|
I, Robot
''I, Robot'' is a fixup (compilation) novel of science fiction short stories or essays by American writer Isaac Asimov. The stories originally appeared in the American magazines ''Super Science Stories'' and ''Astounding Science Fiction'' between 1940 and 1950 and were then compiled into a book for stand-alone (single issue / special edition) publication by Gnome Press in 1950, in an initial edition of 5,000 copies. The stories are woven together by a framing narrative in which the fictional Dr. Susan Calvin tells each story to a reporter (who serves as the narrator) in the 21st century. Although the stories can be read separately, they share a theme of the interaction of humans, robots, and morality, and when combined they tell a larger story of Asimov's fictional history of robotics. Several of the stories feature the character of Dr. Calvin, chief robopsychologist at U.S. Robots and Mechanical Men, Inc., the major manufacturer of robots. Upon their publication in this col ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isaac Asimov
yi, יצחק אזימאװ , birth_date = , birth_place = Petrovichi, Russian SFSR , spouse = , relatives = , children = 2 , death_date = , death_place = Manhattan, New York City, U.S. , nationality = Russian (1920–1922)Soviet (1922–1928)American (1928–1992) , occupation = Writer, professor of biochemistry , years_active = 1939–1992 , genre = Science fiction (hard SF, social SF), mystery, popular science , subject = Popular science, science textbooks, essays, history, literary criticism , education = Columbia University ( BA, MA, PhD) , movement = Golden Age of Science Fiction , module = , signature = Isaac Asimov signature.svg Isaac Asimov ( ; 1920 – April 6, 1992) was an American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke. A prolific writer, he wrote or edited more than 500 books ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ethics Of Artificial Intelligence
The ethics of artificial intelligence is the branch of the ethics of technology specific to artificially intelligent systems. It is sometimes divided into a concern with the moral behavior of ''humans'' as they design, make, use and treat artificially intelligent systems, and a concern with the behavior of ''machines,'' in machine ethics. It also includes the issue of a possible singularity due to superintelligent AI. Ethics fields' approaches Robot ethics The term "robot ethics" (sometimes "roboethics") refers to the morality of how humans design, construct, use and treat robots. Robot ethics intersect with the ethics of AI. Robots are physical machines whereas AI can be only software. Not all robots function through AI systems and not all AI systems are robots. Robot ethics considers how machines may be used to harm or benefit humans, their impact on individual autonomy, and their effects on social justice. Machine ethics Machine ethics (or machine morality) is the fie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Evidence (short Story)
"Evidence" is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov. It was first published in the September 1946 issue of ''Astounding Science Fiction'' and reprinted in the collections ''I, Robot'' (1950), ''The Complete Robot'' (1982), and ''Robot Visions'' (1990). Background "Evidence" was the only story Isaac Asimov wrote while in the United States Army from November 1945 to July 1946. He began the story at Camp Lee in January, finished it in April in Honolulu while waiting to go to Operation Crossroads, and sold it to editor John W. Campbell that month. Orson Welles purchased film rights for "Evidence" for $250. Asimov thought that he would become famous from a movie based on the story, but Welles never used the script. His wife, Gertrude Blugerman, advised him to hold out for more money, but neither of them considered option payments which could be renewed every several years, allowing the movie rights to relapse if Welles took no action. Plot summary Stephen Bye ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Escape!
"Escape!" is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov. It was first published as "Paradoxical Escape" (a publisher's change in the title) in the August 1945 issue of ''Astounding Science Fiction'' and reprinted as "Escape!" (Asimov's choice of title) in the collections ''I, Robot'' (1950) and ''The Complete Robot'' (1982). Plot summary Many research organizations are working to develop the hyperspatial drive. The company U.S. Robots and Mechanical Men, Inc., is approached by its biggest competitor that has plans for a working hyperspace engine that allows humans to survive the jump (a theme which would be further developed in future Asimov stories). But the staff of U.S. Robots is wary, because, in performing the calculations, their rival's (non-positronic) supercomputer has destroyed itself. The U.S. Robots and Mechanical Men company finds a way to feed the information to its own positronic computer known as ''The Brain'' (which is not a robot in the str ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Little Lost Robot
"Little Lost Robot" is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov. It was first published in the March 1947 issue of ''Astounding Science Fiction'' and reprinted in the collections ''I, Robot'' (1950), ''The Complete Robot'' (1982), ''Robot Dreams'' (1986), and ''Robot Visions'' (1990). "Little Lost Robot" was adapted by for the 1962 ABC Weekend TV anthology television series '' Out of This World'', which also marks the first appearance of Susan Calvin, played by Maxine Audley, in TV and movies. It is the only episode of this series that survives in the archives today. It is available on DVD in region 2 from the British Film Institute. Elements of "Little Lost Robot" appeared in the film '' I Robot'' (2004), an otherwise original story using Asimov's brand. The story was broadcast as episode three of a five-part ''15 Minute Drama'' radio adaptation of Asimov's stories on BBC Radio 4 in February 2017. Plot summary At the Hyper Base, a military research station ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liar! (short Story)
"Liar!" is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov. It first appeared in the May 1941 issue of ''Astounding Science Fiction'' and was reprinted in the collections ''I, Robot'' (1950) and ''The Complete Robot'' (1982). It was Asimov's third published positronic robot story. Although the word "robot" was introduced to the public by Czech writer Karel Čapek in his 1920 play ''R.U.R.'' (Rossum's Universal Robots), Asimov's story "Liar!" contains the first recorded use of the word "robotics" according to the ''Oxford English Dictionary''. The events of this short story are also mentioned in the novel ''The Robots of Dawn'' written by the same author. Plot summary Through a fault in manufacturing, a robot, RB-34 (also known as Herbie), is created that possesses telepathic abilities. While the roboticists at U.S. Robots and Mechanical Men investigate how this occurred, the robot tells them what other people are thinking. But the First Law still applies to this rob ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Catch That Rabbit
"Catch that Rabbit" is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov. It was first published in the February 1944 issue of ''Astounding Science Fiction'' and reprinted in the collections ''I, Robot'' (1950) and ''The Complete Robot'' (1982). Plot summary The recurring team of Powell and Donovan are testing a new model of robot on an asteroid mining station. This DV-5 (Dave) has six subsidiary robots, described as "fingers", which it controls via positronic fields, a means of transmission not yet fully understood by roboticists. When the humans are not in contact, the robot stops producing ore. It cannot recall the time periods when it stops mining, and states that it finds this just as puzzling as the humans do. Powell and Donovan secretly observe the robot without its knowledge. It starts performing strange marches and dances with its subsidiaries whenever something unexpected happens -an early example of a Heisenbug (software problem). To learn more, the huma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reason (short Story)
"Reason" is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov, first published in the April 1941 issue of ''Astounding Science Fiction'' and collected in ''I, Robot'' (1950), ''The Complete Robot'' (1982), and ''Robot Visions'' (1990). It is part of Asimov's ''Robot'' series, and was the second of Asimov's positronic robot stories to see publication. Plot summary Powell and Donovan are assigned to a space station which supplies energy via microwave beams to the planets. The robots that control the energy beams are in turn co-ordinated by QT-1, known to Powell and Donovan as Cutie, an advanced model with highly developed reasoning ability. Using these abilities, Cutie decides that space, stars and the planets beyond the station don't really exist, and that the humans that visit the station are unimportant, short-lived and expendable. QT-1 makes the lesser robots disciples of a new religion, which considers the power source of the ship to be "Master". QT-1 teaches th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Runaround (story)
"Runaround" is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov, featuring his recurring characters Powell and Donovan. It was written in October 1941 and first published in the March 1942 issue of ''Astounding Science Fiction''. It appears in the collections ''I, Robot'' (1950), ''The Complete Robot'' (1982), and ''Robot Visions'' (1990). "Runaround" features the first explicit appearance of the Three Laws of Robotics, which had previously only been implied in Asimov's robot stories. Artificial intelligence researcher Marvin Minsky said: "After 'Runaround' appeared in the March 1942 issue of ''Astounding'' Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' ], I never stopped thinking about how minds might work." [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robbie (short Story)
"Robbie" is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov. It was his first robot story and writing commenced on June 10, 1939. It was first published in the September 1940 issue ''Super Science Stories'' magazine as "Strange Playfellow", a title that was chosen by editor Frederik Pohl and described as "distasteful" by Asimov. A revised version of "Robbie" was reprinted under Asimov's original title in the collections ''I, Robot'' (1950), ''The Complete Robot'' (1982), and ''Robot Visions'' (1990). "Robbie" was the fourteenth story written by Asimov, and the ninth to be published. The story is also part of Asimov's ''Robot'' series, and was the first of Asimov's positronic robot stories to see publication. The story centers on the technophobia that surrounds robots, and how it is misplaced. Almost all previously published science fiction stories featuring robots followed the theme 'robot turns against creator'; Asimov has consistently held the belief that the Fra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Positronic Brain
A positronic brain is a fictional technological device, originally conceived by science fiction writer Isaac Asimov. It functions as a central processing unit (CPU) for robots, and, in some unspecified way, provides them with a form of consciousness recognizable to humans. When Asimov wrote his first robot stories in 1939 and 1940, the positron was a newly discovered particle, and so the buzz word "positronic" added a scientific connotation to the concept. Asimov's 1942 short story " Runaround" elaborates his fictional Three Laws of Robotics, which are ingrained in the positronic brains of nearly all of his robots. Conceptual overview Asimov remained vague about the technical details of positronic brains except to assert that their substructure was formed from an alloy of platinum and iridium. They were said to be vulnerable to radiation and apparently involve a type of volatile memory (since robots in storage required a power source keeping their brains "alive"). The focus of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Otto Binder
Otto Oscar Binder (; August 26, 1911 – October 13, 1974) was an American author of science fiction and non-fiction books and stories, and comic books. He is best known as the co-creator of Supergirl and for his many scripts for '' Captain Marvel Adventures'' and other stories involving the entire superhero Marvel Family. He was prolific in the comic book field and is credited with writing over 4,400 stories across a variety of publishers under his own name, as well as more than 160 stories under the pen-name Eando Binder. Biography Early life and career Born in Bessemer, Michigan, Otto Binder was the youngest of six children born into a German-Lutheran family that had emigrated from Austria a year earlier. They settled in Chicago in 1922, during a period rich with science fiction, which enthralled Binder and his brother Earl. The two began writing in partnership and sold their first story, "The First Martian" to ''Amazing Stories'' in 1930; it saw publication in 1932 under ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
