this post was submitted on 16 May 2024
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Funny

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[–] [email protected] 126 points 6 months ago (4 children)
  1. One of the points of the books is that the laws were inherently flawed.

  2. Given that we're talking about a Google product, you might have more success asking if they're bound by the Ferengi Rules of Acquisition?

[–] [email protected] 79 points 6 months ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 51 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Doesnt really change the joke.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago

It makes it less funny, or more funny depending on how you look at it.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 months ago

So the answer is “of course!”

[–] [email protected] 18 points 6 months ago (3 children)

IDK if I missed something or I just disagree, but I remember all but maybe one short story ending up with the laws working as intended (though unexpectedly) and humanity being better as a result.

Didn't they end with humanity being controlled by a hyper-intelligent benevolent dictator, which ensured humans were happy and on a good path?

[–] [email protected] 16 points 6 months ago (2 children)

Technically R Daneel Olivaw wasn't a dictator. Just a shadowy hand that guides.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 months ago

... Secret dictator then. Dr. Doom is similar.

Listen, people talk shit about rules of government but it doesn't really matter what the government is as long as the people get what they truly want that's beneficial to them and ideally our culture and environment.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 months ago
[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 months ago (2 children)

I thought it was Asiimovs books, but apparently not. Which one had the 3 fundamental rules lead to the solution basically being: "Humans can not truly be safe unless they're extinct" or something along those lines... Been a long time since I've explored the subjects.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 6 months ago

I mean... Kind of Asimov's robot series? Except the androids/robots were trying so hard to stay to the rules and protect humans but at every chance they could humans fucked that up or refused to see the plan.

At least as I recall, the robots basically came up with multi-millenia spanning plans that would solve all of humanity's problems and then humans were like: "Cool. But what if we made robots detectives and they could also target people we don't like?" Then the robots fucked off for a while and a bunch of stuff happened and... Yeah. Asimov wrote a lot of books.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 months ago

That's a bit like plot of I, Robot the movie, which has practically nothing to do with I, Robot the book. Asimov's robots would never do that.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago

humanity being controlled by a hyper-intelligent benevolent dictator, which ensured humans were happy and on a good path?

Well that's better than the current path the world is on, let's switch to this one guys

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 months ago

Rule of Aquisition #239: Never be afraid to mislabel a product

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago (1 children)

the laws were inherently flawed.

Example A: Demerzel

[–] [email protected] 9 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

The robot that was bestowed with unimaginable precognician that survived for 20 Millenia patiently guiding humanity along the right path as prescribed by the Zeroth law of robotics forced on it that drove all other robots mad?

The robot that at every turn was curtailed by human lust and greed? That had to do horrible things because humanity lacked the foresight to see that charging a living being with "Doing no harm to humanity or by inaction causing harm" would be just awful for that soul?

Pretty sure Demerzel always worked in the shadows for the greater good. Especially when operating as Olivaw.

Seems to me like humans are the ones that kept messing up the laws of robotics. Not the other way around.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Sounds like an amazing story but I have never heard of it. What is it called?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 months ago (1 children)

It's the Robots->Empire->Foundation series written by Isaac Asimov and it's an amazing treat reading them in chronological order

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago

You're in for a good couple of weeks to months of reading depending on how fast you read.

Really fun set of series. Reddit had a great Asimov sub with recommended reading orders since Asimov had the tendency to publish things in a weird timeline. Any way you choose is a fantastic time though.