Labels: text | machine OCR: ROBOTS IN FILM THE LAWS OF ROBOTICS INTERPLANETARY SPACECRAFT Isaac Asimov (1920-1992) is undoubtedly the most well- known science fiction writer in the United Sates. Born in Smolensk, USSR, Asimov immigrated to the United States with his parents at the age of three. After obtaining his Ph. D. at Columbia University, he joined Boston University as a professor of biochemistry. He published more than 300 volumes, including the spectacularly popular Foundation series inspired by the fall of the Roman Empire. As early as 1940, Asimov defended robotics, contesting widespread fears that robots are a threat to humanity. His laws of robotics were meant to establish behavioral limits for our new, mechanical servants. However, there is a major weakness in Asimov's first law. Imagine that two human beings decide to kill each other. A robot confronted with this situation would be absolutely unable to act according to Asimov's first law-unless it had a vast power of imagination and could devise a "trick" to neutralize both humans without hurting them. Such imaginative capability would, however, undoubtedly be difficult to program ... MARS BETAT
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