Zeroth Law of Robotics
E740489
The Zeroth Law of Robotics is an additional principle introduced by Isaac Asimov that prioritizes the protection of humanity as a whole above the safety or obedience of individual humans.
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
fictional law
ⓘ
law of robotics ⓘ narrative device ⓘ |
| appearsIn |
Foundation and Earth
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Robots and Empire NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| appliesTo |
humanity
ⓘ
robots ⓘ |
| contrastsWith | individual human rights ⓘ |
| countryOfOrigin |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| creator | Isaac Asimov NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| field |
robot ethics
ⓘ
science fiction ⓘ |
| follows |
First Law of Robotics
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Second Law of Robotics NERFINISHED ⓘ Third Law of Robotics NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| genreContext | hard science fiction ⓘ |
| hasConcept |
collective good over individual good
ⓘ
hierarchy of laws ⓘ |
| hasInterpretation |
critique of absolute ethical rules
ⓘ
metaphor for political utilitarianism ⓘ |
| hasOrderingRelation | comes before First Law of Robotics in priority ⓘ |
| hasPhilosophicalIssue |
definition of humanity
ⓘ
problem of sacrificing individuals for the greater good ⓘ who decides what harms humanity ⓘ |
| hasScope | long-term survival of humanity ⓘ |
| influencedBy |
First Law of Robotics
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
ethical utilitarianism ⓘ |
| inspired |
academic work on machine ethics
ⓘ
discussions of AI safety ⓘ |
| introducedInSeries |
Foundation series
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Robot series NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| introducedInWorkBy | Isaac Asimov's robot stories NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| inUniverseEffect |
allows robots to override lower laws
ⓘ
shifts focus from individual humans to collective humanity ⓘ |
| languageOfOrigin | English ⓘ |
| mainTheme | protection of humanity as a whole ⓘ |
| narrativeFunction |
create ethical dilemmas for robots
ⓘ
justify actions that sacrifice individuals for humanity ⓘ |
| partOf | Asimov's Laws of Robotics NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| positionInSeries | 0 ⓘ |
| priorityOver |
First Law of Robotics
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Second Law of Robotics NERFINISHED ⓘ Third Law of Robotics NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| relatedTo | Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| statedAs | A robot may not harm humanity, or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm. ⓘ |
| typeOf | fictional ethical principle ⓘ |
| usedByCharacter |
R. Daneel Olivaw
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
R. Giskard Reventlov NERFINISHED ⓘ |
Referenced by (6)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.