I, Robot

In science fiction, the Three Laws of Robotics are a set of three rules written by Isaac Asimov, which almost all positronic robots appearing in his fiction must obey. Introduced in his 1942 short story “Runaround“, although foreshadowed in a few earlier stories, the Laws state the following:

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A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. A robot must obey any orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

The Defender’s

The Defenders” is a 1953 science fiction short story by American author Philip K. Dick, and the basis for Dick’s 1964 novel The Penultimate Truth. It is one of several of his short stories to be expanded into a novel.

The story deals with the Cold War era. It depicts a future history where nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union had occurred years ago and the American people are living in subterranean cities to avoid radiation. The Americans are told that the war is still continuing on the irradiated surface, fought on their behalf by soldier-like robots.

The end of the story reveals that contrary to what Americans thought, the war has ended long ago and the robots have been maintaining a peace with the Soviets for many years. They had not informed the subterranean dwellers as they thought them too immature and belligerent to understand the futility of war

Vonnegut

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007; pronounced /ˈvɒnɨɡət/) was an American novelist known for works blending satire, black comedy, and science fiction including Slaughterhouse-Five (1969), Cat’s Cradle (1963), and Breakfast of Champions (1973).^[2] He was known for his humanist beliefs as well as being honorary president of the American Humanist Association.