Adzel says that a conscious computer superior in every way to organic beings:
"'...would rule, not serve.'" (p.539)
Thus, he anticipates two later future histories by Poul Anderson.
Each future history is a discrete narrative but they also form a conceptual sequence. (Plus which, Rhysling from Heinlein's Future History and van Rijn from Anderson's Technic History both visit Anderson's Old Phoenix.)
Asimov's First Law of Robotics compels any robot to protect and obey any human being. However, a later model of robots is programmed to protect and obey those that it judges to be more intelligent and then judges that it itself is more intelligent than anyone else... Asimov is a skilled dialectician, transforming his own Laws into their opposites, the Laws of Humanics.
5 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
From which I judge that one concept linking the Technic series with THE HARVEST OF STARS books and GENESIS would be his suspicion that conscious computers and AIs would rule, not serve mankind. And I would propose, as another linking concept, Anderson's belief that all human societies and institutions will inevitably be flawed and imperfect.
But I thought Asimov concluded his Robots stories with them deducing the Zeroth Law, that the best way Robots could serve mankind would be by phasing THEMSELVES out of existence, so as not to be a threat to human independence.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
Asimov's Robot stories do not present a single consistent history. (It may also be that the robots that concluded that they should be obeyed did not after all succeed in taking power.)
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
Which makes Asimov's SF work even more disappointing and unsatisfactory, if he was unwilling or unable to make his FOUNDATION series be coherent.
Been reading HARSH criticisms of Asimov's essay about George Orwell's 1984 at John Wright's blog.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
As a matter of fact, the story about the robots who decide that they are the ones that should be protected and obeyed is a sequel to the one in which the Machines, large robotic brains controlling the global economy, phase out themselves, leaving humanoid robots still in existence. But there are other inconsistencies in the series. Some Robots stories are compatible with the future history of Empire and Foundation whereas others are non-canonical.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
Which makes me conclude Asimov should not have tried linking his Robots and Foundation stories together if he was not going to do the hard work needed to make them fit together satisfactorily.
Anderson, of course, DID do that kind of hard labor after he "impulsively" linked the Nicholas van Rijn stories with those about Dominic Flandry in THE PLAGUE OF MASTERS. Including revising four of these stories to make them fit better in the series.*
Ad astra! Sean
*A fifth, "The White King's War," was revised to be incorporated as part of A CIRCUS OF HELLS.
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