I think the trope of 'intelligent' automata being too literal goes back farther than the word 'robot', though. It also sounds a lot like the ancient stories that you hear about things like golems. Remember The Sorcerer's Apprentice, from Fantasia?

It comes across as a warning that we don't really have any solid understanding of what we're doing when we create new and powerful entities, and that pride cometh before the fall.

Plus, any sufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from technology :P