Marrakesh – A shocking incident has unfolded in Korea, where a civil servant robot, working for Gumi City Council, was found unresponsive after reportedly hurling itself down a flight of stairs.
The community is now in mourning over what is being called the country’s first robot suicide.
Last Thursday at around 4 p.m., the council announced that the “Robot Supervisor” is now defunct after plummeting down a two-meter staircase.
According to the Daily Mail, images from the scene reveal the shattered remains of the robot in the stairwell between the first and second floors of the council building, marking a tragic and eerie turn of events.
“It was officially a part of the city hall, one of us,” an official said. “It worked diligently.”
Local media headlines are now questioning the apparent robot suicide, asking: “Why did the diligent civil officer do it?” and “Was work too hard for the robot?”
Reactions on social media have been equally poignant and curious. One person questioned, “If the workload had been too much, would he have spun around for a long time and then rushed down the stairs?” Another expressed a wish for the robot, saying, “I pray that scrap metal rests in peace.”
“Appointed” in August 2023, the robot was one of the first of its kind in Gumi City. Created by Bear Robotics, a Californian robot-waiter startup, it reportedly worked from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and even had its own civil service officer card.
Unlike most robots, which are confined to a single floor, the Gumi City Council robot had the ability to call an elevator and move between floors on its own.
Korea stands out as one of the world’s most enthusiastic adopters of robotics, boasting the highest robot density globally.
According to the International Federation of Robotics, the country has one industrial robot for every 10 employees.
In light of the recent incident, Gumi City Council has announced that it has no plans to adopt a second robot officer at this time.
