Case Study: The Age of Moral Machines

THE THREE LAWS OF ROBOTICS I, Robot by Isaac Asimov 1941-1950.

ORIGINAL VERSION-

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 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

SECOND VERSION-

1. No robot may harm a human being
2. A robot must obey the orders given 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

THIRD VERSION-

1. No Machine may harm humanity, or, through inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey the orders given 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

The "Three Laws of Robotics" is Asimov's underlying moral system for the robots in his science fiction work L Robot Humans program the robots with three inviolate laws. Throughout the course of the book the Three Laws evolve from the original to the final (third) version. Humans make the first alteration Robots make the final alteration Notice that the only difference between the three versions is the First Law.