I, Robot
Asimov's world of I, Robot is indeed a legendary glimpse into the advancement of robotic science in all its glory. When this book was first written in 1950 I would have loved to have seen the book reviews and peoples' reactions, as even today the books isn't outdated. There is a lot to learn from this author. Asimov was a visionary who saw the evolution of things in action and how it could be hampered: human possibilities and perils included. I, Robot is an intergalactic parable centered on robotic advancement and the fragile Laws of Robotics it is based on, and both the pursuit and the structure of the pursuit are in question. The characters throughout the story are faced with many mishaps, discoveries, and glitches with the robots they must test, try out and troubleshoot. Most of the mishaps are in the very logic or thinking process of these metal beings. Though limited, there seems to be a dawning of reflective consciousness, or rather the ability to understand the notion of "I am" which adds an increased complexity into keeping the Laws of Robotics workable and safe for humans. Somehow, some way these robots find ways around the laws, but are their attempts intentional? Has their logic evolved and we didn
Indeed they are both fantasy/sci-fi, but the only things I saw linking the two were: the strange Descartian logic (reality issue) and that in both books, if changes weren't made or care not taken would spell doom. I am sure I am way of the mark with my comparisons, but this is what first struck me. You cannot (at least theoretically) pre-program reflective consciousness. We can bend the laws and modify them. The characters in this story seem very real and you are on the edge and frustrated along with them as they try to solve and understand the robots' behaviors dilemma by dilemma. I would suspect that their little world could easily be overtaken by invasion, and they would seem like social misfits outside of their element. But, isn't this the hallmark of this genre? In The Tombs of Atuan these folks are locked into baby-sitting the spirits of an age long legend, which seem never to change, grow or be questioned by the masses with time. Now isn't this also a law - self-preservation -, which for most is the highest priority? In this story we are lead to believe that a lot of the issues lie in the positronic brains of these robots, but the company that builds them are clueless about how they work. I did get an overall feeling or impression from both books. In Tombs of Atuan it felt very dark and I felt buried (and it was a sort of underground world), and in I, Robot I felt cornered or trapped by these robots, as they were everywhere. If there is something I am missing in comparison I am sure I will have learned it in class, but initially only the above came to mind. I honestly didn't get any more comparisons between the two stories though I really wanted to write a comparative essay. Scary? Also, modifications to the basic robotic laws in order to adapt a robot to a particular job environment also causes logic and safety issues. reality, philosophical isolation ("centric").
Common topics in this essay:
Laws Robotics,
Tombs Atuan,
Robot Asimov's,
Atuan Robot,
tombs atuan,
consciousness ability,
world robot,
laws robotics,
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Acceptance Essays
