The city council of South Korea claims that the robot administrator committed suicide last week by plunging down a set of stairs; the loss is being lamented by the local media as the nation’s first instance of a “suicidal robot.”
Although the circumstances surrounding the incident are still being looked into, witnesses claim that the robot had been circling in one spot before jumping, suggesting that something had gone wrong.
The robot, affectionately known as the “Robot Supervisor,” had been a model employee since its appointment in August 2023, it has assisted staff members with daily document delivery, advertising, and informing the public.
“It was officially a part of the city hall, one of us,” an official said.
The robot was created by Bear Robotics, had its own civil servant card, and worked standard hours from 9:00 to 18:00. Unlike other similar robots, this one served several floors at once and could call an elevator to get to them on its own.
Among the world’s most robotic nations is South Korea. For every ten workers, there is one industrial robot, according to the International Federation of Robotics.
There are currently no plans by the Gumi City Council to appoint a second robot administrator, according to AFP.
