Isaac Asimov's Robot Series

Friend or foe? Good or evil? Helpful or harmful? These are all great questions associated with technology in today’s society. From the new iPhone 7 to self-driving cars technology can either be beneficial or detrimental. In certain cases technology may be helpful, but is it really necessary? Is the evolution of technology really bettering our society or is it sending us down a dangerous path that will ultimately lead to destruction? The progression of technology in human civilization is a foe; it’s uncontrollable, unpredictable, takes commitment, and complicates life. Technology can be reliable for certain tasks; however, as the advancements in technology progress, human control over the technology is minimized. As seen in “Liar,” by Isaac…

At the end of Isaac Asimov 's The Caves of Steel, robots seem to be the salvation of the human race, as foreseen by Dr. Fastolfe and the spacers--a highly advanced society of humans from the outer worlds. At the same time the spacers believe they have preserved the future of humanity, however, in an event foreshadowing how robots will one day represent a threat to humanity and perhaps the failure of the spacers’ plan, Robot Daneel Olivaw says the most shocking lines of the story: “[g]o and sin…

1.0 Introduction As robots get smarter and more widespread, independent cars are bound to end up making life-or-death decisions in unpredictable places, thus taking over or at least seeming to assume moral authority. Weapons systems currently have human operators “in the loop”, simply as they get more advanced, it will be possible to shift to “on the loop” operation, with machines carrying out orders autonomously. As that occurs, they will be faced with ethical dilemmas. Should a drone fire on a…

In Isaac Asimov’s short story “Reason”, the author provides a detailed account of a robot’s creation and upbringing. The robot, named Cutie was created on earth and shipped to space in separate parts; therefore he has no knowledge of Earth or any other bodies in space. Cutie’s stubbornness and reasoned thinking led one of the scientists to comment, “Oh, Jupiter, a robot Descartes” (p. 51). Cutie has a lot of similarities with René Descartes. Both Cutie and Descartes possess infinite curiosity,…

Introduction Isaac Asimov, the prolific writer With over five hundred published books, Isaac Asimov was one of the world’s most prolific writers. In addition to his books, he also wrote many individual short stories, essays, and criticism. An interesting fact about Asimov is that his works span nine out of the ten major categories in the Dewey Decimal System — the only category that does not include any of his works is Philosophy and psychology. This makes Asimov unique in the sense that he…

which perform large calculations in seconds, to modern robots that look like humans and are increasingly playing essential roles to human life as in health care, for example. Although the relationship among humans and robots remains controversial as regards the health care, it can be inferred that the usage of robots with this aim is beneficial and inevitable. However, this application should take into account the ethical considerations of that relationship. The usage of technology to…

Throughout the novel, each robot displays that as AI increases in complexity, as do the consequences for the humans involved. Asimov created three laws of robotics - which are expressed in both the novel and the film – which are intended to keep all robots under control and beneficial to humans (45). One of the earliest robots in the novel, Speedy, is programmed to follow orders and maintain a balance of the three laws. This robot represents potential dangers of narrow AI because even when…

I particularly liked how the director presented the entire film in a serious manner and not campy or intentionally exaggerated that befalls so many science fiction films of that era. Forbidden Planet is a true classic and expertly made by director Fred M. Wilcox. By adding the Shakespearian themes from Irving Block and Allen Adler’s story combined with screenwriter Cyril Hume’s script, and the film’s great cast like Walter Pidgeon, Leslie Nielson and Anne Francis, all helped translate a…

The use of robots, programmed machines capable of automatically carrying out a specific series of tasks, was once only a foreseeable reality if you were a strong believer in science fiction novels. Now, the implementation of robots to complete tasks that were once only done by humans is now a reality. Presently, robots serve in many different aspects of society and their influence is predicted to increase indefinitely. Regardless of one’s viewpoint about the use of robots and what a robots’ role…