Robot is a hijacked word
The meaning of the word robot has greatly evolved from "forced servitude" that looked like us but was missing a soul, to a word used to describe anything deep learning, big data, bots, iOt or really just tech related. How did this happen? “The word “robot” has been hijacked. Twice. (Or thrice, if we want to be pedantic, but I won’t be.)
The word “robot” was introduced into the English language by the play R.U.R., written in Czech by Karel Capek, and first performed in Prague on January 25, 1921. R.U.R. stands for Rossumovi Univerzálni Roboti, though even in the first edition of the play, according to the play’s Wikipedia page, published by Aventium in Prague in 1920, the cover designed by Karel’s brother Josef Capek, had the English version as the title, Rossum’s Universal Robots, even though the play within was in Czech.
According to Science Friday, the word robot comes from an old Church Slavonic word, robota, meaning “servitude”, “forced labor”, or “drudgery”. And the more you look the more references indicate that it is not known whether Karel or Josef suggested the word.” Read the story by hacker Rodney Brooks
