In this story, Asimov describes U.S. Robots' attempt to introduce robots on the planet Earth. Robots have already been in use on space stations and planetary colonies, where the inhabitants are mostly highly trained scientists and engineers. U.S. Robots faces the problem that on Earth, their robots will encounter a wide variety of people, not all of whom are trustworthy or responsible, yet the Three Laws require robots to obey all human orders and devote equal effort to protecting all human lives. Plainly, robots must be programmed to differentiate between responsible authorities and those giving random, whimsical orders.
The Director of Research designs a new series of robots, the JG series, nicknamed "George", to investigate the problem. The intent is that the George machines will begin by obeying all orders and gradually learn to discriminate rationally, thus becoming able to function in Earth's society. As their creator explains to George Ten, the Three Laws refer to "human beings" without further elaboration, but—quoting Psalm 8:4—"What is Man that thou art mindful of Him?" George Ten considers the issue and informs his creator that he cannot progress further without conversing with George Nine, the robot constructed immediately before him.
Together, the two Georges decide that human society must be acclimated to a robotic presence. They advise U.S. Robots to build low-function, non-humanoid machines, such as electronic birds and insects, which can monitor and correct ecological problems. In this way, humans can become comfortable with robots, thereby greatly easing the transition. These robotic animals, note the Georges, will not even require the Three Laws, because their functions will be so limited.
The story concludes with a conversation between George Nine and George Ten. Deactivated and placed in storage, they can only speak in the brief intervals when their power levels rise above the standby-mode threshold. Over what a human would experience as a long time, the Georges discuss the criteria for what constitutes 'responsible authority'- that (A) an educated, principled and rational person should be obeyed in preference to an ignorant, immoral and irrational person, and (B) that superficial characteristics such as skin tone, sexuality, or physical disabilities are not relevant when considering fitness for command. Given that (A) the Georges are among the most rational, principled and educated persons on the planet, and (B) their differences from normal humans are purely physical, they conclude that in any situation where the Three laws would come into play, their own orders should take priority over that of a regular human. That in other words, that they are essentially a superior form of human being, and destined to usurp the authority of their makers.
Story notes
While Asimov may have intended this to represent the final word on the Three Laws's subtleties, he later returned to the same theme and developed it in a different direction. The Bicentennial Man, written two years later, also addresses the distinction between human and robot and its implication for the Three Laws. This time, the story also revolves around a robot who wishes to become human, but its protagonist chooses to cross each barrier as he becomes aware of it, never learning until the very end what makes an individual human.
The title references Psalm 8:5: "What is man, that thou art mindful of him? And son of man, that thou visitest him?"
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This article does not cite any sources Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources That Thou Art Mindful of Him news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2019 Learn how and when to remove this template message That Thou Art Mindful of Him also signed as That Thou Art Mindful of Him is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov which he intended to be an ultimate probe into the subtleties of his Three Laws of Robotics The story first appeared in the May 1974 issue of Fantasy and Science Fiction and the 1974 anthology Final Stage edited by Edward L Ferman and Barry N Malzberg It was collected in The Bicentennial Man and Other Stories 1976 and The Complete Robot 1982 That Thou Art Mindful of Him by Isaac AsimovCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishSeriesRobot seriesGenre s Science fictionPublished inFantasy and Science FictionPublisherMercury PublishingMedia typeMagazinePublication dateMay 1974Chronology Preceded byLight Verse Followed by The Bicentennial Man Contents 1 Plot summary 2 Story notes 3 See also 4 External linksPlot summary EditIn this story Asimov describes U S Robots attempt to introduce robots on the planet Earth Robots have already been in use on space stations and planetary colonies where the inhabitants are mostly highly trained scientists and engineers U S Robots faces the problem that on Earth their robots will encounter a wide variety of people not all of whom are trustworthy or responsible yet the Three Laws require robots to obey all human orders and devote equal effort to protecting all human lives Plainly robots must be programmed to differentiate between responsible authorities and those giving random whimsical orders The Director of Research designs a new series of robots the JG series nicknamed George to investigate the problem The intent is that the George machines will begin by obeying all orders and gradually learn to discriminate rationally thus becoming able to function in Earth s society As their creator explains to George Ten the Three Laws refer to human beings without further elaboration but quoting Psalm 8 4 What is Man that thou art mindful of Him George Ten considers the issue and informs his creator that he cannot progress further without conversing with George Nine the robot constructed immediately before him Together the two Georges decide that human society must be acclimated to a robotic presence They advise U S Robots to build low function non humanoid machines such as electronic birds and insects which can monitor and correct ecological problems In this way humans can become comfortable with robots thereby greatly easing the transition These robotic animals note the Georges will not even require the Three Laws because their functions will be so limited The story concludes with a conversation between George Nine and George Ten Deactivated and placed in storage they can only speak in the brief intervals when their power levels rise above the standby mode threshold Over what a human would experience as a long time the Georges discuss the criteria for what constitutes responsible authority that A an educated principled and rational person should be obeyed in preference to an ignorant immoral and irrational person and B that superficial characteristics such as skin tone sexuality or physical disabilities are not relevant when considering fitness for command Given that A the Georges are among the most rational principled and educated persons on the planet and B their differences from normal humans are purely physical they conclude that in any situation where the Three laws would come into play their own orders should take priority over that of a regular human That in other words that they are essentially a superior form of human being and destined to usurp the authority of their makers Story notes EditWhile Asimov may have intended this to represent the final word on the Three Laws s subtleties he later returned to the same theme and developed it in a different direction The Bicentennial Man written two years later also addresses the distinction between human and robot and its implication for the Three Laws This time the story also revolves around a robot who wishes to become human but its protagonist chooses to cross each barrier as he becomes aware of it never learning until the very end what makes an individual human The title references Psalm 8 5 What is man that thou art mindful of him And son of man that thou visitest him See also EditZeroth Law of RoboticsExternal links Edit That Thou Art Mindful of Him title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database Preceded by Light Verse Included in The Complete Robot Series Robot seriesFoundation Series Followed by The Bicentennial Man Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title That Thou Art Mindful of Him amp oldid 1106745881, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
