Korea stirs up over robot employee 'suicide'

Robot administrative staff at Gumi City Council - Photo: AFP

On June 26, the Gumi City Council (South Korea) announced that the administrative robot was found unresponsive after falling down a 2-meter-high staircase last week.

A city council official told AFP news agency that witnesses saw the robot "spinning in one spot as if something was there" before the accident. The cause of the fall is still under investigation.

"Parts of the robot have been collected and will be analyzed by the company," the official said.

South Korean media called this the country's first robot "suicide", raising questions such as "why would a diligent civil servant do that?", or "is the job too much for a robot?".

This robot is manufactured by Bear Robotics, a startup company specializing in robot waiters in California, USA.

It was "appointed" in August 2023 and is one of the first robots to perform administrative work in the city. Its working hours are from 9am to 4pm, and it also has its own employee card.

Robots have helped with everyday tasks such as transporting documents, promoting the city and providing information to local residents.

"It's officially part of the city hall, a member of us. It's been working hard," an official said.

Other robots usually only work on one floor, but the Gumi City Council robot can call the elevator itself and move between floors.

Currently, the Gumi City Council has no plans to use a second administrative robot employee.

According to the International Federation of Robotics, South Korea has the highest robot density in the world , with one industrial robot for every 10 employees.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/han-quoc-xon-xao-vi-nhan-vien-robot-tu-sat-20240627113315943.htm