Will Isaac Asimov save us all?

I'm posting the the written version of my video essay since I have been having problems with the upload to Youtube. Initially this topic was going to be a post entry in the blog, but when I saw the AI in the possible contents for it, I decided to make it a video. So without further ado here it is.

Today I'm here to tell you how Isaac Asimov is going to save the world as we know and let me tell you a little about him, in case you don't know him. He was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000 letters and postcards.

Getting back to this about saving the world, I know It could sounds stupid when you heard it, but it's not like he is going to come out of his grave, flying with a big A on his chest, no. What I'm talking about are the 3 laws of robotic made by him and John Campbell. These are a set of rules, introduced in his short story called "Runaround" from  1942, made to be followed by robots with artificial intelligence, as a protective action for humans. They were the first measure in the area of the Machine Ethics, and such laws are:

        1.- A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to

            come to harm.

       2.- A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders

           would conflict with the First Law.

       3.- A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict

           with the First or Second Law.

According to Asimov, the laws were made to counter a "Frankenstein Complex", where the machines made by humans could rebel and rise against them. And in such case, if the robot broke any of these rules, it would kill itself.

It's because of the complexity required by these laws that in terms of reasoning, is needed a highly advanced artificial intelligence to accomplish them. So even if this is made for a far away future, is necessary and imminent to think about this kind of issues. Robotic is rapidly becoming one of the leading fields of science and technology, so that very soon we are going to coexist with a whole new class of technological artifacts. In fact we already are, if you take in count cell phones and computer, even if they don't have a complete artificial intelligence and... a body with movement, technology is on its way to reach it.

Actually there are a lot of robotic projects being funded. For example, one of them is the robot designed and developed by the Japanese corporation HONDA, called ASIMO, which is n acronym for Advanced Step in Innovative MObility. Coincidence? I don't think so. By the time is the most elaborate humandroid ever constructed and the result of nearly thirty years of research. It can talk and move y itself. being able to perform various movements, such as walking, running, climbing steps and even jumping in one leg, also it can seize, punch, carry, open and turn on a diverse array of objects.

So what does it tell us? We are closer to artificial intelligence of what we think, without even realizing it, and perhaps one day these 3 laws could save lives. Because you never know what could happen. Yeah today Furbys are fluffy toys and tomorrow they will be killing machines with a desire to conquer us all. No but seriously, we may never know when AI could become a double edge weapon, because if science fiction has taught us something is that we have to be aware of our own creations.

That's the importance of these 3 laws, in form of a encrypted code in the brain of every robot with AI, and why only 3? There could be dozens of them, covering others subjects of importance, not only harm and death, even Asimov added and changed their own laws in his book, but always with the first 3 as a base.

So it's very important that artificial intelligence have an ethical behavior, but it's not only worrying an ethical behavior in robots, but also in us like humans. We as masters and creators of future AI, have to be responsible for their actions and use and even our. After all we wouldn't finish like the people in the movie Wall-E, don't we? So in conclusion, even if Asimov's Laws aren't apply exactly like he wrote them, we can definitely say that he was the pioneer in the field of machine ethics.