Robots! Beware!
by Isaac Asimov
Tuesday, May 9th, 2006
I invented the Three Laws of Robotics in 1942, and these laws, which are built into the robots of my science-fiction stories, prevent them from harming human beings, force them to follow orders, and make them protect themselves, in that order of importance.
Of course, the robots in which I imagined these laws to exist are complex fictional robots, far more advanced than anything in real life (as yet). In contrast, the robots in industrial assembly lines right now are just com- puterized arms, capable of doing simple tasks over and over.
But they are capable of doing harm, and, as the inventor of the laws, I always feel guilty.