Isaac Asimov thrills the reader with his story-telling ability in "I, Robot". Of course, many of Asimov's ideas provide a ploy to add suspense to the story. However, when the plot completely disagree with the laws which he himself has written, the story becomes confusing. On the surface, it appears that his stories make legitimate and logical sense, as well as entertaining the audience in a magnificent way. However, any deeper analysis of the story will prove that there are several significant flaws in the work. This can best be shown in one of Asimov's earlier stories, "Reason." In this story, the first and second of the three laws of robotics are broken. It is never explained how it would be possible for these malfunctions to have occurred. Still, the work does raise some very interesting ethical, moral, and philosophical issues.
The story "Reason" has flaws from the start that conflict with both the first and second law of robotics. The first law states, "A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm." The second law states, "A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law." These laws were established by Asimov as the basic fundamental ideas which can never be broken without the robot malfunctioning. This, however, does not hold true in "Reason." As the story goes, Michael Donovan and Gregory Powell finished building a new robot known as QT-1 (Cutie) to help them run Solar Station #5. However, as soon as Cutie is functioning, he questions his existence and his ability to think for himself. Donovan and Powell both attempt to exp...
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...ons are difficult to pick up after reading the story only once. It was only after reading the story a second time that I was able to pick out some of the flaws. It should also be noted that this is a bunch of science fiction stories, made up completely by Asimov. It should not be read on a technical level or for its content because it is written for the enjoyment of its readers. It can be compared to watching a Jim Carrey movie. When one watches this type of movie, he should expect to see a silly comedy and not a movie with deep emotion and meaning. The laws of nature are bent and broken to help the audience further enjoy the movie. Similarly, the people who read Asimov should not expect to read a book that follows every rule to its entirety. While Asimov's book is fictitious, it is still enjoyed by millions of readers.
R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots) was set in the post World War 1 era. The war led to an increase in production and industrialization throughout most of the world. The assembly line and humans that did monotonous tasks at work became much more common. Some felt that that this physical labor was inhuman. Rossum sought to find a way to make human labor unnecessary so that humans could do as they pleased and find only pleasure in life.
Reason by Isaac Asimov is a short story that takes place on a space station where humans (Mike Donovan and Gregory Powell) in conjunction with robots work together to supply solar energy to planets. A special robot named QT-1 who was created by Powell and Donovan is the first to question his existence and they try to explain it to him. Upon explaining to him Cutie is unable to believe this and thus formulates his own theory for existence. This brings us to a central theme throughout the story which is the constant questioning of humanity and its existence. Cutie can also be seen a metaphor of the human mind as he constantly questions his existence much like how humans tend to question reasons for their own existence.
What role will computers play in the future? What happens when artificial intelligence gets to the point of actually allowing machines to give birth to original thoughts, or suppose artificial intelligence became identical or superior to human intelligence? While attempting to answer these thought-provoking questions deeper questions arise that are more pertinent in our lives such as what defines being human, or as Morpheous says, “What is…real?” The Matrix as well as the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, by Phillip K. Dick, attempt to answer these questions through different matrices. These matrices are implemented into stories to provoke thought and ask the question, what if?
Everyone is faced with difficult obstacles at some point in his or her life, whether or not they are able to overcome them can define them as a person. Every story has a plot, but a plot is determined by the characters and their actions to events that take place in the story. According to the article “Science Fiction Images of Computers and Robots” written by Patricia S. Warrick, many of the plots in Asimov’s novels depend on “computers and robots [along with] space exploration and development” (54). Characters in the novels written by Isaac Asimov have to figure out the capabilities of new technology, understand other characters, and find solutions to problems with no end in sight. Characters’ actions and responses to problems play large roles in the plot of a story. The characters in Asimov’s novels have to solve problems that could affect the future of humankind. With such great advancements in technology, the humans begin to worry that technology such as robots will take over and become the primary race. In Isaac Asimov’s novel, Foundation and Empire, one of the themes is deception and some characters use deception to get what they want, and in a world of power, they became the most powerful of all. When the structure of organizations and countries begin to fall apart in the world, there are some people who will do almost anything to gain power. In Asimov’s eyes, the future world is going to be enormous expanding across galaxies, having unlimited technology, and billions of people. Asimov is one of few writers who has had success writing novels containing science fiction and mystery. Isaac Asimov depicts similar themes of power and deception by using the plot, characters, and setting, while the use of all these makes him an i...
Artificial Intelligence is very similar to Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein in that the underlying themes, questions asked, and moral issues raised are the same.
...nstilled a strong atheist background, using the book as a way to mock everyday human affairs concerning religion, politics, science, and basically everything logical and governing in the modern world. He provides a new angle of looking at meaning in life, and brings the notion that people should accept the fact of the universe as it is instead of searching for a deeper meaning. The quest of searching for scientific answers in the book leads to an insignificant conclusion of 42, and even the novel itself ends in an abruptly senseless moment. He uses the novel as a way of demonstrating the meaninglessness of getting answers to the unknown mysteries of the universe. Which is why many of his book's plots remain potholed. His characters are also instilled in the early 60s-70s persona, with their new outlook on life and desire for materialism and carefree social behaviour.
One of the major technological advancements in Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 is the development of robots. The Mechanical Hound, a fierce creature that seems to have powers greater than human ones, “represent[s] the whole technological society for Montag” (Kerr). This creature was created to catch criminals a...
In "Reason," Asimov cleverly uses a robot as an analogy of the human mind. The reader becomes aware of this as the conversation of Powell, the human supervisor, and Cutie unfolds at the beginning of the story. Cutie possesses an innate curiosity and asks a question that has preoccupied human beings since the dawn of mankind: what is the purpose of my existence? This is a symbol of the human mind's inquisitive nature. Cutie also uses the word, "intuition," (Asimov 96) and this too indicates that Cutie is Asimov's representation of human nature. The discourse with Powell also enables the reader to witness how Cutie uses reason to explain his existence. By doing so, Asimov shows how a human mind can reason and formulate a belief.
In 2001: A Space Odyssey, the betterment of mankind ultimately is his undoing. The first true AI, HAL. Considered to be 100% error proof fails and murders several humans whose lives he was entrusted with. 2001: A Space Odyssey continues to demonstrate the theme of man vs. nature through the scientists interaction with the obelisk, and Bowman's travel through the solar system. It is considered to be a classic because of the very stylistic camera shots and odd yet entirely working film score.
First Law: A robot must never harm a human being or, through inaction, allow any human to come to harm.
Frankenstein is the story of dead body parts being brought to life through the use of electricity. After witnessing the creature's action readers are left asking if the human brain is sufficient for thinking or if there is more to thinking than a brain? Other Science Fiction writers took this to a different level and "created" the robot, a non-human thinking machine. Frankenstein is on the cusp of humans and non-humans and the beginning of the debate of what it means to artificially think. These imagined ideas caused others to think about making these ideas a reality. Marvin Minsky, one of the original scientists involved in establishing artificial intelligence, cites Science Fiction as one of his major motivators to enter the world of AI. It was not until the summer of 1956 that scientists felt that it might be possible to write non-fiction accounts of robots at some point in the near future.
Epstein, Richard. The case of the killer robot: stories about the professional, ethical and societal dimensions of computing. John Wiley and Sons. 1996.
Over all the book was very good. The concepts went right along with what was in the book. This was a very interesting, and fun book to read.
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein was a literary piece that touched on many different issues, not only in her time, but also today. The creation of life in Frankenstein was Shelley’s symbolic warning to the new industrialized era. “It also [can] be seen to be warning about the dangers of uncontrolled application of technology and its use without proper morality” (Brachneos). The warning in Frankenstein applies today more than ever because of the creation of AI (Artificial Intelligence) and computers that “think for themselves” The two are connected in a sense. Some would argue that Victor, the character that created the monster wanting to play od, is like the programmers of AI computers today.
Douglas Adams wrote “the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy” series, he uses a lot of creative imagery and diction through his first book “hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy”. The way he describes the universe and its unusual characters, it’s so moving. The imagery is so smart describing spaceships, aliens, and life. His themes is iconic through this book, it's just so unique and cannot be copied or that would be plagiarism (duh). His imagery, diction, and theme are entertaining, making the reader laugh through a book, learning about little life tips, and getting irreplaceable imagery with words describing beyond the world.