Science Fiction



Science Fiction

Introduction

According to the book Reason. Astounding Science Fiction man's constant struggle of innovation in technology has led to the rise of 'robotics' a branch of technology dealing with the construction, design, operation, and application of robots and computer systems for controlling, processing of information, and sensory feedback (Asimov, 1941). Robotics deals with automated machines that are capable of replacing humans where the environment is hazardous, in manufacturing processes, and can resemble humans in behavior, appearance, and/or cognition. Most of the robots today are inspired by nature (bio-inspired robotics).

Clarke wrotre in Asimov's laws of robotics: implications for information technology that the idea of making machines (robots) that can operate separately dates back to classical times, however, study into the possible uses and functionality of robots did not develop significantly until the 20th century (Clark, 1993). All over history, robotics has often been observed to imitate human behavior, and regularly deal with tasks in a comparable manner. In the present day, robotics is a fast growing field, as technological progress continues, design, research, and creating new robots, serve a variety of practical purposes - commercially, militarily, or domestically (Asimov, 1941). A lot of robots do jobs that are unsafe for people, for example, exploring shipwrecks or defusing bombs and mines.

Comaprison of the Books

A short aside before I dive into comparisons - if I had to point out ONE thing from the book that never made it to the screen, but I enjoyed immensely, that would have to be mood organs. Emotion and artificial lack thereof is one of my often-rambled-on subjects, but Actual Artificial Emotion. I am going to confess up front - I like the movie better. My original reason for this was genre-related (Dick, 2012). I Robot goes down as a gritty film noir. A completely different mood, completely different pace (even though the novel depicts just one day, from start to finish, it didn't read as one of those stories when you inhale on page one and exhale when you reach the back cover) and, interestingly enough, completely different character. I was fascinated by the subject of consciousness. Its mechanisms are a fascinating enigma to science. I personally do not think that computers come to develop awareness, by the fact that it consists not only of intellect, which just might be able to emulate ever electronically, but also of feeling and emotion, and also the percepció and self-perception have much to do with consciousness.

When we speak of "conscious machines" normally refer to self-awareness, and I think this is very interwoven with sensations and feelings (like creativity, perhaps another facet of intelligence). You can not deny a certain degree of intelligence to higher animals (primates and dolphins, as well pointing Julen, but also dogs, much closer to us), and it is quite clear that these animals can feel emotions and as such they express . The question is not whether computers can think someday. The question is whether they can "feel" or excited, because if you can ...