a civil servant in South Korea and was as much a part of City Hall as any other employee, and even owned an employee card. The incident is believed to be a result of work overload and raised questions about the broader implications of robot consolidation.

The incident

The robot, nicknamed ''Robot Supervisor'', was found unresponsive at the bottom of a two-meter stairwell at its place to work, namely Gumi City Council. The robot appeared to be behaving strangely before the staircase, ''circling in one place as if something was there,'' according to a member of the council staff. It was discovered in the late afternoon of June 27 by a staff member.

According to a report by Daily Mail, a council official said, ''It was officially a part of the city hall staff, one of us. It worked diligently.'' The robot worked a 9-to-6 job and also possessed its civil service ID card. The exact reason for the incident is still unknown and under investigation, but currently being termed as the country's first ''robot suicide''.

Officials still believe, however, that the event may have occurred due to a technical malfunction or programming bug.

''Robot Supervisor''

''Robot Supervisor'' was one of its kind who, unlike other robots, could independently navigate between different floors and call elevators. Most robots of his type are restricted to operating on one floor only. 

He was appointed as an administrative officer at the Gumi City Council in South Korea in August of 2023. His duties at the organization included ''daily document deliveries, city promotion, and delivering information to the residents''.

The robot was recruited by South Korea from California-based robot-waiter startup, Bear Robotics. The pieces of the robot after the incident have been collected and returned to the organization to be analyzed in an attempt to uncover the exact reason for the alleged suicide.

South Korea is one of the few countries in the world that utilises robots passionately in dynamic roles and is believed to have the largest robot densities worldwide. As per data from the International Federation of Robotics, the country has one industrial robot for every 10 employees.