It is a matter of record that the term “robot” was first used in recent recordable culture by Czech writer by Karel Capek, in his 1920 science-fiction play R.U.R. (“Rossum’s Universal Robots,” in English). Robot is a word that derives, in Czech etymology, from robota, or forced labor. Thus the robots in the play are, in effect, slaves—and not even wage slaves, because they are assumed, in their mechanical efficiency, to require no food, shelter, or clothing, let alone healthcare or pension plans. In short, they are the perfect solutions to the problem of labor. They work on command, do not
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