My suggested alteration of the Second Law of Robotics

[Ensign_Redshirt]

Call me a cynic, but "human being" would probably get replaced by "citizen" in the real world anyway.

First Law: "A robot may not injure a U.S. citizen or, through inaction, allow a U.S. citizen to come to harm."
-> Allows the construction and deployment of military robots for combat purposes. You may wan't to have robots who are allowed to kill citizens of foreign countries.

Second Law: "A robot must obey orders given to it by U.S. citizens, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law."
-> See above. It also means that an illegal immigrant wouldn't be authorized to order a robot to do things.

 

[Christopher]

^But how is a robot supposed to know who's a US citizen and who isn't?

 

[Klaus]

Bar codes!

 

[Yminale]

First Law: "A robot may not injure a U.S. citizen or, through inaction, allow a U.S. citizen to come to harm."
-> Allows the construction and deployment of military robots for combat purposes. You may wan't to have robots who are allowed to kill citizens of foreign countries.

Absolutely not. The fear of robots rampaging and murdering people is why the Three Laws existed. Even the Spacers who had a robot based society felt that was taboo.

-> See above. It also means that an illegal immigrant wouldn't be authorized to order a robot to do things.

Illegal immigration would stop being a problem since robots would take their job.

And honestly just admit it that you think robots should only obey white people.

 

[Klaus]

^^Somehow I'm seeing a "lost" Dave Chappelle sketch... "If A Black Guy had written the Three Laws of Robotics"...

 

[Sephiroth]

I'm sure when we have developed the intelligent synthetic mind, they won't be used in factory automation (I'll still be programming PLCs when the Major from GITS is running around)

 

[Christopher]

Bar codes!

So everyone's forced to wear symbols identifying their citizenship status at all times? What a dystopian scenario. Heck, there are already too many ways for people to be electronically tracked and identified as it is. If you make everyone wear symbols that robots can read, then so can security cameras and monitoring devices of all sorts. And that's getting into a very different subject matter for a story.

 

[Klaus]

I wasn't saying I liked the idea lol... but I'm already on record as saying that if the Nazis hadn't given that kind of thing a bad name they'd be tattooing barcodes on newborns right now...

Besides, everyone knows they track us using nanochips in the flouridated water!

 

[Bonzo the Fifth]

Bar codes!

So everyone's forced to wear symbols identifying their citizenship status at all times? What a dystopian scenario. Heck, there are already too many ways for people to be electronically tracked and identified as it is. If you make everyone wear symbols that robots can read, then so can security cameras and monitoring devices of all sorts. And that's getting into a very different subject matter for a story.

Unfortunately, some kind of non-optional, non-removable universal identification mechanism physically attached to your person is likely inevitable given the way the world is developing these days... but as you say, that's a different (and much more depressing) discussion.