1. I personally was slightly confused because the three laws of robotics were presented as three immutable laws, yet somehow the laws within a robot’s positronic brain could be given situational precedence over each other. My understanding is that the first law ensuring human safety and safeguarding against robotic apocalypse was paramount, following the second law which ensured obedience amongst all robot kind, followed by a desire for survival. Then by being laws there were no exceptions, they were immutable, robots were obligated to keep their thought processes within this rigid paradigm and this paradigm only. But, when Speedy in Runaround gets trapped in his infinite loop the issue is that the two laws have “similar charge” and weigh equally in …show more content…
Speedy’s mind. The author and or narrator sum it up to be a situational increase in value, “It’s the same old runaround.
We can push at Rule 2 and pull at Rule 3 and we can’t get anywhere -- we can only change the position of balance. We’ve got to get outside both rules” (Asimov). If the robot can change the value of each law, even situationally, the laws are fundamentally flawed. They’re no longer laws, but rules and their order is just a guideline. What’s to say there isn’t a situation where the preservation of robotics and the future of man means the destruction of man or the complete disregard of rule one (i.e. I Robot starring Will Smith). The fact that the Narrator and Pollard suggest that the Robot and they can even think outside this paradigm suggests future danger and higher mental capabilities. Speedy and other more complex robots are capable of consideration and judgment, by default or not, and we do not know the extent each robot maintains its three cardinal values by which it judges upon. It may judge to disregard the laws entirely. What defines a human being? What if a human being was to strike out at a robot without order, would the robots be allowed to strike back to preserve its own existence? Is a robot therefore allowed to break human customs and civilities and laws because they’re not a part of the three
laws? What else gives laws more situational value other than physical value, such as in Speedy’s case? There are so many holes within the three laws and Asimov only tests them by placing robots between orders, laws, and rules, and immediate danger. I want to see the robots reason through complex human interaction, murderous intent, envy and theft, sexual intercourse and infatuation. Because with the ability to make judgments robots are not far from being considered, at least mentally, human beings. 2. While today’s machines and computers don’t have nearly as much physical presence as Isaac Asimov’s robots. They do handle significant portions of our lives, such as our transportation, health, money, and food. With positronic brains, the computers we use in our day to day lives will operate more efficiently because they’ll be capable of judging, independently, what is best for them or us. Equipped with the three laws in the many instances where human beings perish needlessly to machine based accidents, humanity would be protected in ways we would not consider, like in car crashes, industrial accidents, and appliance malfunctions. Also, machines will have the ability to preserve themselves. But simultaneously with the ability to judge and essentially think malware and cyber terrorism, which are real issues in our day, may pose even greater threat because it will no longer require changing code, but simply persuading the positronic brain to consider a new notion or find a new value. Then said machinery will be able to endanger humans in inventive and efficient ways.
Ilya Varshavsky’s “Perpetual Motion” is the story of humanity’s relationship with technology. During a human council meeting, where humans superficially decide how their world will function, Class A robots demand equality with humanity. The human council is initially appalled, but after these robots explain they will supplement their labor with the labor of a new race of robots humanity grants their wish. Twenty years later, during a Class A robot council meeting, the topic of equality for Class B robots is introduced in a similar manner to the way Class A freedom was discussed. In order to grant equality to Class B robots, the Class A robots discuss the need to teach humans how to survive without them. They resolve to teach humans how
The world roughly hold about seven billion people. People from different backgrounds, nationality, race, but there is a high percentage of people in this world that struggle to make moral decisions on their own because they are scared of becoming an outcast, an enemy. In addition, this cycle causes people to be controlled by the society and not make decisions that would possibly better them but rather turn them into the society’s robot. In essays such as, “‘Repent Harlequin’ Said the Ticktock Man” and “Shooting an Elephant,” written by Harlan Ellison and George Orwell, respectively, each character faces a conflict with themselves by not using their own moral sense and getting faced with challenges. In the essay “Civil Disobedience,” written
First Law: A robot must never harm a human being or, through inaction, allow any human to come to harm.
In I, Robot, all robots were programmed to be the same; emotionless and set to follow the 3 laws. Similarly, the humans in Brave New World were created without emotions, and were conditioned to enjoy the jobs they were given. This is proven when Dr. Spooner tells Sonny, “Robots don’t feel fear. They don’t feel anything. They don’t get hungry, they don’t sleep.” Dr. Spooner explains to Sonny that robots are simply an imitation of life, and do not understand, nor feel the emotions of a human being. Also, Dr. Calvin explains to Dr. Spooner that the robots could not possibly break the laws by saying, “No, not these laws, they’re hardwired into every robot.” Dr. Calvin finds it ridiculous that a robot would commit a murder, as it would interfere with their p...
Asimov’s robots can be described as clumsy, hard-working, cost-efficient, soulless, strong, fast, obedient, human-made, a cleaner better breed, more human than man.
Later, the Three Laws became Important in the development of the plot in the robot stories, and as Asimov combined his robot stories with his Foundation stories and novels, the Three Laws played a major role there, as well. Nowadays science fiction writers and robot designers have gotten use to these three
While he still adheres to Asimov's three laws of robotics, he does so much less rigidly than before. Instead of being utterly deferential to any human, he pushes to have a new, much more human looking body created for him, for his brain to be installed in. After installation, his desire to be more human continues to grow. His attentions are now directed towards crafting artificial organs to more accurately simulate the function of the human body. In the eyes of most people, he seems human, although his legal status still clearly defines him as a
Lin, N. G. (2012). Robot Ethics : The Ethical and Social Implications of Robotics. Cambridge, MA, USA: MIT Press.
Šabanovi´c, S. 2010. Robots in Society, Society in Robots. International Journal of Social Robotics 2 (4): 439-450 Springer http://www.springerlink.com/ (accessed February 13, 2011).
Should the progression of robotic technology be limited? Are movies like Terminator foretelling what will happen as the twenty-first century expands its boundaries with robotics? Are robots becoming too smart? Should humans trust robots to learn and act on their own? Can and will robots turn on their masters? In the movie Terminator a robot from the future comes back to forewarn the people that if they do not change the direction that technology is going then the world would be over taken by robots. This android, the Terminator, told the people stories of how robots would become smarter than their masters and overtake them. In an opportunity to rid the world of humans the robots try to exterminate humans from the face of the Earth. The humans have little to no chance of survival because they built the robots to be perfect and very intelligent. Where is the limit on society's safety? In the last two decades of the twentieth century, progress has gone beyond the wildest imagination of almost every inventor or dreamer. Faster and better are the keys for words that society yearns for. The technological age is in full force and robots are in the main stream of this tidal wave.
A robot that is programmed for one thing will not be able to have morality or develop it because it does not know from right to wrong. The article states, " school bus carrying 40 innocent children crosses its path. Should your car swerve, possibly risking the life of its owner (you)", This evidence shows that the robot will not be able to make the right decision for us human, for example, if a robot is pointing a gun at an innocent person, but the robot thinks he is a criminal, he would not know that. The robot will not make a mistake because it's programmed to be right at all time, but if he gets a choice to make a wrong decision compared to a right decision it will just be clueless.
Anderson, MichaelAnderson, Susan Leigh. 2010. "ROBOT BE GOOD." Scientific American 303, no. 4: 72. MasterFILE Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed November 1, 2011).
Some would say the attempt to make a robot is an attempt to 'play god' and to recreate man. Others would argue that robots might become so intelligent that they would take over and replace humans. There is no better example of this than the movie Terminator, which begins with a world ruled by machines who are trying to kill the remaining human population. The actual field of robotics however, has produced many products which we take for granted. The clock is a household item that was developed in the beginning stages of machine ...
In today's society, robots come in different types and qualities, and robots’ use was mainly in the laboratories and factories; however, that has drastically changed where their uses are changing at a high speed. In addition to that, they have spread throughout the world. The main function of robots is to replace the work that people used to do, or perform tasks that man cannot. A robot is a mechanical or virtual device that uses a computer program, or electronic circuitry, to carry out its functions. In modern science, robotics refers to the study of robots is robotics, which deals with designing, constructing, operating, and using robots and computer systems for controlling and processing information and providing feedbacks. However, as much as robots replace human labor, individuals or organizations can use them in dangerous environments that might be harmful and beneficial to humans. Therefore, to understand the logic behind the creation of robots, one should learn the pros and cons of robotics, in the current society. This is because people are using this technology without having a deep understanding of its effects. However, an objective evaluation of the use of robots, in the modern society, shows that they have a positive influence on human beings, but if the robots were overused, it could lead to a negative side. which shows why human beings should use robots wisely that will result an improvement to their societies and own lives. Robots have become interactive equipment whereby they have become part of human life. In this regard, people use them directly or indirectly to enhance the quality of their lives. However, Sharkey argues that there are ethical issues that arise because of using robots to enhance hu...
To conclude, robots could be the backbone of the society that will result in a technological revolution. Because of robots various characteristics that do not experience fear, nor exhaustion and they are precisely programmed, which make them able to help in case of need, housework, and factories production. Society needs to put the issue of robots into consideration to satisfy any shortage exists in the world.