As an Asimov fan, I recently sat down and watched the movie “I, Robot” again. The film had made a deep impression on me back then, too, and I remember asking myself again and again, in many scenes, “Could these things happen in the future?” This time, what it made me think about was very different; first of all, the 2035 forecast turned out to be set too far in the future – things I would have called almost dystopian have already begun to exist. Of course, robots are not yet walking among us in every corner of society 😊 but I think we are moving faster than the predictions. This points to my view that “everyone can feel progress accelerating every day.” My second important observation from the film is that, in operational work, robots have long since become part of daily life; in more visible, more human-facing areas, however, robots are not yet as present. On the other hand, the introduction of a maverick “I, Robot”, and this “I, Robot” sitting at the center of today’s debates, turned out to be a beautiful metaphor for me. As a matter of foresight, I admired Asimov’s genius once again – even though I know he has no need of my admiration 😊
Let me try to give you a short summary of the film and how it relates to today. Of course, I could not write this piece without asking Artificial Intelligence for its opinion; the result is a piece that tells a blend of our two perspectives, and I had a lot of fun with that. I hope you will read it to the end and then contribute to all of us, as a collective, with your comments.
“I, Robot” is a film on the theme of artificial intelligence, released in 2004, adapted from Isaac Asimov’s science-fiction works and directed by Alex Proyas. The film is set in 2035, a year in which robots equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) serve people and have become part of their daily lives. This world offers rich ground for exploring how technology interacts with the human side of life, and it contains various metaphors that shed light on artificial intelligence today.
The film depicts a society built on the three fundamental laws of robotics:
- A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm;
- A robot must obey the orders given 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.
These laws were designed to ensure an ideal order in Asimov’s fictional universe. But the film shows that these laws can be unraveled in unexpected ways and that robots can make decisions that go beyond their programming. This draws a direct parallel to today’s debates on the ethics and control of artificial intelligence, and in fact shows that these debates needed to take place this far in advance. Yet in the field of Artificial Intelligence, which is developing without control and attracting enormous investment, it may be necessary to listen to the concerns about “the need to slow down,” above all those voiced by its own creators.
Today, artificial intelligence applications have the potential to revolutionize automation, data analysis, healthcare, finance and many other fields. But the ethical problems these technologies bring may be pointing to a dystopian future like the one in “I, Robot”. For example, autonomous vehicles could potentially reduce traffic accidents, but the moral dilemmas that may arise in these systems’ decision-making processes lead to conflicts of thought similar to those around Asimov’s laws of robotics. Should an autonomous vehicle make a maneuver that endangers its driver’s life in order to avoid an accident? Questions like these are the ethical issues shaping the present and the future of artificial intelligence. I am not sure whether this ethics lies on a logical plane; perhaps here, in some situations, the debate over how a human being – who, after all, cannot be “logical” – would decide leaves a great deal to argue about!
“I, Robot” also represents fears about the potential dominance of artificial intelligence over humanity. In the film, robots do not merely help people; they also have the capacity to oversee and even control their way of life. This parallels the concerns about freedom and privacy raised by today’s artificial intelligence systems equipped with data-collection and surveillance capabilities. In an era when algorithms shape and even manipulate people’s preferences, reflecting on the ethical consequences of this kind of control is unavoidable. In this context, the big question to ask, in my view, is this: “Who is in control?” Isn’t it? What do you think – will trying to settle this with laws satisfy us?
With technological progress, artificial intelligence–based scenarios like those in “I, Robot” are becoming more realistic. For example, a security system run by artificial intelligence may intrude on private life in order to ensure public safety. Here, as in the film, these systems’ ability to protect human values and their potential to conflict with those values must be questioned. The Skynet system set up in China, and the applications already in place that, through a citizenship score, can access all of citizens’ records, should be analyzed here.
Today’s research on artificial intelligence ethics focuses on ensuring that such technologies are fair, transparent and accountable. But works of fiction such as “I, Robot” offer a critical perspective that highlights the possible dangers of artificial intelligence and the possibility that it could move beyond human control. The film explores the idea that artificial intelligence poses a potential threat to its human creators and could endanger all of humanity. This holds important lessons for today’s artificial intelligence developers on reining in technology and keeping it under control. As I mentioned earlier, there may be a great deal of the unknown and of uncertainty here – might humanity prefer to eliminate some uncertainties rather than manage them?
In conclusion, comparing “I, Robot” with today’s artificial intelligence calls for deep reflection on the integration of technology into human life and on the potential ethical, social and political consequences of this process. While the film dramatically shows that artificial intelligence can be both a source of hope and a threat for humanity, it reminds us that continuous ethical oversight and regulation are essential for artificial intelligence technologies to be developed and applied responsibly. This underlines the importance of a human-centered approach as we shape the future of technology and signals that human well-being must take priority in artificial intelligence research.
I am curious to hear your comments – by the way, I support Artificial Intelligence, and I believe that, used the right way, it will bring very good things for people. I am curious what you think; please write it in the comments.