<2>The 19th Century Silent Film That First Captured a Robot Attack
<3>Rediscovered and Restored: Gugusse et l’Automate
The Library of Congress has successfully restored an 1897 short film by Georges Melies, titled Gugusse et l’Automate, which is believed to feature the first robot ever shown on film. The film was long thought to be lost but was discovered in a box of decaying nitrate films donated from a Michigan family collection.
<3>Depiction of a Robot Attack
The film, which can be viewed on the Library of Congress’ website, depicts a child-sized robot clown who grows to the size of an adult and then attacks a human clown with a stick. The human then decimates the machine with a hammer.
<3>A Robot in the Making
In an Instagram post, Library of Congress moving image curator Jason Evans Groth said the film represents, “probably the first instance of a robot ever captured in a moving image.” The word “robot” didn’t appear until 1921, when Czech dramatist Karel Capek coined it in his science fiction play R.U.R..
<3>Early Concerns about AI and Robots
“Today, many of