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Miscellaneous thoughts and ramblings
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
 
I, Robot
I just watched I, Robot. I've heard that the book was better. Anyway, there is good food for thought in the movie. Robots are programmed to obey three laws:

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 the 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.

Any robot that can understand instructions like that would pass for human, in my book. There may come a time when the defining difference between robots and humans is what they're made of. Or, to be more specific, what the "brain" is made of. Not anytime soon, though.
Comments:
As that and any other related movie will show you, once Robots become self-aware, it's all over.

That's why you need to buy this book.
 
Hah!

Believe me: I am a robotics engineer. Neither Asimov nor will smith have a CLUE.
 
The book is a collection of short stories. Some of them are great. I think you would really like them. They ask important questions like: Does something sentient automatically have rights? Can something sentient be owned, or is it wrong to own sentient beings, even if they’re machines? If I had a positronic brain, would I find my pants?
 
ROBOTS ARE TECHNOLOGY SHAPED LIKE SQUARE PEOPLE.

They're mainly used for destroying Japan and serving hors d'oveurs.

Seriously, the movie had nothing to do with the book. The book is fun, but very dated. It's mostly a series of logic problems:

This robot did something REALLY screwy that makes no sense. Why? Something to do with those wacky 3 laws. If you like that sort of thing, you will like the book.
 
For the record, Bean and PT are referring the the book "I, Robot," not "How to Survive a Robot Uprising," which I linked above and which is clearly the more important of the two.

PT - Strong Bad knows you are quoting him without attribution. He is most displeased.
 
I'll send him some "I'll be your best friend"s and it'll be squared.
 
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