Today on Far Future Horizons we present another instalment of
the acclaimed documentary the Prophets of
Science Fiction which focuses on the life and work of Isaac Asimov.
Prophets of
Science Fiction is hosted by Executive Producer Ridley Scott.
In this instalment of the Prophets of Science Fiction Isaac Asimov's influence on robotics is discussed.
He saved the future from Evil Robots! Faced with a
sci-fi tradition where robots exist only to torment their human creators, Isaac
Asimov dreamed a better future where we need not fear our own technology. With
his breakthrough sci-fi story collection, I, Robot, Asimov laid the ground
rules for robo-behavior both in fiction and perhaps one day in real life.
With stories like Robbie
and Runaround, Isaac Asimov wrote of
a future where mechanical men can do our jobs for us. His ideas inspired
General Motors to create Unimate (the first industrial robot) and paved the way
for the widespread automation of modern industry.
In The Naked Sun, Asimov warns that mankind will
attempt to use robots as tools of warfare. Today, increasingly advanced robotic
soldiers wage war on the front lines of the modern battlefield.
Asimov's Bicentennial Man foretells the merging of man
and machine with the advent of transhuman technology. Today, bionic limbs
implanted smart chips, and even strength-enhancing robotic exoskeletons
indicate that Asimov's age of the transhuman is upon us.
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He's now regarded as the father of robotics. Isaac
Asimov's amazingly prolific body of work — over 500 books — set the stage for a
robo-friendly world. Today, droid doctors save lives performing delicate spinal
surgery, and automaton astronauts repair orbital stations in the vacuum of space.
And it all started with Isaac Asimov's futuristic vision: a robot in every
home.
A very good review
by Janice Kay concerning this episode of ‘Prophets of Science Fiction: Isaac Asimov’ appeared in Science Fiction.Com.
This episode of the Prophets of Science Fiction can be purchased from Amazon.com.
Prophets of Science Fiction ~ Isaac Asimov on Vimeo
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