Asimov's rules come to life

It's cool whenever speculative fiction comes to life. Years ago, Isaac Asimov introduced us to the three rules of robotics. A few years back, Hollywood reminded us of these rules with the Will Smith celluloid version of the guidelines in I-Robot.

Now we see real world application...check out this article out of Hamburg. Industrial robots are featured here...but it's a start.

We don't have any robots with complicated decision making skills to be concerned about yet. But it seems like a good starting point to apply sensitivity logic to the current brutes. This way there will be a foundation for good practices in place.

Although most of us aren't personally concerned about robots getting out of control (yet), we could face an escalation of technology very soon to rival that of the Internet. Within a few short years the Worldwide Web took off like a rocket ship. If robotics have their heyday soon, we may need to be prepared. The mechanical servant version of spam could be a bit more nasty.

More on robot laws

Following up on some of my past commentary based on Korea's penchant for robot laws, I must temper my earlier rhetoric. In this recent article, the fascination with robots in Korea became more apparent to me.

Most interesting is the R&D fact: according to the article, Korea spends 80 million dollars a year in developing new robotic gadgets.

This makes a bit more sense now...even though this figure might seem low by U.S. standards, it still shows a profound inclination for motorized helpers on a GNP basis. So, I tip my hat to their Asimovian reverence. In this case, it does seem to be safe rather than sorry...even though they will inevitably need to amend their robot laws to meet future needs.

Robot rights: too soon

In this recent post you'll find an analysis of recent efforts regarding standards of robotic treatment and control. Again, I feel like I've taken another nasty dose of crazy pills.

Until I start seeing robots used beyond factories and a few test homes, I can't see the need for this kind of legislating. As a US citizen, I'm glad it's not an effort here to thrust my country into the leading-edge spotlight. It's Korea and the UK leading the charge this time around.

Perhaps speculative fiction, in this case "I,Robot" by Isaac Asimov, does too good of a job sometimes. As the article points out, they are talking about "the three laws of robotics" in Korea -- a direct adoption of Asimov's book.

We may need such rules in a future world where robots are more prevalent. But I don't think now is the time. The situation will change by the time we need such societal guidance. I think we'd be wise to let the situation unfold a bit longer before drafting new laws.

Thoughts?