The world imitates science fiction once again, as South Korea announces a project to draw up a code of ethics “to stop humans misusing robots – or vice versa.”

“Hye-Young adds that the government’s guidelines will reflect the “Three Laws of Robotics” put forward by science fiction author Isaac Asimov.”

Good old Isaac - his mark on history is assured, the media can’t write a robot article without giving him a plug…

This headline rang Pavlovian bells for me, and I realised that was because I blogged about a very similar announcement from the European Robotics Research Network back in June 2006, in a post called ‘Legislating against robot rape‘ (which naturally mentions Asimov’s Laws, because I wasn’t so worried about cliche back then, cough cough):

“You can’t rape an autonomous vacuum cleaner (although you could conceivably have sex with it, and knowing humans, people probably already have - the tales of people with vacuum related injuries turning up in casualty departments are too common to be completely unfounded). But something with a mind of its own, however limited? That’s another question entirely.”

Despite its potential import, it’s a hard subject to treat seriously in journalistic mode - but it seems to fare far better in fiction. Curious.

As mentioned previously, yours truly is off to a ‘Cafe Scientifique’ about conscious machines this evening. So what better time to discuss robot ethics? Continue reading “Legislating against robot rape”

Robots are getting everywhere these days; hell, the government of South Korea reckon every household there will have one by the year 2020. But it’s not just helpful domestic tasks they are being created to accomplish - now lazy graffiti artists can use them to spray with an accuracy of line that a shaky human hand would find hard to achieve.

Continue reading “Use robots to fight the system”

We all need a bit of techno-fetish light relief every now and again. Continue reading “Amphibious robo-snake action”

Author Margaret Atwood has had someone make her a device with which she can ‘virtually’ attend book-signings across the world, without having to stray out of her home. Continue reading “Atwood autographs by remote control”

ComBots - Combat Robots, the largest fighting robot show in the world.

If any UK readers were ever disappointed by Robot Wars (for me personally, Craig Charles was a travesty, especially after the Red Dwarf years, but Phillipa Forrester…hell yeah, no complaints), here is the real deal. The weapons are far more hard core, there’s much less nampy-pamby restriction of brutality. Damn those Yanks, they always have to go one better…