Today's robots use simple programming compared to the human brain. But as technology evolves with Artificial Intelligence, will the Three Laws of Robotics hold true?
Isaac Asimov was a legendary American science fiction writer, who embraced technological innovation and dominated the field of robotics in literature. Many authors have imitated or directly acknowledged his Three Laws of Robotics, which were designed to effectively control a robot’s behaviour.
The Three Laws of Robotics
First published in 1940, readers of robot fiction today are so familiar with the rules that they are often taken for granted. Here they are in full:
The First Law: A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
The Second Law: A robot must obey orders given it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
The Third Law: A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
In the futuristic visions of Isaac Asimov, robots operate with Artificial Intelligence (AI) which assumes the element of free will. Unlike humans, however, this free will does not give rise to a sense of morality or empathy, because these robots are incapable of real emotions. Therefore, by setting definitive parameters for robot behaviour, the three laws of robotics create a perfect circle of trust.
Robot Applications
While it was Asimov who coined the term robotics, the idea of automate and androids dates back to 400 BC with the work of Archytas of Tarentum and his mechanical pigeon. Today, robotics is used in industrial, military, exploration, domestic, and research applications.
The definition of a modern robot is that it is artificially created; it can sense its environment and interact with things; it has some degree of intelligence or the ability to make choices; it is programmable; it moves with coordination; and it appears to have intent. However, robots of the future will become more complex and eventually incorporate dynamic features like Artificial Intelligence as Isaac Asimov suggested. But will his Three Laws of Robotics stand the test of time?
The Future of Robotics
People at the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence do not believe so. The institute is devoted to the research and implementation of human-friendly Artifical Intelligence and believes that this will all be possible within a few decades. But its research project, known as 3 Laws Unsafe, claims that Asimov’s laws are only superficially attractive and are too simplistic to ensure a positive outcome.
Human intelligence is the foundation of technology; so all technology is the product of intelligence, the SIAI states. If technology can go on to enhance intelligence, this closes the loop, creating a positive feedback effect. The robots will evolve to create smarter robots. At that stage, humans will lose control over future generations of robots, and they become an evolutionary branch of their own.
In fact, this notion is presented in the movie I, Robot – which is based on the short stories of Isaac Asimov. The robots are left to design and build future generations, and so are given total control over the implementation of the Three Laws of Robotics. As it happens, the robots deem humans to be incapable of acting logically and impose new laws of their own to ensure humanity’s long term survival. As a result, the robots were prepared to kill humans rebelling against the greater good, thus breaking the three “unbreakable” laws.
This is one instance of a positive feedback effect, and groups like SIAI urge innovators to consider all angles as technology evolves at stunning new speeds.
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