• more about #karlcapek more comments →
    Grey_Area: An excellent article, Mr. Strauss. I've never seen a production of R.U.R. but have read the script many years ago. I agree with Dr-Doomsayer that a fi... more »
    OMG! Ponies!: Query. Maternal unit: where do robots come from? Response. Sometimes, two units develop an artificial symbiotic relationship that permits the pair t... more »
    corpore-metal: Equals or slaves? That's going to be a very tricky point. But maybe there will be transitional point. Currently our robots are as smart as insects but... more »
    Log1c: I was going to point out his name was Karel, but then I got to the end and read "senior editor at Smithsonian magazine" and figured he knew something ... more »
  • #io9backgrounder

    Where Do Robots Come From?

    The first robots were born on January 25, 1921, the day Karl Capek's play R.U.R. premiered in Prague, more than 80 years before Skynet achieved sentience and declared, "I think, therefore you're all toast." More »