Robots & Responsibility

Asimov's Three Laws A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. A robot must obey any orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

New Laws by Engineers A human may not deploy a robot without the human- robot work system meeting the highest legal and professional standards of safety and ethics. A robot must respond to humans as appropriate for their roles. A robot must be endowed with sufficient situated autonomy to protect its own existence as long as such protection provides smooth transfer of control which does not conflict with the First and Second Laws.

The New Laws Unmasked! New First Law Assumptions: That responsible humans deploy robots. The humans are expected to follow legal and professional standards. New Second Law Assumptions: Robots are limited in their ability to take orders, so will only respond to appropriate commands by selected individuals.

The Last New Law? We cannot predict everything that will happen in the physical world within which robots take action. The robot needs autonomy to make decisions in order to protect itself. It must transfer control smoothly to humans whenever necessary. Ex: A robot needs enough control to prevent driving off a cliff, but the robot much smoothly drive off the cliff if the human requires it!

WANT RESPONSIBLE ROBOTICS? START WITH RESPONSIBLE HUMANS