Laws of Robots

Isaac Asimov is largely responsible for the popular mythos of robots in society. I, Robot (the book, not the movie) was published in 1950.  Yes, it’s older than your parents.  And worth the read if you seek the classics.  (Yes, like most youth today.)

Among other things that Asimov introduced were the three Laws of Robotics, which can be stated like this:

A robot may not injure a human being or through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm;

A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law; and

A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

Now, these are artifical rules, dreamed up by one of the first scientists (yes, Asmiov was a scientist first, before a novelist) to think about robots and the future.  But now, scientists are actually trying to figure out how to program robots to follow these laws.  From Science Daily – Real-life Robots Obey Asimov’s Laws:

Issac Asimov, widely regarded as the spiritual father of science fiction, outlined three rules that all robots in his future worlds must obey. The most important two were: a robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm; and a robot must obey orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.

However, robotics in the real world has trouble striking a workable balance between these two requirements. Robots can perform tasks efficiently in controlled environments away from humans, or they can interact with humans if properly equipped with sensors to avoid any harm. But that degree of ‘sensing’ also creates complexity and a lack of robustness to hardware and software failures which, in turn, affects safety. Of course, robots could be safe if they move slowly enough, or work far away enough from humans – but then, their dexterity and effectiveness are dramatically reduced.

Arthur C. Clarke

There are few giants in this world who have added so much to the world of science and literature as Sir Arthur C. Clarke. Practical science. He invented, among other things, the idea of communications satellites and geostationary orbits.

Sadly, he died this morning in his home in Sri Lanka. He was 90 years old.

I was in grade 6 when I first watched his most famous piece, 2001 – A Space Odyssey (it was actually based on his short story, The Sentinel), and even today, it is a work of art that shows a realistic view of space travel. This is not Star Wars or Starship Troopers; it’s much more Battlestar Galactica.

At some point, for my astronomy class, I might show the movie. It’s worth spending some class time on.

Since grade 6, I’ve read quite a few of his novels, including one that I read in my grade 7 ELA class, Childhood’s End. If you wanted an introduction to his writings, you would do worse than to start with that one, or Rendezvous With Rama, another one I read as a student.

Clarke was truly a pioneer and a visionary. He imagined things that no one else had, and had to put up with a lot of ridicule in the process. No one believed, for example, that there would one day be satellites in orbit around Earth, or that they would play such an important role in our everyday lives.

One of Sir Arthur’s pet projects was the space elevator. Think of a 50 000 km long cable, extending from Earth’s surface to outer space, where Earth’s motion keeps it tight.  Attach to this an electric (or solar or nuclear) powered truck, and preto: you have a cheap way of getting things into outer space. You can read more about Clarke’s thoughts on this in his own words.

As I said, he was more than just a writer of science fiction: he was a practicing theoretical scientist.

I’ll leave you with a quote of Clarke’s which is particularly revealing:

I’m sometimes asked how I would like to be remembered. I’ve had a diverse career as a writer, underwater explorer, space promoter and science populariser. Of all these, I want to be remembered most as a writer — one who entertained readers, and, hopefully, stretched their imagination as well.

It’s all about imagination.