Asimov’s Three Laws reduced to Two
A reader with the everpresent moniker of ‘Ubiquitous’ asks:
You made the observation yourself in The Golden Age, as did Asimov whenever he used them, that the Asimovian rules as we have them wouldn’t work.
What Asimovian rules would you suggest, out of curiosity?
I would program the computers with only two rules: first, love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength, and second, love your neighbors as yourself.
So far as I know, not a single science fiction writer has ever written a story where an artificial intelligence was programmed to carry out those commands. I offer the idea freely to any writer who wishes to attempt the feat.
The closest thing we had was in the Steven Spielberg movie A.I., where a machine shaped like a cute little boy was programmed to love it’s owner as a mother.
I assume most science fiction writers would handle the idea as a parody or a tragedy. They can picture a computer acting like Torquemada but cannot picture a computer acting like Saint Francis of Assisi, or even like Saint Thomas Aquinas.
For that matter, I assume most modern people, science fiction writers included, cannot picture a Christian acting like Saint Francis of Assisi, or Saint Thomas Aquinas. Which says nothing very flattering about the attempts of modern Christians to live the Christian life, and be salt to a world of rotting meat, or light to a world of darkness.
About John C Wright
John C. Wright is a practicing philosopher, a retired attorney, newspaperman, and newspaper editor, and a published author of science fiction. Once a Houyhnhnm, he was expelled from the august ranks of purely rational beings when he fell in love; but retains an honorary title.
