Twitter reacts to 'suicidal' security robot
Support pours in for a Washington-based security droid that drowned itself
A security robot used to patrol the grounds of a company in Washington DC has seemingly "drowned itself" by falling into water fountain.
Twitter user Bilal Farooqui posted an image of the robot, which patrols the area outside of his work, saying: "We were promised flying cars, instead we got suicidal robots."
Support for the Knightscope-made security droid poured in, with some setting up a "memorial" by laying down flowers and candles at the scene.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The robot, widely referred to as "Steve", had not shown any signs of depression - unlike Marvin from A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. One user suggests that the robot may have been so "bored" it killed itself.
Some identified another example of a cartoon predicting the future, much like an episode of The Simpsons from 2000 that joked about Donald Trump becoming US president. Futurama, a show from the same creators, seems to have foreseen robot suicide.
While Elon Musk, founder of Tesla and SpaceX, recently said that robots posed a "fundamental risk to the existence of human civilisation", others presented the suicidal droid as a counter-argument.
But at least one Twitter user is till hoping for an uplifting plot twist.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
What Trump's win could mean for Big Tech
Talking Points The tech industry is bracing itself for Trump's second administration
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Google Maps gets an AI upgrade to compete with Apple
Under the Radar The Google-owned Waze, a navigation app, will be getting similar upgrades
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Is ChatGPT's new search engine OpenAI's Google 'killer'?
Talking Point There's a new AI-backed search engine in town. But can it stand up to Google's decades-long hold on internet searches?
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Teen suicide puts AI chatbots in the hot seat
In the Spotlight A Florida mom has targeted custom AI chatbot platform Character.AI and Google in a lawsuit over her son's death
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Is the world ready for Tesla's new domestic robots?
Talking Points The debut of Elon Musk's long-promised "Optimus" at a Tesla event last week has renewed debate over the role — and feasibility — of commercial automatons
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
'Stunningly lifelike' AI podcasts are here
Under the Radar Users are amazed – and creators unnerved – by Google tool that generates human conversation from text in moments
By Abby Wilson Published
-
OpenAI eyes path to 'for-profit' status as more executives flee
In the Spotlight The tension between creating technology for humanity's sake and collecting a profit is coming to a head for the creator of ChatGPT
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Microsoft's Three Mile Island deal: How Big Tech is snatching up nuclear power
In the Spotlight The company paid for access to all the power made by the previously defunct nuclear plant
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published