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I think Asimov knew all this – his stories are about how the laws can be twisted into having surprising consequences. It's meant as a Sci-Fi version of the "lit

I think Asimov knew all this – his stories are about how the laws can be twisted into having surprising consequences. It's meant as a Sci-Fi version of the "literal genie" [0]. Has anyone actually taken them as a serious suggestion in AI ethics? [0] https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LiteralGenie https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LiteralGenie

balabaster 8y ago
Kind of how our laws in real life are written with the intention of projecting that they're for one thing, but when it comes down to it, they're often intentionally perverted for the purpose of malevolence. The consequences aren't all that surprising given the character of those charged with enforcing said laws.
iotatron 8y ago
Having taken the Udacity Robotics Nanodegree I can say that they actually teach these laws in full seriousness as part of the first week of the course. When I saw that I started to regret signing up.
TeMPOraL 8y ago
Seconded. Somehow, the fact that the Three Laws are broken and Asimov's works are all about showing how and why they're broken is something that most people missed. The popular culture ran off with the Laws, forgetting the context.
- PurpleRamen 8y ago
  I think most people haven't read Asimov. They only know the laws because of their hype, but don't know their origin or meaning. Thus, we need more Asimov in TV.
  - BerislavLopac 8y ago
    Oh I would die for a R. Daneel Olivaw TV procedural! (Hm, apparently BBC had made adaptations of The Caves of Steel and The Naked Sun in the sixties... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._Daneel_Olivaw#Appearances_in_other_media https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._Daneel_Olivaw#Appearances_i...)
- WorldMaker 8y ago
  Asimov always admitted to loving locked room mysteries (he wrote some great non-sci-fi mystery works, too), and the Three Laws were a fascinating "locked room" to build mysteries in. People seem to always remember all of the people in the stories that believed the Three Laws infallible, but not all the "murders" that took place in that locked room that pretty much showed that they were not infallible and gave us a plot for an enjoyable story to read.
- Izkata 8y ago
  Doubly surprising in that the average person's introduction to the three laws was likely the Will Smith I, Robot movie, where the laws being at least incomplete was a big plot point. Quick edit: Yikes, that was 15 years ago... I have co-workers who probably haven't heard of the movie...
edent 8y ago
Yes, people do take them seriously in AI ethics. Read almost any "layperson" discussion, or go to any lecture and they'll be brought up. I wrote this after attending a discussion at Oxford University on AI Ethics.
Upvoter33 8y ago
Yes - literally every story was about how the flaws in these laws. But #spoilers keeps me from saying more!
Something1234 8y ago
My mildly retarded friend did. Pretty sure he still does.

balabaster 8y ago

Kind of how our laws in real life are written with the intention of projecting that they're for one thing, but when it comes down to it, they're often intentionally perverted for the purpose of malevolence. The consequences aren't all that surprising given the character of those charged with enforcing said laws.

iotatron 8y ago

Having taken the Udacity Robotics Nanodegree I can say that they actually teach these laws in full seriousness as part of the first week of the course. When I saw that I started to regret signing up.

TeMPOraL 8y ago

Seconded. Somehow, the fact that the Three Laws are broken and Asimov's works are all about showing how and why they're broken is something that most people missed. The popular culture ran off with the Laws, forgetting the context.

PurpleRamen 8y ago
I think most people haven't read Asimov. They only know the laws because of their hype, but don't know their origin or meaning. Thus, we need more Asimov in TV.
- BerislavLopac 8y ago
  Oh I would die for a R. Daneel Olivaw TV procedural! (Hm, apparently BBC had made adaptations of The Caves of Steel and The Naked Sun in the sixties... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._Daneel_Olivaw#Appearances_in_other_media https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._Daneel_Olivaw#Appearances_i...)
WorldMaker 8y ago
Asimov always admitted to loving locked room mysteries (he wrote some great non-sci-fi mystery works, too), and the Three Laws were a fascinating "locked room" to build mysteries in. People seem to always remember all of the people in the stories that believed the Three Laws infallible, but not all the "murders" that took place in that locked room that pretty much showed that they were not infallible and gave us a plot for an enjoyable story to read.
Izkata 8y ago
Doubly surprising in that the average person's introduction to the three laws was likely the Will Smith I, Robot movie, where the laws being at least incomplete was a big plot point. Quick edit: Yikes, that was 15 years ago... I have co-workers who probably haven't heard of the movie...

edent 8y ago

Yes, people do take them seriously in AI ethics. Read almost any "layperson" discussion, or go to any lecture and they'll be brought up. I wrote this after attending a discussion at Oxford University on AI Ethics.

Upvoter33 8y ago

Yes - literally every story was about how the flaws in these laws. But #spoilers keeps me from saying more!

Something1234 8y ago

My mildly retarded friend did. Pretty sure he still does.