The 3 laws of robotics, explained

Isaac Asimov captured these laws of robot behavior in his science fiction works.

Do you know the laws of robotics? They are three laws developed by Isaac Asimov, the famous Russian fiction writer, author of such well-known works as "I, Robot".

In this article we will see what his three laws of robotics consist ofHow they were born, what characteristics they have, how we can interpret them and what has been the impact of Isaac Asimov.

Who was Isaac Asimov?

Isaac Asimov was born on January 2, 1920 in Petrovichi, Russia, and died on April 6, 1992 in New York (USA), at the age of 72. Asimov was a Russian-born, naturalized American science fiction writer and professor of biochemistry at the medical school of the University of California, Berkeley, USA. at the Boston University School of Medicine.

He became world-renowned as the author of numerous science fiction stories, but also for his work in history and popular science.

The laws of robotics

The three laws of robotics were described by Isaac Asimov, the famous science fiction writer. These laws applied to the robots that appear in his science fiction novels and short stories. His robots had the mission to carry out orders, as well as the ability to act on their own.. Thus, these laws are addressed to his robots.

Asimov, in his stories, looks for contradictory situations that create conflicts when applying one law or another, but that is the "grace", because the author thus explores philosophical and moral dilemmas.

These three laws were published for the first time in Asimov's story Vicious Circledated 1942. But what did these laws say? Let's get to know them:

1. Do no harm

Asimov's first law of robotics reads: "A robot may not harm a human being or, by inaction, allow a human being to be harmed".

Thus, the first law of robotics refers not only to not refers not only to the fact of not causing harm, but also to the fact of avoiding harm.. Asimov further specifies and conveys this law through the robot's actions but also through its non-actions ("inaction").

If we reflect on this law today, we can think of an example of artificial intelligence: cars. an example of artificial intelligence: autonomous cars.. If, for example, the car is going to collide with another car, it should move out of the way even if "it" is driving correctly, so as not to cause damage, following Asimov's first law.

2. Comply with orders

The second of Asimov's laws of robotics states, "A robot must comply with the commands of human beings, except if those commands conflict with the First Law."

Thus, the robot shall comply with the orders sent to it, unless such orders are incompatible with the First Law (i.e., priority will always be given to avoiding harm and not causing harm).

3. Protecting one's own existence

Finally, the third law of robotics states: "A robot must protect its own existence to the extent that this does not conflict with the First or Second Law".

As we can see, the third law refers to the robot's self-protection; this law shall take precedence, as long as it is not incompatible with the previous laws (which shall take precedence).

Characteristics of the laws

These laws are formulated in such a way that the human protagonists of Asimov's stories, so recite them, but we must understand that their "real form" actually amounts to a set of more complex instructions that are fed into the robot's brain..

Origin

What is the actual origin of the three laws of robotics? Asimov explains that they were actually drafted by John W. Campbell, also a science fiction writer, through a conversation between the two of them on December 23, 1940. produced on December 23, 1940.

According to Campbell, however, Asimov himself had already thought of these laws, and what they did was to put them together, between the two of them.

Where do they appear?

We can find Isaac Asimov's three laws of robotics in many of the famous writer's stories, specifically: in his robot series, in related stories and in numerous novels whose protagonist is Lucky Starr.

Lucky Starr, Asimov's laws have expanded beyond his legacy, and other authors have also used them for their science fiction stories (or to talk about Asimov's work). for their science fiction stories (or to talk about Asimov's work). In addition, these three laws of robotics have also been mentioned in other genres.

Their use in science fiction

Isaac Asimov's laws of robotics have crossed over from science fiction into the realm of real life and robot design. To give an example, the robot "Asimo" is an acronym for Advanced Step in Innovating MObility, and at the same time a tribute to Isaac Asimov.

I robot

Eight years after the publication of The Laws of Robotics, in 1950, Asimov published a collection of short stories, in a work he titled I, Robot.

In this work, we find a set of conflicts, dilemmas and paradoxes influenced by the interpretation of these laws, in the face of ambiguous and/or complex situations.in the face of ambiguous and/or complex situations.

The Zero Law

After the three laws of robotics, came Law Zero, also proposed by Asimov. This law is a generalization (including an improvement) of the first law, and states that a robot may not harm humanity or allow it to suffer any harm by inaction..

That is, it no longer refers only to "man" in the singular, but to humanity in general.

The age of artificial intelligence

It is an undeniable fact that artificial intelligence, together with new technologies and robotics, is increasingly on the rise. Artificial intelligence (AI), let us remember, is intelligence carried out by machines.

An intelligent machine is one that is able to perceive the environment and develop actions or "behaviors" that increase its chances of success, and is capable of that increase its chances of success, in relation to some objective, goal or task. Thus, this type of intelligence is part of a reality that is increasingly immersed in our lives.

On the other hand, the term "artificial intelligence" is also applied to machines that mimic the cognitive functions of human beings. Among these functions are the ability to solve problems, the ability to think, reflect, decide, learn...