# Aussie commits suicide by robot! No, really! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 20, 2008, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-commits-suicide-by-robot-no-really/442104 "2008-03-20T18:05:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sunrazor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sunrazor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunrazor)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-commits-suicide-by-robot-no-really/442104/1 "2008-03-20T18:05:40Z")
Am I the only one sick enough to think [this](http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,339213,00.html) would be cool to have standing in the corner of the living room? Imagine the conversation stopper it would be! ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-commits-suicide-by-robot-no-really/442104/2 "2008-03-20T18:07:47Z")
But… But… What about the [First Law of Robotics](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Laws_of_Robotics)? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-commits-suicide-by-robot-no-really/442104/3 "2008-03-20T18:08:32Z")
I hope he programmed it to say “EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!” ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-commits-suicide-by-robot-no-really/442104/4 "2008-03-20T18:09:03Z")
Johny 5 not alive! ---
**Author:** ![Sunrazor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sunrazor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunrazor)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-commits-suicide-by-robot-no-really/442104/5 "2008-03-20T18:13:24Z")
[QUOTE=robardin] But… But… What about the [First Law of Robotics](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Laws_of_Robotics)? :eek: [/QUOTE] [James Cameron](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088247/) repealed it. I just hope it said “Hasta la vista, beh-beh!” when he hit the button. I know, I know, that’s a terrible Arnold Schwarzenegger. I try! ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-commits-suicide-by-robot-no-really/442104/6 "2008-03-20T19:14:09Z")
I don’t for a moment doubt that the guy was messed up or in some kind of pain, but jeez, arranging to shoot yourself repeatedly in the head because you know workers are nearby to discover your corpse? Damn. Call 911, explain what you’re doing and then do it, so at least the cops and EMTs will know what to expect when they arrive. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-commits-suicide-by-robot-no-really/442104/7 "2008-03-20T19:26:59Z")
Dude, if I was ever going to kill myself I’d use that method. That is so friggin cool. ---
**Author:** ![Sunrazor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sunrazor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunrazor)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-commits-suicide-by-robot-no-really/442104/8 "2008-03-20T19:30:19Z")
Oh, crap! I just realized that I put the wrong link in my previous post. What a maroon! [This](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088247/) is the link. Sorry, it sorta’ loses its punch this way. Note to self: “Preview Post” exists _for a friggin reason_! If a moderator can fix my fuck-up, I’d be deeply grateful. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-commits-suicide-by-robot-no-really/442104/9 "2008-03-20T19:34:09Z")
Oh, it was a Hyperdyne Systems 120-A/2? Well, that explains it. The A/2’s were always a bit twitchy. That couldn’t happen now with the behavioral inhibitors. It is impossible for them to harm or, by omission of action, allow to be harmed, a human being. ---
**Author:** ![ChiefScott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58f4c7/32.png) [@ChiefScott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChiefScott)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-commits-suicide-by-robot-no-really/442104/10 "2008-03-20T19:37:10Z")
**waving arms wildly** “Danger! Danger, Will Robinson!” ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-commits-suicide-by-robot-no-really/442104/11 "2008-03-20T19:41:39Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] I don’t for a moment doubt that the guy was messed up or in some kind of pain, but jeez, arranging to shoot yourself repeatedly in the head because you know workers are nearby to discover your corpse? Damn. Call 911, explain what you’re doing and then do it, so at least the cops and EMTs will know what to expect when they arrive. [/QUOTE] Yeah, that’s cold. If you’re going to do something that messy and traumatizing to others, at least keep it to the professionals as much as possible. ---
**Author:** ![Omegaman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e480ec/32.png) [@Omegaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omegaman)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-commits-suicide-by-robot-no-really/442104/12 "2008-03-20T19:43:29Z")
I heard about that the other day. I would think someone who would take the time and effort to construct such a thing would have just done the deed by his own hand. Maybe he felt a single shot from a 22 caliber might still leave him alive. I can only imagine what his notes contain. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-commits-suicide-by-robot-no-really/442104/13 "2008-03-20T20:44:53Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] I don’t for a moment doubt that the guy was messed up or in some kind of pain, but jeez, arranging to shoot yourself repeatedly in the head because you know workers are nearby to discover your corpse? Damn. Call 911, explain what you’re doing and then do it, so at least the cops and EMTs will know what to expect when they arrive. [/QUOTE] Yeah, now that you mention it, that was kind of cold. And just imagine the fun he could have had on the way out. “911, what is your emergency?” “I built a robot and I think it’s turning on me. He’s hidden his control box, and OH NO!, it somehow has got a hold of a gun! Send help to 1234 My Street, I can’t stop it!! _bang bang bang bang_ _click_ _dial tone_” Even better, have an automated recording call back to 911 2-3 minutes afterwards, with a message recorded through a vocoder filter (many of which are available on the web for free to use with a reasonable sound card): _Sorry for the earlier call. There is no need to come. Thank you. End Transmission._ ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-commits-suicide-by-robot-no-really/442104/14 "2008-03-20T21:02:56Z")
> [@](#): > > with an elaborate suicide robot built using plans he downloaded from the Internet. Link? ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-commits-suicide-by-robot-no-really/442104/15 "2008-03-20T21:33:41Z")
“You’re doomed” ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-commits-suicide-by-robot-no-really/442104/16 "2008-03-20T23:09:55Z")
You guys are being a bit hard on him. Aside from the fact that he was suicidal and probably not thinking straight, he was 81, and a man of that generation would think of the workers next door as being MEN and able to handle it. They heard the gunshot as planned, would have been there in moments, and so the body wouldn’t have been happened upon by a child, etc. Not a perfect solution, and the workmen might have been a bit traumatised by it, but from the old guy’s point of view, it was the best solution. At least he made an effort. He could have done it indoors, only to have a relative find his rotting corpse weeks later. He chose adult males with no emotional connection to him - for his generation, he did the right thing. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2008, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-commits-suicide-by-robot-no-really/442104/17 "2008-03-21T01:04:26Z")
His name was Francis Tovey. I can understand how he’d have considered death as preferable to being in a rest home – and at least, in this way, he still had control over the way he wanted to leave this life. This isn’t something cool – just tragic. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2008, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-commits-suicide-by-robot-no-really/442104/18 "2008-03-21T01:14:27Z")
You just know that Fox News headline writer was having a little fun with this one: “Australian Man Gunned Down in Driveway by Killer Robot”. Not, you know, “Australian Man Builds Elaborate Suicide Machine” or whatever; no, he’s “gunned down in driveway by killer robot”. Like maybe his Roomba just snapped and got ahold of a gun somehow. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2008, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-commits-suicide-by-robot-no-really/442104/19 "2008-03-21T04:11:40Z")
Thank you for choosing Stop 'n Drop, America’s favorite suicide booth since 2008. ---
**Author:** ![Danalan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@Danalan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danalan)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2008, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-commits-suicide-by-robot-no-really/442104/20 "2008-03-21T04:19:34Z")
Basically, the only things we’ve built robots to do so far is vacuum our floors and kill people. Plus some light manufacturing. The ‘three laws of robotics’ don’t apply until the robots can think for themselves, but I suspect the first practical application for thinking robots will be to kill people. That’s where the research dollars are going, anyway. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-commits-suicide-by-robot-no-really/442104.md?page=2)