Arnold
CibbuanoI, Robot
January 10th 2008 08:27
But! I, Robot was originally a collection of nine short stories by notable sci-fi author Isaac Asimov, one of the writers that put serious thought into aliens, robots and faraway planets.
You'd think it'd be about big robot wars, or a tap-dancing robot, but Asimov put forward some fundamental ideas about robots that have held to this day.
Foremost was his declaration of the Three Laws of Robotics:
" 1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law."
2. A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law."
Asimov's stories weren't really about how cool robots were - instead they all focused on limitations between the relationship between humans and robots. A tricky, tenuous topic... through the book, as robots improve in ability, they quickly surpass the intelligence of man, proving to be a potential threat. Are the Three Laws enough? Do the Three Laws present greater dangers?
It's a terrific read, one that'll be tough to put down, containing humour and enough imagination to paint a realistic portrait of the future. At the same time, it has the potential to be quite heartbreaking... after all, robots are basically slaves to their creators.
Is that what we wanted? Humans certainly feel that we deserve freedom, no matter who or what created us.
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