Law in Contemporary Society

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TheFirstLawOfRobotics 4 - 28 Jun 2012 - Main.HarryKhanna
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 Today I came across a Forbes article based on a brief phone interview with Eben. The focus was on internet security, specifically in the context of mobile technology. As a huge fan of Asimov, I found it particularly interesting because of Eben’s reference to the First Law of Robotics, and how science fiction has generally predicted the interaction between humans and robots.

The First Law of Robotics states that “a robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.” According to Eben, what our modern day “robots” – our smartphones – do to us on a daily basis is exactly the opposite, and he lists a variety of ways in which this is done.

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 I have to admit, I'm right there with you on most of this. Of course, it's easier for me to be worry-free about my information, because I'm still using a RAZR phone (and I don't mean the Droid one); there's only so much information to be intercepted from a T9 text. I understand you're not concerned about any investigation now, but if you use your degree to craft social change then there's no guarantee you won't get under VIP skin. In any case, I think a key question is whether you assign any independent value to the privacy of your information. I share your mindset to a large extent, I think; I'm not worried about my information being particularly interesting to the powers that be. Yet I still don't want the world to know what I'm up to, where, and with who on a 24/7 basis, even if no one cares.

-- MarcLegrand - 28 Jun 2012

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>		It is perceptive of Eben to apply the Laws of Robotics to the devices we carry around and use. But the trouble I've always had with the Laws is that they are not laws of nature or science. They are laws of judgment and emotion. Law #1, for example, is that a robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. But what does it mean to injure? Is collecting data on our habits and selling that information to advertisers 'injury?' It probably depends on whom you ask. I think it's injury, but my 14 year old cousin who posts about every little thing on Facebook probably does not consider it injury. Thus, it is a law that requires judgment.

Since interpretation of the law is fact-sensitive and relies on human emotion and experience, I can't see how the laws of robotics could ever be programmed into a robot, or any device for that matter. At least until we build our devices to exhibit judgment and emotion... but that's probably not going to happen for the foreseeable future.

-- HarryKhanna 28 Jun 2012


Revision 4r4 - 28 Jun 2012 - 19:05:31 - HarryKhanna
Revision 3r3 - 28 Jun 2012 - 14:34:46 - JasonPyke
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