The Three Laws of Robotics and The 0th Law
The
Three Laws of Robotics are a set of rules devised by Isaac Asimov( Know more about Asimov), one of the
most famous science fiction authors.The rules were introduced in his 1942 short
story Runaround. The Three Laws are:
- A
robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human
being to come to harm.
2.
A robot must obey the
orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the
First Law.
- A
robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not
conflict with the First or Second Law.
These
form an organizing principle and unifying theme for Asimov's robotic - based
fictions, including his Robot series. Many of Asimov's robot-focused
stories involve robots behaving in unusual and counter-intuitive ways as an
unintended consequence of how the robot applies the Three Laws to the situation
in which it finds itself. Other authors working in Asimov's fictional universe
have adopted them and references, often parodic, appear throughout science
fiction as well as in other genres.
The
original laws have been altered and elaborated on by Asimov and other authors.
Asimov himself made slight modifications to the first three in various books
and short stories to further develop how robots would interact with humans and
each other. In later fiction where robots had taken responsibility for
government of whole planets and human civilizations, Asimov also added a
fourth, or zeroth law, to precede the others:
The 0th Law
In
the chapter "The Duel" in Robots and Empire, Asimov first
presents another law, which he calls the Zeroth Law of Robotics, and adjusts
the other ones accordingly:
0. A robot may not harm humanity, or through inaction
allow humanity to come to harm.
1. A robot may not
harm a human, or through inaction allow a human to come to harm, unless this
interferes with the zeroth law.
2. A robot must obey
orders given to it by a human being unless such orders interfere with the
zeroth or first laws.
3. A robot must defend its own
existence unless such defense interferes with the zeroth, first or second laws.
The
Three Laws, and the zeroth, have pervaded science fiction and are referred to
in many books, films, and other media.
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