"As for safety, the software in the robot, which could not be altered or replaced without triggering a burnout of the robot itself, would never obey an order that had any reasonable probability of endangering others." (18, p. 225)
Asimov's Second Law of Robotics.
"...the low seething of the cosmos..." (19, p. 228)
Yet another description of background radio noise. See Dry Cosmic Hiss.
Breakfast post. Busy today.
9 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
I am not entirely sure autonomous, self moving robots will be programmed to be unable to harm human beings. My thought was that we can never be sure if any kind of AI will not choose, for whatever reason, to directly and deliberately harm humans. So I'm a bit skeptical of Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics.
Sean
Sean,
But, in Asimov's universe, fear of robots, the "Frankenstein complex," is so intense that US Robots must:
program every robot with the Three Laws;
use robots only off Earth where they cannot replace human labor and cannot harm anyone even if they malfunction, which they can't do anyway.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
True. Asimov was reacting AGAINST the older SF stories featuring robots, which showed them as being enemies and killers of human beings. And John Campbell, to whom Asimov submitted many of his earlier stories at ASTOUNDING/ANALOG, seems to have helped worked out the Three Laws of Robotics.
Sean
Sean,
Pre-Asimov robots: Threat or Pathos;
Asimov robots: Engineering;
"That Thou Art Mindful To Him" and "The Bicenntenial Man": Asimov's returns to Threat and Pathos;
"Robot Dreams": Asimov's synthesis of Threat and Pathos.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
Ever since Asimov's Robot stories and his Three Laws of Robotics science fiction writers have not been able to blithely think of self moving autonomous computerized machines as merely and only hostile to mankind. But I don't think I've ever read Asimov's "That Thou Art Mindful Of Him" or "The Bicentennial Man," where he treats robots under the theme of "threat and pathos." These stories may have been written after I became disenchanted with Asimov's SF around 1975.
Sean
Sean,
Yes, and "Robot Dreams." Asimov and Silverberg novelized "The Bicentennial Man" as "The Positronic Man" and the novel was filmed as "Bicentennial Man," starring Robin Williams.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
All of which is unfamiliar to me, I fear, due to how I became dissatisfied with Asimov's science fiction.
Sean
Sean,
These three later stories are good culminations of Asimov's robot series.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
And I certainly should keep in mind the desirability of looking up at least these three works of Asimov.
I finished rereading THE LAST VIKING some days ago. Now I've started Stirling's THE SKY BLUE WOLVES. AND been playing chess on my chess computer!
Sean
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