Robot commits suicide: ‘Depressed’ cyborg hurls itself down flight of stairs

A South Korean robot’s “ suicide ” is being investigated by the Gumi City Council after the cyborg hurled itself down a two-meter, or six-and-a-half foot, flight of stairs on Wednesday.

The now-defunct robot was appointed a city council officer in August 2023 and was capable of calling an elevator and moving between floors on its own.

A city council official spotted the robot "circling in one spot as if something was there" before the incident occurred, according to French outlet Agence France-Presse. It was later found unresponsive and "smashed" to pieces.

"Pieces have been collected and will be analyzed by the company," a Gumi City Council official relayed.

Local media headlines circulated following the robot suicide, asking things like “Why did the diligent civil officer do it?” or “Was work too hard” for the cyborg?

The robot was one of the first of its kind to join the city council and "helped with daily document deliveries, city promotion, and delivered information" according to one city council official. It worked from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and had its own civil service officer card.

The Washington Examiner reached out to Bear Robotics, the Californian robot startup that made the one in question.

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This apparent cyborg suicide comes during a renaissance of robot and artificial intelligence technology development. South Korea alone has one cyborg for every 10 employees, and Japanese researchers recently discovered a way to attach engineered skin tissue to humanoid robots.

Scientists have been additionally developing robots with “ feelings ” that can understand and relate to human emotion.