Three Laws of Robotics facts for kids
The Three Laws of Robotics are a special set of rules that the famous science fiction writer Isaac Asimov imagined for robots. He thought these rules should be programmed into robots, especially those that look and act like humans. Asimov called these robots positronic robots. He wrote about these laws in many of his "Robot" short stories and novels.
The first time these laws were mentioned was in Asimov's short story Runaround, which he wrote in 1942.
Contents
What Are the Three Laws?
Here are the three main rules that Asimov's robots had to follow:
- A robot must not hurt a human being. Also, if a robot does nothing, it cannot let a human being get hurt.
- A robot must always obey orders given by humans. The only time it can ignore an order is if following it would break the First Law.
- A robot must protect itself and stay safe. But it can only do this if protecting itself does not break the First Law or the Second Law.
The Zeroth Law
Later, Isaac Asimov added another rule, which he called the Zeroth Law. This law was even more important than the first three. It says: "A robot may not harm humanity, or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm." After this, the other three laws were changed slightly. This made sure that a robot would never break the Zeroth Law, which protects all of humankind.
Where Did the Word "Robotics" Come From?
Did you know that the word robotics was first used in one of Asimov's stories? The Oxford English Dictionary says that the story "Liar!" (from 1941), which mentions the First Law, is the earliest known use of the word. Asimov didn't know this at the time. He thought the word already existed, like mechanics or hydraulics, which are names for different areas of study.
Why Are These Laws Important?
The Three Laws are a big part of Asimov's "Robot" stories and other books connected to them. They even appear in his Lucky Starr series, which was science fiction written for children. Other writers who have created stories in Asimov's fictional world have also used these laws. You might even see references to them, sometimes funny ones, in other science fiction movies or books.
Scientists and engineers who work on artificial intelligence (AI) sometimes think about these laws. They wonder if rules like these could be important for robots in the future.
Images for kids
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This cover of I, Robot shows a scene from "Runaround", the story where the Three Laws were first listed.
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NDR-114, a robot from a movie, explaining the Three Laws.
See also
In Spanish: Tres leyes de la robótica para niños
