Isaac Asimov is deservedly regarded as the father of robot stories in SF. He has produced more robot and computer stories than any other writer, and the quality of his fiction is consistently high. (p. 54)

Asimov has been both comprehensive, thoughtful, and imaginative in creating his substantial body of fiction.

Asimov is optimistic about the relationship of man and intelligent machines. Asimov has labeled the fear of mechanical intelligence the "Frankenstein complex." He does not have this fear, nor does he approve of those who do. He believes that machines take over dehumanizing labor and thus allow humans to become more human. (p. 55)

In his robot stories most of the population resents robot research and resists the use of robots, so most of the development and testing goes on in outer space. In "Profession" … he summarizes this phenomenon of resistance to change by creating a future world where the phenomenon has become part of the system. In this imaginary world most people have their brains wired to tapes and are programmed like machines to function in a routine, nondeviating fashion. Rare, creative individuals are set apart in a special house where they follow the creative thrust of their imagination. Asimov's view is clear: Most members of society are rigid, like machines, and resist change; the rare individual with a creative mind is the exception. (p. 56)

Asimov's cybernetic fiction can be divided into three phases. During the first, from 1940 to 1950, he wrote a dozen stories primarily about robots, with only two computer stories. Nine of these stories were collected and published as I, Robot in 1950. During his second period, from 1951 to 1961, he wrote another dozen or so stories and the novels The Caves of Steel and The Naked Sun. Many of the stories and the two novels were collected and published under the title The Rest of the Robots…. The Bicentennial Man … contains a half dozen stories marking his third period and demonstrates the evolution of his ideas about the key role computers will play in man's future.

The Asimovian view gives a kind of unity to all his fiction about computers and robots, from the first story in 1940 to the last in 1976. This view holds that man will continue to develop more sophisticated technology; he will become more skillful at solving societal and environmental problems; he will expand outward and colonize space. Many of the stories share the same characters and settings….

The stories are often concerned with the same themes: the political potential of the computer, the uses of computers and robots in space exploration and development, problem solving with computers, the differences between man and machine, the evolution of artificial intelligence, the ethical use of technology. This last theme is explored through Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics, first fully stated in "Runaround," Asimov's fifth robot tale. They appear in many other stories and are crucial to three stories in The Bicentennial Man.

Asimov handles machine intelligence both realistically and metaphorically. In stories about computers, technology functions very much like existing technology. Large stationary machines store, process, and retrieve data; do mathematical calculations at incredible speeds; play mathematical games; make logical decisions. Asimov is knowledgeable in the concepts of computer science, and his portrayals are always intelligent and accurate. He has been wise enough to omit specific descriptions of computer technology, and consequently the material does not become dated—something that can easily happen if the writer portrays details of the technology because it is changing so rapidly in the real world. Asimov's robots are much more metaphorical than his computers. In the real world no robots comparable in form to those he pictures have been built, nor is there much possibility that they will be in the near future. Only specialized industrial robots performing limited functions are being developed. The all-purpose robots that Asimov pictures might be possible, but the specialized ones are economically more feasible. It is more meaningful to regard his robots as a metaphor for all the automated electronic technology—in a variety of forms—that will replace most of man's physical and routine mental work in the future.

Asimov rarely uses dramatic conflict to develop his plots; instead he relies almost entirely on puzzle or problem solving to create suspense and to move his plot forward. Through all his fiction runs the theme of faith in the ability of human reason to solve problems. His fiction is cerebral, grounded in sound science and logic. The action is more often mental than physical. In a typical story a problem or puzzle is defined; as much data as possible is collected and evaluated; a hypothesis is formed, providing a basis for a set of predictions about the solution to the problem; finally the predictions are tested. If they are incorrect, the process is reexamined until the difficulty is discovered. This procedure, of course, is the scientific method. The universe for Asimov is more mysterious than threatening. His use of the puzzle paradigm, rather than the conflict paradigm, seems related to his optimistic view of computer and robots. His short story "The Evitable Conflict" reflects his attitude toward conflict. The future world is one in which society has learned to avoid war. In his fiction Asimov also avoids the conflict mode.

Asimov's earliest cybernetic fiction, "Robbie," is set on earth at the end of the twentieth century, where robots are manufactured as playmates for children…. Asimov's robots in "Robbie" are programmed with the First Law of Robotics: A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, let a human being come to harm. Robbie, the hero of the story, is a dependable playmate for an eight-year-old girl named Gloria, even though her mother dislikes him because she distrusts robots. The robot eventually saves Gloria's life.

The next group of robot stories are set in space. Feelings against robots have grown so strong on earth that they are banned. In these stories two engineers, Powell and Donovan, solve a set of problems and puzzles using robots. The robots serve a variety of functions in space. They help maintain a space station, they perform ore-mining operations on an asteroid, they operate a spaceship sent to explore Jupiter. Because these stories are set in space, not on earth, little conflict between man and robot occurs. In the hostile environment of space, machine intelligence is vital to man, and so he welcomes it.

The situation is different on earth, where the later stories are set. In "Evidence" …, one of Asimov's most profound cybernetic stories, the general population resents robots. Stephen Byerly, who is running for mayor, is charged by his opponents with being a robot and therefore unsuitable for public office. Two questions arise: Is Byerly really a robot? If so, can a machine govern effectively?

The first question gives Asimov a good opportunity to explore the logic of proof, and here he demonstrates his education and intellectual inclination. He is ever the scientist, using the scientific method of hypothesis and proof. To the second question Asimov answers yes. His robots and computer are programmed with the Three Laws of Robotics, which ensure that they will always aid and serve man. "Evidence" contains a substantial discussion of those laws. Byerly points out that they incorporate the ethical principles of the world's great religions. Because a robot mechanism cannot violate these laws, it is a more reliable device for governing than a poltician, who may be motivated by ambition and greed. (pp. 57-9)

"The Evitable Conflict" is one of science fiction's most superbly imaginative stories in envisioning the creative use of machine intelligence. In this story, set in the twenty-first century, the world has been divided into four geographic regions, with the economy of each maintained in balance by a huge computer. As a result war has been eliminated. But small errors in production schedules begin to occur. The question is whether the resulting imbalance is caused by machine error or by human error—deliberate or otherwise. An antimachine group has arisen, and its leaders may be trying to sabotage the computer by feeding it inaccurate data. Byerly's problem is to explain and then correct the imbalance in production.

As it turns out, the computer—programmed to operate heuristically—soon corrects the problem itself. It detects the inaccurate data, and then dictates the removal of the economic supervisors opposed to machine control. They are motivated not by a concern for the good of the whole but by a drive to dominate and control, a drive that will lead to war. The computer's capacity for detecting and removing the potential creators of conflict before they can cause trouble thus prevents war. Conflict is evitable; only the machine is inevitable. Asimov in this story suggests that machine control is superior to economic and sociological forces, the whims of climate, and the fortunes of war. Mankind, he intimates, has never been free; machine control is just a different—and superior—form of control. (pp. 60-1)

Asimov's cybernetic fiction uses the electronic brain in a variety of ways, none malignant. The computer is an aid in the research and development of space travel; it performs all mathematical calculations for society, predicts election results, aids in the educational process. It solves a variety of problems, and the greatest problem it undertakes is that of decreasing entropy in the universe. In what is often considered the classic computer story, "The Last Question" …, it reverses the entropic process and recreates the cosmos. In this tale man keeps asking the computer, How can entropy be reversed? He asks it six different times, first on earth, then on various galaxies, as he continually expands through the universe. The computer keeps answering, Insufficient data to give meaningful answer. Finally, trillions of years later, as entropy becomes absolute and the last star goes out, he asks it the seventh time. The computer finally has sufficient data to give the answer: Let there be light! The story is a beautiful myth of cyclic creation. Man—himself once created—creates the machine. The machine, a greater creator, finally acquires all the information in the universe. Then, omniscient like God, the machine is able to re-create the universe. (p. 62)

In his early fiction Asimov assumes that man and machine intelligence share many characteristics—hence the continued use of the human-appearing robot as a symbol of artificial intelligence. At first glance man and robot look alike, but deeper probing reveals the difference. Machines do some things that a man can, but man possesses unique characteristics that make him more than a machine. This is why a machine is always subservient to a machine, as assured in the Second Law of Robotics.

The differences between humans and machines provide subject matter for a number of stories. One difference is that human intelligence is coupled with emotion; machine intelligence is not….

Another difference is that machines cannot handle ambiguity. In mathematical logic one symbol can denote only one thing. A figure of speech, where the individual meanings of a group of words are different from their sum, creates havoc for the computer. In this respect human language is unlike computer language. Any human easily grasps the meaning of a figure of speech from its context. Not so a computer. Asimov loves to play with this difference, just as he delights in puns, which are also beyond the capacity of the computer. The delight in incongruity or contradiction is the essence of humor, and Asimov's puckish humor often shimmers just above his hard, scientific thinking. But his robots are incapable of laughter because they take everything literally and thus have no sense of humor. Asimov often uses this fact as the basis for a story. (p. 63)

Creative problem solving is another area in which machine intelligence differs from human intelligence. Asimov explores this difference in "Risk" …, in which a robot is used as a test pilot in an experimental spaceship. When difficulties develop on the ship, the robot is replaced by a man because the robot can solve only problems it has been programmed to solve, while a man is able to solve unanticipated problems.

One of the differences between human and artificial intelligence is that machines do not possess consciousness or self-awareness. They may perform operations that humans define as intelligent, but they are not aware of what they are doing. They do not observe themselves in the process of thinking as humans do.

In the fiction of his first two periods Asimov raises but does not pursue the question of consciousness in his robots…. When Asimov was later asked about consciousness in his robots, he replied that he does think of his robots as being conscious. But the fiction of his first two periods fails to probe the ethical and moral implications of consciousness in artificial intelligence. If a robot does have consciousness, in what significant way is he different from a human being? If he is not significantly different, is it ethical to treat him like a nonhuman? Is it moral to use him as a slave when humans value their freedom so highly? What about death? Should the robot be portrayed in SF as dying or merely wearing out? Can a human "kill" a robot? In "Liar" Susan Calvin deliberately programs a robot so that he collapses and goes insane. Should she be condemned for driving him insane? These are complex questions that have never been considered because man has never moved so close to the technological reality of constructing artificial intelligence. Asimov raises them in the fiction of his first two periods, but not until the fiction of his recent period does he give the thoughtful reflection that consciousness, death, and freedom—either in human or high-level artificial intelligence—deserve.

The Three Laws of Robotics have attracted more attention than any other aspect of Asimov's cybernetic SF. In SF religious tales are rare. So are stories debating the niceties of various moral codes. SF has traditionally based itself on the natural and social sciences, which aim to be analytic not normative. Certainly no writer grounds his fiction more solidly in science than Asimov, yet he has formulated an ethical code now famous in and out of SF…. The laws are as follows:

1. A robot may not injure a human being nor, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

2. A robot must obey the 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.

                                                    (pp. 64-5)

Several of Asimov's most recent cybernetic stories, collected in The Bicentennial Man …, explore the Three Laws on a more profound level than did the works in his first two periods. Thirty-five years after his early stories, his knowledge and perceptions have evolved considerably. So has the level of machine intelligence he describes and the implications of the Three Laws for that intelligence. The most significant aspect of the Three Laws, however, is not the ways that Asimov uses them fictionally but the influence they have had in the real world. He has suggested that man needs to consider ways to implement the ethical use of technology and has provided models for doing this. Mere fictional model? Certainly fiction, but much more than that. As Asimov's stories are always grounded in accurate scientific fact, so here his ethical possibilities rest on actual capabilities of computer programming. (pp. 66-7)

Any discussion of computer programming of ethics is still highly speculative. But there is no reason why speculations could not someday become realities. Asimov's significant accomplishment is that the drama he has created with the Three Laws has set us thinking. Perhaps in the real world ethical concepts could be operationalized in computer technology. No other science fiction writer has given the world that vision.

Asimov's imagination constantly spirals forward into new possibilities. Robbie, his first robot, was a giant toy programmed to entertain and protect a child. Later his robots labored in space. In his most recent writing robots acquire characteristics previously ascribed only to humans—characteristics like creativity and the capacity to make judgments. Finally the complexity of the robots leads Asimov in The Bicentennial Man to suggest that ethical considerations concerning man may need to be extended to include machine intelligence.

Several of the short stories in The Bicentennial Man pair with earlier fiction; comparison shows how Asimov's thinking has evolved over the last thirty-five years. "Evidence" (1946) considered whether a robot might not be as efficient a mayor as a human. In "Tercentenary Incident" (1976) a robot serves as president of the United States. In both instances the general public is unaware of the substitution of machine for man but enjoys the benefits that result from more efficient government.

Another pair of stories pictures a world governance structure operated by computer. In the early story, "The Evitable Conflict," the world economy has been stabilized, underemployment and overproduction have been eliminated, and famine and war have disappeared. The recent "Life and Times of Multivac" also pictures a world system operated by computer…. (p. 68)

In "The Life and Times of Multivac," as in all his other stories, Asimov has a comprehensive grasp of the issues raised by the development of artificial intelligence. Machine systems can remove the drudgery of work; they can be used in planning and decision making; they can store and process vast amounts of information, thus augmenting man's mental power. But these benefits have a cost. Man must replace his image of himself as a rugged individualist free to do as he wills with an image of himself as a systems man living in symbiosis with his machines. In The Caves of Steel Asimov calls this supportive relationship a C/Fe culture: carbon (C) is the basis of human life and iron (Fe) of robot life. A C/Fe culture results from a combination of the best of the two forms.

In the stories of the third period artificial intelligence has evolved substantially beyond its level in the earlier works. The goal of the computer scientists in "Feminine Intuition" … is to develop a creative robot. The principle of uncertainty, explains Research Director Bogert, "is important in particles the mass of positrons." If this unpredictability of minute particles can be utilized in the robot design, it might be possible to have a creative robot…. If the uncertainty effect can be introduced into the robot brain, it will share the creativity of the human brain. The research is successful, and U.S. Robots produces the first successful design of creativity in artificial intelligence. (pp. 69-70)

"That Thou Art Mindful of Him" … pictures the development of the positronic brain with the capacity for judgment. Judgment is developed in the robot because it is required to cope with conflicting orders from two humans. The Second Law says he must obey—but which order? The answer is that he must obey the human most fit by mind, character, and knowledge to give that order. However, once the capacity for judgment is designed into the robots, they begin to use it in unanticipated ways. The robot George Nine decides he will "disregard shape and form in judging human beings, and … rise superior to the distinction between metal and flesh."… He concludes, after exercising his judgment, that his fellow robots are like humans, except more fit. Therefore they ought to dominate humans. The possibility that machine intelligence may be both superior to human intelligence and likely to dominate human intelligence appears for the first time in this story. Asimov's robots have now evolved a long way from that first clumsy Robbie in 1940.

The last design for the evolution of artificial intelligence appears in "The Bicentennial Man."… Here pure intelligence, irrespective of carbon or metal form, appears. This story … is Asimov's finest fictional work. It is the longest story (fifteen thousand words) that he has produced in seventeen years. Despite its length, it is still very terse—dense with ideas—and might well benefit from expansion to novel length. Told in twenty-three episodes, it covers two hundred years in the life of the robot Andrew Martin. Asimov's approach to the puzzle of intelligence, human or machine, gives the story its power. Inverting the obvious approach—man examining artificial intelligence—he has Andrew explore the nature and implications of human intelligence. As the story opens, Andrew is an obedient household servant for the Martin family, much the role of Asimov's early Robbie. But Andrew is a mutant robot form with an unusual talent: he is creative. He produces exquisite wood carvings. Just as he has transcended the patterns of previous robots, so he aspires to transcend the limits of the role they occupied in society. He desires to be free, not a slave to man, but this seems a clear violation of the Second Law.

Andrew's struggle to evolve beyond his programmed obedience is dramatized with great economy. The Martin family represents the small group of humans who realize the potential of artificial intelligence and take actions to foster and expand it. The U.S. Robots Corporation symbolizes the economic system supported by the mass of men who wish only to exploit robot technology for profit. They feel no ethical responsibility to this emerging form of intelligence.

After a long struggle the courts declare Andrew free. Then, bit by bit over the ensuing years, Andrew moves toward fulfilling his aspiration to become like his masters. His potential, his determination, and the support of a few dedicated individuals yield slow progress. (pp. 70-1)

"The Bicentennial Man" is a powerful, profound story for several reasons. Foremost is what Asimov leaves unsaid. The story follows the movement of mechanical intelligence toward human intelligence and death. But Andrew's progress toward manhood and death unfolds against man's development of technology and movement toward artificial intelligence and immortality. Knowledge or information eventually dies in the organic brain, but it can survive indefinitely in a mechanical brain. Thus the inorganic form may well be the most likely form for the survival of intelligence in the universe. As machine intelligence evolves to human form, human intelligence is evolving toward machine form. A second implication of "The Bicentennial Man," again unstated, is that a line between the animate and the inanimate, the organic and the inorganic, cannot be drawn…. If the fundamental materials of the universe are matter, energy, and information patterns (or intelligence), then man is not unique. He exists on a continuum with all intelligence; he is no more than the most highly evolved form on earth. This view implies that ethical behavior should extend to all systems because any organizational pattern—human or nonhuman, organic or inorganic—represents intelligence. A sacred view of the universe, the result not of religious mysticism but of pure logic, emerges from this reading of "The Bicentennial Man." (pp. 73-4)

Patricia S. Warrick, "Science Fiction Images of Computers and Robots" in her The Cybernetic Imagination in Science Fiction (reprinted by permission of The MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts; copyright © 1980 by The Massachusetts Institute of Technology), The MIT Press, 1980, pp. 53-79.∗