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I, Robot by Isaac Asimov - 4* - My Review

PBT Comments: I have to laugh because Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ keeps asking me to complete a captcha to prove I'm not a robot as I'm publishing a review about Asimov's I, Robot.

Published in 1950 and set in the future, this book is a connected series of short stories that portray the history of robotics from around the 2000s to 2070s. In Asimov’s future world, robots have been designed with positronic brains, which are programmed to observe the “Three Laws of Robotics� (very simply stated � avoiding harm to humans, following orders, and avoiding harm to self). The framing device used to turn these short stories into a cohesive novel is an unnamed journalist who serves as narrator, interviewing Dr. Susan Calvin. The narrator plans to publish a feature story about Calvin upon her retirement.

It explores the interplay between humans and machines. The plot revolves around testing hypotheses related to the “three laws.� For example, would there ever be a situation where a robot could lie? In this vision of the future, robots become increasingly important to the running of the world in ways that will minimize harm to humans, which stands in sharp contrast to humankind’s history of warring against each other and causing great harm. I think this book does an excellent job of probing many ethical questions that arise regarding human-robot interactions.

I find it interesting that some culturally accepted norms of the time were outside of the potential for change, even for someone as forward-thinking as Asimov. The scenes are rampant with workplace smoking, large tomes of physical books, and paper/pencil calculations. On the other hand, in an era where there were few female scientists, Dr. Susan Calvin is an intellectually gifted strong woman, and for me, one of the highlights of the book.

There is a bit of repetition that speaks to these stories being written separately and then stitched together later, but overall, I found it a delightful anticipation of artificial intelligence and the related ethical issues. What is the proper relationship between human and machine? What a great question! I enjoyed it very much.

Now read Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun.

I had to laugh at your opening statement ... ah, yes, Dante would have to invent a new level of hell to describe Captcha.

I love Asimov!

Book Concierge wrote: "Now read Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun.

I had to laugh at your opening statement ... ah, yes, Dante would have to invent a new level of hell to describe Captcha."
Yes, I'm sure Asimov did not anticipate Captcha. Sometimes I get them wrong - there's a tiny piece of a "motorcycle" or "boat" I overlooked, lol. I loved Klara and the Sun!

annapi wrote: "I love Asimov!"

Me too! I need to read more of his works. A couple years ago I read and very much enjoyed: The Gods Themselves

Joy D wrote: "Me too! I need to read more of his works. A couple years ago I read and very much enjoyed: The Gods Themselves"

The Gods Themselves is probably my favorite of all his work! That and the short story collection Asimov's Mysteries.

I had the pleasure of meeting Asimov back in the mid 1980s ... It was a pretty casual and short encounter, but my memory is of a very pleasant and engaging man.

How cool!

I met Asimov in the 1960's! My brother was a huge sci-fi fan and subscribed to a couple of magazines, called things like Amazing Stories. I actually haven't read all that much by him. He has the distinction of having written something in every section of the Dewey Decimal system (that is the 100s, 200s, etc.)

Thinking of robots, you can find online Asimov's story, The Fun They Had, about futuristic (to him) schooling.

And yes, it's interesting to see how sci-fi writers predicted the future but took some things for granted. In The Door Into Summer, Heinlein has a futuristic screen showing a newspaper, and the reader swipes at the corner to get a new page, just like a tablet today. But there are still female secretaries, and the hero has to go downtown to get money from his bank.

Robin P wrote: "He has the distinction of having written something in every section of the Dewey Decimal system (that is the 100s, 200s, etc.)"

Actually, it's that he is the only writer who has published a book in every category of the Dewey Decimal System EXCEPT for Philosophy/Psychology, the 100's.

annapi wrote: "Robin P wrote: "He has the distinction of having written something in every section of the Dewey Decimal system (that is the 100s, 200s, etc.)"

Actually, it's that he has published a book in every..."

I believe you. I think you've posted that before. But, I think that I, Robot qualifies as philosophy even if Dewey doesn't agree with me.

Thanks for the correction! Almost seems like the Foundation series could be in that category too.

Robin P wrote: "Thanks for the correction! Almost seems like the Foundation series could be in that category too."

There is a crossover book between Asimov's robot books and his Foundation series. I didn't like I Robot, but did like the four others starting with The Caves of Steel. The first three books feature a human detective paired with a robot that has a positronic brain, but the fourth is after the detective has died Robots and Empire that has been described as pre-Foundation and linking them to that series.

There is some philosophical bent in these, I suppose, especially the last one, but it wasn't so strong that I shelved them philosophy.