Laws of Robotics

From Fancyclopedia 2, ca. 1959

One of the real inventions in the field of stfantasy. The laws worked out by Isaac Asimov in his US Robots and Mechanical Men (aka Positronic Robots, and Susan Calvin) Series declare a robot may not harm nor allow to be harmed any human; a robot must obey all orders given it by authority unless they conflict with 1.; a robot must preserve its existence except when this would conflict with 1. or 2. Others have also developed the idea, if not in just this form then at least as a definite set of built-in laws of robotic behavior whose consequences are fictionally explored. from Fancyclopedia 2 Supplement ca. 1960: These were actually suggested by Campbell, Asimov having merely suggested that they existed.

According to Asimov, he did not originate the Laws, but was given them by John W. Campbell, who said: "Go and write stories based on this!". He did coin the term robotics, though, in his May 1941 Astounding story, “Liar!” Although foreshadowed in this story, the “Three Laws” were first spelled out in “Runaround” (Astounding, March 1942).

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Fiction

1942—

This is a fiction page, describing fictional ideas and characters