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Isaac Asimov's "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 obe
by SCAQTony 10y ago
Isaac Asimov's "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 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.
At the end of Foundation and Earth he added a "zero" option:
0. A robot may not injure humanity, or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.
- krapp 10y agoBut he entire point of Asimov's Three Laws was to be a literary device for stories about the Three Laws being a bad idea. They weren't intended to be taken seriously, they were intended to illustrate the unintended consequences that can arise from the hubris of trying to codify morality in the first place. Robots governed by his laws in universe harmed people all the time. If we ever do want to tackle the issue of the morality that governs AI, Asimov is the last person we should refer to as a credible source of inspiration.
- SCAQTony 10y agoI disagree, when we industrialize killing and mayhem with seemingly little consequence, nothing good will come out of it. As for Asimov, I think he was on to something; your milage obviously varies.
- afarrell 10y ago> Asimov is the last person we should refer to as a credible source of inspiration. Wait, why wouldn't we want to look at the failure modes he pointed out?
- robotresearcher 10y agoThe three laws are a literary device and not an engineering proposal.
- SCAQTony 10y agoI think both Sci-fi and art has always been a "engineering proposal" from Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci to Star Trek. The Smithsonian Institute seems to agree: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/ten-inventions-inspired-by-science-fiction-128080674/?no-ist http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/ten-inventions-...
- robotresearcher 10y agoThe Asimov stories that introduce the laws are exactly about their inadequacies and internal contradictions. They are cleverly chosen to seem plausible at first glance but cause endless problems when fleshed out.