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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. With these three, simple directives, Isaac Asimov changed our perception of robots forever when he formulated the laws governing their behavior. In I, Robot, Asimov chronicles the development of the robot through a series of interlinked stories: from its primitive origins in the present to its ultimate perfection in the not-so-distant future--a future in which humanity itself may be rendered obsolete. Here are stories of robots gone mad, of mind-read robots, and robots with a sense of humor. Of robot politicians, and robots who secretly run the world--all told with the dramatic blend of science fact and science fiction that has become Asmiov's trademark.… (more)
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Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics are as well known to many people as the opening lines to William Blake’s poem The Tyger: they have become part of our popular culture and so just as people who claim not to like poetry (and you know who you are) can trot out the first line
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 the orders given 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.
The three laws appear as a frontispiece to Asimov’s [I, Robot] published in 1950, which consists of nine short stories written between 1940 and 1950 which were linked by a framing device for the books publication. Actually the stories fit together quite well and describe the history of Robotics as envisioned by the young author from 1950. The first story Robbie; features a nursemaid robot whose duties consist of looking after a child and he is one of the first prototypes; the last story takes place 56 years later when Robots are in control/running the earth for their masters, but are still functioning in accordance with the Three Laws.
Apart from the first story most of the others are themed around a challenge to the robotic laws, both by the robots and by the company and governments that make them. Robots used in mining operations on other planets are found to be more of a hindrance than a help: continually preventing their human colleagues from taking necessary risks. Robots used to design a new space ship make calculations that are beyond human understanding. Their “positronic" manufactured brains which allow them to reason and think are imprinted with the the three laws; but what happens when the imprinted laws are adjusted or when their own thoughts override their usefulness? Asimov does not get overly philosophical but in relating the issues back to his robotic laws he gives the stories a sense of cohesion and even of history.
The framing device is Susan Calvin who at the end of the book is the worlds foremost expert on robot psychology. She is being interviewed by a young journalist writing a feature on U. S. Robot and Mechanical Men Inc. the company that became the world leader in its field and is celebrating its seventy fifth year. It is Susan’s stories that are recorded and although related in the third person many of them feature her point of view. Her character develops as the stories unfold and Asimov does a reasonable job here, however the male characters are pretty much stock characters with the robots outshining them in personality and thoughtfulness.
Asimovs own predictions of future technology are wildly optimistic (as were many science fiction writers at that time). Robbie the first robot in the book is fully operational in 1996 and by 2050 man has developed space ships with warp drive and has colonised the stars. He is more accurate in predicting the rise of large industrial corporations that hold real power and who strive to break free of governments or work in partnership in the pursuit of profit. This isn’t great literature, but it is a landmark in science fiction and Asimov writes well enough to spin his thought provoking stories and to provide them with a framework that serves its purpose beautifully.
I have served my debt to popular culture; I have listened to Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, I have sat through The Sound of Music and I have even read The DaVinci Code and so I would urge you to do likewise and read I, Robot. (have to confess to quite liking The Sound of Music, and Bohemian Rhapsody isn’t too bad, but Dan Brown …ugh). In my opinion it is up their with the best in its field and so it is a five star read.
The stories build upon one another, the first several introducing the Three Laws, and exploring what their implications are. The later stories deal mostly with situations resulting from the interaction between the Three Laws, or problems caused by rigid adherence to them, or, most frightening, what happens if a robot doesn't have the Three Laws programmed into him. Most of the stories take the form of puzzles: a robot does something odd or unexpected, or fails to do something that it is supposed to, and the human characters in the story have to figure out why. Most of the puzzles are, in true Asimov form, well constructed and the solutions arrived at quite logical.
Forget about the misnamed Will Smith movie - this book is entirely unlike the movie, and much better than it could have ever hoped to be.
Given the numerous narratives and storylines involved, a brief plot summary is not entirely feasible. In general, the book as a whole could probably best be described as a foundation upon which Asimov might build with his later novels in the robot series. It gives the reader a groundwork understanding of Asimov’s universe. The book takes the form of disjointed short stories exploring the myriad manipulations the three laws might undergo, but the stories are united in the person of Susan Calvin. Calvin was a major figure in the development of robotics and has reached retirement. She is being interviewed, and at the prompting of the reporter, she digresses into telling these stories, each of which had special meaning for her both in her professional career and in her personal interest and investment in robotics. The stories I especially enjoyed were “Reason” and “Little Lost Robot”, although all were good on the whole.
This was, in a nutshell, a collection of stories cataloging the progression over
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 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.
In that regard, most of these stories examine a permutation of these "laws" and are interesting puzzles, though they lack emotional punch. The one that comes closest in that regard, I think, is "Liar!" and that is the story I remembered best.
I've never seen the film with Will Smith. Reading the plot summary of it, I can see common elements, but if you're expecting this to follow the film you're going to be surprised--among other things, this isn't really a unified story, and Smith's character, Del Spooner, doesn't exist in the book.
The novel is an episodic historical account, as told by robopsyschologist Dr. Susan Calvin, of the development of robotics and how it affected the development of the human world. Each chapter is story told by Calvin about robots interacting with humans, most of which have a problem with robots, which is either caused by some conflict within the three laws or solved by enacting one of the laws. As such, while each story was interesting on its own, there was a bit of redundancy in structure that began to get old after a while. My favorite stories was the first in which a young girl loves her robot playmate and the final two in which the Stephen Byerley character appears.
I was less attached to the humans in this book, who came off as rather one dimensional and cold. Rather it was the robots I liked and cared about, many of whom showed more emotional depth than the people. This also creates an interesting quandary for me. While the people in the book insist the robots are just machines and therefore believe it's okay to treat them as slaves, I can't help but feel that the moral compass is more confused due to the fact that robots feel. If a robot is sentient and has emotions, then it could be considered alive even though it's been constructed, in which case it could demand rights. There is certainly an interesting discussion point there, which I'm sure someone has brought up before (I may have to do a search for essays on the topic).
On top of that, there's the fact that the book is a bit old fashioned in terms of how it depicts women. Sure, Dr. Calvin is a genius and considered at the top of her game throughout the book, but Asimov also felt the need to write a story proving she's a woman because she falls for a man, dresses womanly, and acts vindictive. I'm not against love stories or women falling in love or whatever, but this one annoyed me because her actions seem out of character.
At any rate, despite some flaws, this is an entertaining set of robot stories and definitely worth a read.
From robots who seem to lack the Three Rules to robots who have enveloped them with a pseudo
Wonderful read for fans of Asimov as well as those fascinated by tales of robots.
"There is no Master but The Master, and QT-1 is his prophet."
So far so good, I'm listening to this one on audio - and it's great for the commute. So far it's providing a very interesting commentary on god and the circular logic that goes behind believing in a 'higher power'. I like it. I
14 Feb : Finished the audio. The book was more of a frame story held together by the three laws of robotics. But it was very very good. Unfortunately it's another fabulous sci-fi book that has a movie that has bastardized it's name. Great commentary from the 1950's on the future. Which is now.
Predicting the future is an impossible thing, and reading about visi-phones,
Asimov's "I, Robot" sets the standard for future robot stories, and introduces the enduring three laws of robotics. Its holds a mirror up to human culture, politics and religion, reflected by the positronic brains of the robots.
Definitely a classic.
If you expecting to be like the movie of the same name, you will be very surprised.