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A review by calarco
Robot Visions by Isaac Asimov
5.0
In a world where so many stories in the sci-fi and speculative genres tend to be bleak and gritty, Isaac Asimov's Robot Visions is a sweet breath of fresh air. Asimov includes in this volume both short works of fiction and essays that formulate a cohesive imagined universe, as well as a fully fleshed out vision of future technology.
It is impossible to talk about anything in this collection without diving into Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics, as first formally presented in the short story "Runaround" -
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 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.
These rules act as the underlying principles that methodically build a believable world based in logical actions and reactions. The robots are not symbols for certain types of humans, there are no identities forced upon them, they simply exist as in accordance with these three laws. That is one narrative angle that makes the Asimov's robots so intriguing. Robots are stripped bare of human prejudices and avarice, and what is left is just as telling about humans as it is about these entirely new entities.
In the essay "The Friends We Make," Asimov explains, "...we relate to all nonhuman things by finding, or inventing, something human about them. We attribute human characteristics to our pets, and even to our automobiles. We personify nature and all the products of nature and, in earlier times, made human-shaped gods and goddesses out of them" (419).
As much as I love films like The Terminator or 2001: A Space Odyssey, these stories' malignant robots are truly just a projection of human fears of the unknown. In many of the stories of Robot Visions, Asimov goes a step further to shed a light on and even poke fun of peoples' fears of being replaced by robots. Humans are competitive and many different groups have overpowered and displaced (even replaced) one another throughout history. It makes sense humans would fear a man made, physically stronger, human-shaped entity as a potential threat with the same unfortunate proclivities. So Asimov's robots cannot harm people, though he does flirt with the idea of robots replacing humans as not the worst thing, given their built-in benevolence.
While breaking robots down to the three laws 'dehumanizes' them so to speak, there is nothing hallow or inhuman about Asimov's stories. In fact, by showing robots operate solely within these simple principles, greater truths about what it means to be human are unearthed. I think this is displayed most strongly in "The Bicentennial Man," a story that completely opened my own mind on what it truly means to accept an otherly entity's autonomy in the same way we would do so for another person's humanity. People sympathize with suffering and the innate finality of life, and we have a hard time understanding separate entities that do not exist in these same temporary realities. Even though we fear death, we fear entities not subject to death with the same gravity.
Robo-psychiatrist Dr. Susan Calvin shows up in a number of these stories, and in "Galley Slave" she succinctly concludes, "It is only by being concerned for robots that one can truly be concerned for the twenty-first century man" (391). To understand the other, is to understand (and maybe even love) the self. Robots are not humans, but it is with this continuous moral theme that Asimov creates such a hopeful and optimistic universe filled with humanity.
Another component of this collection that I greatly enjoyed, was Asimov's history of robots. He may have popularized the concept, and even inspired real life scientist's work, but he did not invent the idea and makes that very clear. By including a cultural history that touches on anthropomorphized gods of Greek traditions, and golems of Jewish lore, he better makes a clear case for the principles that make his own universe tick. If you are a nerd who loves both history and science, this is pretty dope stuff.
Overall, I loved this collection and I am excited to read more of Asimov's work. Just as the concept of robots is now well established in the present day zeitgeist, Asimov now has an established a place in my otherwise cold and unfeeling heart.
It is impossible to talk about anything in this collection without diving into Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics, as first formally presented in the short story "Runaround" -
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 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.
These rules act as the underlying principles that methodically build a believable world based in logical actions and reactions. The robots are not symbols for certain types of humans, there are no identities forced upon them, they simply exist as in accordance with these three laws. That is one narrative angle that makes the Asimov's robots so intriguing. Robots are stripped bare of human prejudices and avarice, and what is left is just as telling about humans as it is about these entirely new entities.
In the essay "The Friends We Make," Asimov explains, "...we relate to all nonhuman things by finding, or inventing, something human about them. We attribute human characteristics to our pets, and even to our automobiles. We personify nature and all the products of nature and, in earlier times, made human-shaped gods and goddesses out of them" (419).
As much as I love films like The Terminator or 2001: A Space Odyssey, these stories' malignant robots are truly just a projection of human fears of the unknown. In many of the stories of Robot Visions, Asimov goes a step further to shed a light on and even poke fun of peoples' fears of being replaced by robots. Humans are competitive and many different groups have overpowered and displaced (even replaced) one another throughout history. It makes sense humans would fear a man made, physically stronger, human-shaped entity as a potential threat with the same unfortunate proclivities. So Asimov's robots cannot harm people, though he does flirt with the idea of robots replacing humans as not the worst thing, given their built-in benevolence.
While breaking robots down to the three laws 'dehumanizes' them so to speak, there is nothing hallow or inhuman about Asimov's stories. In fact, by showing robots operate solely within these simple principles, greater truths about what it means to be human are unearthed. I think this is displayed most strongly in "The Bicentennial Man," a story that completely opened my own mind on what it truly means to accept an otherly entity's autonomy in the same way we would do so for another person's humanity. People sympathize with suffering and the innate finality of life, and we have a hard time understanding separate entities that do not exist in these same temporary realities. Even though we fear death, we fear entities not subject to death with the same gravity.
Robo-psychiatrist Dr. Susan Calvin shows up in a number of these stories, and in "Galley Slave" she succinctly concludes, "It is only by being concerned for robots that one can truly be concerned for the twenty-first century man" (391). To understand the other, is to understand (and maybe even love) the self. Robots are not humans, but it is with this continuous moral theme that Asimov creates such a hopeful and optimistic universe filled with humanity.
Another component of this collection that I greatly enjoyed, was Asimov's history of robots. He may have popularized the concept, and even inspired real life scientist's work, but he did not invent the idea and makes that very clear. By including a cultural history that touches on anthropomorphized gods of Greek traditions, and golems of Jewish lore, he better makes a clear case for the principles that make his own universe tick. If you are a nerd who loves both history and science, this is pretty dope stuff.
Overall, I loved this collection and I am excited to read more of Asimov's work. Just as the concept of robots is now well established in the present day zeitgeist, Asimov now has an established a place in my otherwise cold and unfeeling heart.