Monday 25 January 2010

Robot homicide anniversary


On this day in 1979, the first incident occurred where a robot killed a human being.

In order to prevent this sort of thing, Isaac Asimov posed his First Law of Robotics:
A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
Or as Terry Pratchett more sensibly completed it:
A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm–unless ordered to do so by duly constituted authority.
As Lord Vetinari put it,
A hammer can hardly refuse to hit the nail on the head, nor a saw to make moral judgments about the nature of the timber.
Far more sensible.

1 comment:

jayessell said...

I thought the 1st DBR was in Japan.

One of the one armed robots failed, and the technician entered the fenced in area defined by its reach.

When he disconnected a hydrolic line the arm lowered crushing him.