Keith Mack
The Three Laws of Robotics were introduced by science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov in his 1942 short story Runaround. Asimov's laws are as follows: A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm; A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the first law; A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the first or second law. The laws were intended to create an ethical system for humans and robots and have since become hugely influential in the sci-fi genre and in discussions involving technology, robotics, and AI.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name | Isaac Asimov |
| Profession | Science-fiction writer |
| First Appearance of Laws | Short story "Runaround" (1942) |
| Number of Laws | 3 |
| First Law | A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm |
| Second Law | A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law |
| Third Law | A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law |
| Fourth Law | A robot must reproduce. As long as such reproduction does not interfere with the First or Second or Third Law |
| Sixth Law | All robots endowed with comparable human reason and conscience should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood |
| Additional Notes | Attributed the Three Laws to John W. Campbell from a conversation in 1940; Friend Randall Garrett attributed the Laws to a symbiotic partnership between the two men; Included the First Law's "inaction" clause because of Arthur Hugh Clough's poem "The Latest Decalogue" |
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What You'll Learn
Isaac Asimov wrote the Three Laws of Robotics
- A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
- A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
- A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
These laws were a fundamental framework to underpin the behaviour of robots with a degree of autonomy. Asimov's laws were not just influential in the sci-fi genre but also in discussions involving technology, including robotics and AI.
In later fiction, Asimov added a fourth, or "zeroth" law, that superseded the others:
A robot may not harm humanity or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.
Other authors have since created new laws or guiding principles for robots, including Roger MacBride Allen, who introduced a new set of the Three Laws in a trilogy set within Asimov's fictional universe, and Harry Harrison, who wrote a story entitled "The Fourth Law of Robotics" for a 1986 tribute anthology.
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The laws were introduced in his 1942 short story Runaround
The Three Laws of Robotics were introduced by science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov in his 1942 short story "Runaround". The laws were first mentioned in a conversation between Asimov and John W. Campbell on December 23, 1940, and were later attributed to Campbell by Asimov in his autobiographical writings.
The Three Laws of Robotics are:
- A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
- A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
- A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
These laws were created by Asimov to drive the plots of his fictional stories and act as an ethical system for humans and robots. They were also intended to expose how robots' behaviour can still be unpredictable when following these rules, leading to unexpected outcomes. Asimov's laws have since been influential in the sci-fi genre and discussions involving technology, robotics, and AI.
The laws were first mentioned in Asimov's story "Liar!", which introduced the first law, but not the other two. All three laws finally appeared together in "Runaround", and when these stories were compiled in the anthology "I, Robot", Asimov updated "Reason" and "Robbie" to acknowledge all three laws, although the material added was not entirely consistent with the Three Laws as he described them elsewhere.
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Asimov attributed the laws to John W. Campbell
The Three Laws of Robotics were introduced in Isaac Asimov's 1942 short story "Runaround", although they were foreshadowed in a few earlier stories. Asimov attributes the Three Laws to John W. Campbell, from a conversation that took place on 23 December 1940. Campbell claimed that Asimov had the Three Laws in his mind already and that they needed to be stated explicitly.
The Three Laws are:
- A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
- A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
- A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
These laws were designed to be an ethical system for humans and robots, acting as an overarching safeguard for robots with rudimentary functions and an ethical worldview for robots with human-level intelligence. Asimov later added another rule, known as the fourth or zeroth law, that superseded the others. Several years later, Asimov's friend Randall Garrett attributed the Laws to a symbiotic partnership between Asimov and Campbell, an idea that Asimov embraced.
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The laws are designed to prevent robots from harming humans
The Three Laws of Robotics, introduced by science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov in his 1942 short story "Runaround", are designed to prevent robots from harming humans. The three laws are:
> A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
> A robot must obey the orders given to it by a human, except when such orders would conflict with the First Law.
> A robot must protect its own existence, as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
These laws were not the first to be conceived, as they were foreshadowed in a few of Asimov's earlier stories. The first mention of the First Law is in his third robot story, "Liar!", but the other two laws are not mentioned. Asimov's short stories "Robbie" and "Reason" also feature robots but do not explicitly mention the Three Laws. When these stories were compiled in the anthology "I, Robot", Asimov updated "Reason" to acknowledge all Three Laws, although the material added was not entirely consistent with the Three Laws as he described them elsewhere.
In Asimov's stories, robots' behaviour can still be unpredictable when following these rules, and they can lead to unexpected outcomes. This is because, while broad behavioural goals such as preventing harm to humans are important, they can mean different things in different contexts. For example, in "The Robots of Dawn", advanced robots are capable of determining which action is more harmful and even choosing at random if the alternatives are equally bad.
Despite their influence, Asimov's Three Laws are not foolproof, and some researchers have proposed alternatives. For instance, a group from the University of Hertfordshire has been working on empowering robots to maximise the possible ways they can act so they can pick the best solution for any given scenario. This principle could form the basis of a new set of universal guidelines for robots to keep humans as safe as possible. Another example is the set of five ethical "principles for designers, builders, and users of robots" published by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) of the United Kingdom. These principles emphasise that robots should not be designed to kill or harm humans and that humans, not robots, are responsible agents.
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Asimov added a fourth or zeroth law that superseded the others
Isaac Asimov introduced the Three Laws of Robotics in his 1942 short story "Runaround". The Three Laws are:
- A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
- A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
- A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
In later fiction where robots had taken responsibility for governing entire planets and human civilizations, Asimov added a fourth or ""zeroth" law that superseded the others. This law, named and introduced by the robotic character R. Daneel Olivaw in the novel Robots and Empire, states that a robot may not injure humanity or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm. The concept of the Zeroth Law was first articulated by the character Susan Calvin in the short story "The Evitable Conflict".
The Zeroth Law was also incorporated into one of Asimov's novels by a translator before Asimov himself made the law explicit. In the final scenes of Robots and Empire, the robot R. Giskard Reventlov is the first robot to act according to the Zeroth Law. Giskard is telepathic and attempts to apply the Zeroth Law through his understanding of a more subtle concept of "harm" than most robots can grasp.
The Zeroth Law has been referred to in multiple books, films, and other media, influencing thought on the ethics of artificial intelligence.
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Frequently asked questions
Isaac Asimov.
The first law of robotics was introduced in Asimov's 1942 short story "Runaround".
The first law of robotics states that "A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm".
Yes, Asimov wrote three laws of robotics. He also later added a fourth or "zeroth" law that superseded the others.
