Ghost In the Shell

Imagine getting charged with a DUI and you argue that it is fine since you were only HALF drunk. Laws are made for a reason, and you can’t break them. If robots have three laws they need to follow, half-human half-robots need to follow these rules as well. They are still part robots, and it is only fair that they follow Isaac Asimov’s laws of robotics. In 1942 Isaac Asimov wrote a short story called “runaround” that discussed the three rules of robotics. The three rules robots are required to follow according to Asimov are that they cannot injure a human being, or allow a human to be in harm. They also must obey rules that a human sets unless it contradicts the first law, and lastly a robot has to protect their fellow robots unless it conflicts with the first or second law. These laws are all specifically made for robots, even those who may have some human qualities within.

Half-robot half-humans must follow the three laws of robotics to ensure humans do not become extinct. If robots were allowed to kill humans, they would take over the world. In the movie I Robot, a detective discovers that a “unique” robot, who was half-human half-robot disobeyed the three rules of being a robot, and killed A human. If all of these “unique” robots were to do this, they can simply erase all humans from existence. This can have a major impact on our future and the rest of humanity. After these unique robots kill all humans, the rest of the population would become half-robot half-human, and since there is no law saying robots cannot kill half-robot half-humans, the population will eventually keep declining until it is full of just robots.

Even though it is vital for half-human half-robots to follow the same rules that robots need to, In the movie “Ghost in The Shell” Motoko is an exception. She is a cyborg security agent trying to find the puppet master. A cyborg is a half-human half-robot, who has mechanical qualities that add to its human brain. Motoko was once a human, so she still has the brain of a human, and her “ghost” was put into a robot body, which was a metaphor for her soul. The puppet master is human and for her to eliminate him she must break Asimov’s law. The puppet master has done a lot of harm to humans, and killing him would be the right thing to do in this case. Asimov’s rules were made to protect humans, and Motoko is saving more humans just by eliminating this one since he has been killing other humans. She had the human’s best interest at heart and is helping the human population, instead of endangering them.

Cyborgs have no soul, and since they are made of technology they are incapable of having feelings. They should not be allowed to kill humans if they don’t even have a soul. The three laws Asimov created are beneficial for both regular robots and cyborgs. With them, under strict rules, it will help us monitor them better and allow us to continue creating them without the worry of a takeover. If they are created under order to obey orders given by humans, they can help us. They can do things such as work, help in scary conditions such as the military, and do other things that humans cannot. We can use them as helpful tools in our daily lives, instead of constantly worrying if they will harm us if they are under these strict rules since they won’t be allowed to injure us, due to the first law.

Who would want to live in a world that is just full of robots? Without humans who would even create these robots? Who would take care of the ecosystem? Who would take care of the animals? Who would water the plants and take care of landscaping? Without humans, there might not even be a place for these robots to live or exist. These half-robot half-humans need to keep us, humans, alive. We can all live together happily as long as they follow the three laws that Asimov created.