I, Robot
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Had read this Asimov classic long, long back.
Watched a movie by the same name yesterday. It's no way even close to that classic collection in Asimov's slim volume. Yet a notch above the banter that passes nowadays as sci-fi movies.
Anyway, the movie got me thinking about that old problem again...
Those of you who aren't aware, Asimov in his classic had created the three laws of robotics which all robots in the world have to obey:
1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
As robots evolve they begin to realise that there is a conflict of interests between protecting individual human beings and the entire human species. For preserving the human species, individuals might need to be sacrificed, individual aspirations might need to be crushed and so on ... basically sacrifice of the individual in collective interests (reminds me of Ayn Rand...the complete contary view).
Well, isn't this the conflict we're witnessing everywhere around us...this conflict between the the individual and the collective which while it has no existence without him, assumes an independent presence when it comes into being.
Well in a way it boils down to how much of my wierdness I have to sacrifice to be accepted as a part of the "sane" society? ;-)
And I have a very bised opinion on that.
:-))
Had read this Asimov classic long, long back.
Watched a movie by the same name yesterday. It's no way even close to that classic collection in Asimov's slim volume. Yet a notch above the banter that passes nowadays as sci-fi movies.
Anyway, the movie got me thinking about that old problem again...
Those of you who aren't aware, Asimov in his classic had created the three laws of robotics which all robots in the world have to obey:
1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
As robots evolve they begin to realise that there is a conflict of interests between protecting individual human beings and the entire human species. For preserving the human species, individuals might need to be sacrificed, individual aspirations might need to be crushed and so on ... basically sacrifice of the individual in collective interests (reminds me of Ayn Rand...the complete contary view).
Well, isn't this the conflict we're witnessing everywhere around us...this conflict between the the individual and the collective which while it has no existence without him, assumes an independent presence when it comes into being.
Well in a way it boils down to how much of my wierdness I have to sacrifice to be accepted as a part of the "sane" society? ;-)
And I have a very bised opinion on that.
:-))
posted by Ayan Bhattacharya @ 12:00
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