Jan 25, 2011 7:00 AM

Jan. 25, 1921: Robots First Czech In

1921: A play about robots premieres at the National Theater in Prague, the capital of what was then Czechoslovakia. R.U.R, (which stands for Rossum’s Universal Robots) by Karel Capek, marks the first use of the word “robot” to describe an artificial person. Capek invented the term, basing it on the Czech word for “forced labor.” […]

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1921: A play about robots premieres at the National Theater in Prague, the capital of what was then Czechoslovakia.

R.U.R, (which stands for Rossum's Universal Robots) by Karel Capek, marks the first use of the word "robot" to describe an artificial person. Capek invented the term, basing it on the Czech word for "forced labor." (Robot entered the English language in 1923.)

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Robot Bartenders Sling Cocktails for Carbon-Based DrinkersThe robots inCapek's play are not mechanical men made of metal. Instead they are molded out of a chemical batter, and they look exactly like humans.

In the course of just 15 years, the price of a robot has dropped from $10,000 to $150. In today's money, that's $128,000 down to $1,900.

Each robot "can do the work of two-and-a-half human laborers," so that humans might be free to have "no other task, no other work, no other cares" than perfecting themselves.

However, the robots come to realize that even though they have "no passion, no history, no soul," they are stronger and smarter than humans. They kill every human but one.

The play explores themes that would later become staples of robot science fiction, including freedom, love and destruction. Although many of Capek's other works were more famous during his lifetime, today he is best known for RUR.

Thefirst recorded human death by robot occurred Jan. 25, 1979: the 58th anniversary of the play's premiere.

Source: Center for the Study of Technology and Society

Photo: A scene from R.U.R.features three robots.

This article first appeared on Wired.com Jan. 25, 2007.

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