Robots Robots Robots

     Robots in science fiction hold a very special place in my heart. Robot stories allow for a unique kind of introspection that can't be done with most science fiction stories. As far back as ancient times  human beings have speculated about creating life and the implications of living alongside artificial beings. It wasn't until 1920 however that Karel Capek gave the word robot to the world. Since the premiere of capek's play "Rossum's Universal Robots," Automatons have been a massive part of science fiction who's most well known contributor was Isaac Asimov. Asimov's anthology "I, Robot" changed everything for scfi. It raised the bar for what was acceptable work and what was not. Later Brian Aldiss contributed to robot stories by writing "Super-Toys Last All Summer Long" which impressed Stanley Kubrick enough that he decided to base a movie after the story. Stephen Spielberg would later finish what Kubrick started by producing and directing A.I.
     In Asimov's story "Reason" we encounter the first robot with the ability to think for itself. The robot believes itself to be superior to human beings and does not believe that humans create robots. However the robot is still beholden to the three laws of robotics. The robot claims that it does not take orders from humans yet it does stop the electron storm from hitting the Earth because that is what its programming commands it to do. The robot never violates the second law of robotics. The second law states that a robot must obey all orders given to it by human beings unless these orders conflict with the first law. The first law of robotics states that a robot must never harm a human being or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm. Therefore when the robot does not allow the humans to operate the equipment in the control room it is obeying the second law by not taking orders that would possibly bring a human being to harm. The story as a whole however is Cartesian in nature. What is real? Are humans just machines or do we truly have free will? Does the robot have free will as it says it does or is it just carrying out its programming like Descartes said we humans do?
     Aldiss' story is more pessimistic than Asimov's stories are. Aldiss' world is one where overpopulation has cultivated a detachment human beings feel for other human beings. This detachment results in the creation of robots that are more human than humans. These robots keep people company and offer them a sense of companionship. The humans in this world have drifted out of touch and have stopped asking the questions that we used to ask. Questions like where did we come from? How did we get here? Where are we going? Do we matter? Only the robots ask these questions now. The pivotal moment in this story is when the David's owners find out to their jubilation that they are allowed to produce a child. David is viewed as a commodity and nothing more.

Update:

Last class made me think about the development of Artificial intelligence and whether or not it's ethical to pursue the development of A.I. I think that the question to whether A.I. is ethical or not isn't relevant to human progress.Human's move forward with technology no matter who tries to stop them. All cultures that rejected progress in any way were inevitably consumed or destroyed by cultures that did progress technologically. The law of accelerating returns states that exponential growth is inevitable in the universe. That means that ethical or no there is nothing we can do to stop the progression of technology. The only thing we can hope for is the solace that comes with rational and/or benevolent players developing this technology.