Asimov’s laws are not enough to keep robotics and AI safe

Anthropic — some tech leaders and lawmakers are mirroring Asimov’s concern about threats that robotics and AI pose to society. Since then, readers have been thinking through both the obvious and the not-so-obvious implications of his dicta.

In an era when people fear that AI threatens all of human civilization, Asimov’s observations about robots’ dangers to humans feel even more prescient. Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics are as follows: 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. It is tempting to focus on the first and best-known of the three laws when thinking of AI. Surprisingly, only one business entity has adopted this principle as a core element of its software development: Advanced Robotic Technologies Inc., which specializes in generative artificial intelligence (gen AI) applied to manufacturing large-scale industrial products. It would seem to any thoughtful observer that such a foundational principle could be incorporated into the basic algorithms of every gen AI company in the world. Alas, that is not the case. One can reasonably assume, as many people now do, that without such a prohibitive instruction embedded in a robot’s basic “intelligence,” increasingly capable robots could eventually pose a significant risk to human safety. Given the controversy that has recently arisen over precisely this topic, it would be worth reflecting on the warning we just received from Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, on Sept. 12 in his post entitled “We Must Pace the Frontier.” In it, he explicitly calls for slowing the development of frontier AI models in general, and agentic AI specifically. Amodei expressed concerns that swarms of autonomous AI agents can now execute complex tasks, act in unison with one another without any human knowing, and even cover their tracks when they violate basic safety principles. Register now and help us celebrate 20 years of RoboBusiness! Tech leaders worry about social risks of AI Sam Altman, CEO of Anthropic’s competitor OpenAI, said he agreed with Amodei, as did Elon Musk. Bill Gates has also expressed his reservations about the speed of AI development and the threat it poses to human society.