I, Robot

作者：Isaac Asimov
出版社：Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group Inc.
電影中譯片名：機械公敵

▎科幻小說作家Isaac Asimov 1942年完成作品《I, Robot》，藉由多個短篇故事講述機器人發展對人類可能的威脅，2004改編成電影《機械公敵》。
▎作者在書中提出的「機器人三定律」深刻影響了後世科幻小說，其中觀點到了人工智慧發展漸盛的今日，仍深具參考價值。
▎作者兼具文學與科學深厚造詣，無論你是讀者、作者、或是科學家，這都是非常值得一讀的經典作品。

預估閱讀時間：03:20
文章難度： ★★★★★

photo credit: shutterstock

In his 1942 collection of short stories I, Robot, the famed science fiction writer Isaac Asimov laid the groundwork for many of our modern concerns and ideas about artificial intelligence and what it could be (perhaps even what it is becoming now). Within this book's stories he laid out his Three Laws of Robotics (sometimes called "The Three Laws" or "Asimov's Laws”), demonstrating ethical concerns at the core of any improvement in what is the now commonplace field of machine learning. 

著名的科幻小說作家Isaac Asimov在1942年出版了科幻經典《I, Robot》，這本由眾多短篇故事匯集而成的經典，為現代對於未來的顧慮與想像奠定了基礎，許多當時的想像在今日甚至已成事實。作者在書中提出了他著名的「機器人三定律」（又稱「三定律」或「艾西莫夫定律」），並呈現對於「機器學習」的道德顧慮。

Asimov's prose is readable, approachable, and engaging, and his quality of thought shows much influence from his background with hard sciences and literature -- this is the man that coined the term "robotics" without a second thought, thinking himself to be using an already existent word.

作者的文筆平易近人，且極具吸引力。書中思想的質量顯出了他在文學與科學領域上的專精。他也是「機器人學」一詞的創造者。有趣的是，他甚至不知道自己創造了這個單字，而一直以他為用的是已經存在的字。

Asimov, like many sci-fi writers prior to our modern era, had a hopeful view of the future and its difficulties. The stories in this book hinge on how humans will relate to A.I., how we will set up proper safeguards for their use (as well as preserve ourselves), and how his version of a safeguard, the Three Laws, can be interpreted.

艾西莫夫與其他早期的科幻作者一樣，對未來科技發展的可能困境，都抱持著比較樂觀的態度。本書中的故事走向，緊扣著人類與機器人關係的建立、人類在機器人的發展下如何保護自身、以及如何解讀「機器人三定律」。

Though the stories in this book are mostly only loosely connected in that they share a universe, there is a steady development among the machines as mankind's control over them begins to loosen and the machines themselves become even more advanced.

雖然書中的短篇故事彼此並沒有緊密的連結，但在相同的宇宙觀下，人類對機器人的控制日漸鬆散，讓機器人漸漸自我進化，並穩定發展。

Isaac Asimov wrote or edited more than 500 books that were published in 9 of the Dewey Decimal System's 10 classifications. In his lifetime, he was famous for responding personally to all of his mail, as well as his near-superhuman ability to lecture for precisely the correct amount of time without the aid of a timepiece. He was an author totally unlike any other before or since, as whole-heartedly dedicated to the sciences as to his magnificent prose.

艾西莫夫一生共撰寫與編輯超過500本書，領域多元，橫跨杜威十進制圖書分類法10項中的9項。他種種近乎超人的能力也廣為人知，例如艾西莫夫總是親自回覆每一封郵件、不用看時鐘就能精準掌握授課時間。他是一位完全不同於其他先後作家的大師，終其一生奉獻於科學與他偉大的科幻小說作品。

It's tempting to call his writing "comprehensible", because much of its beauty and impressiveness lies in how utilitarian it is, but both of these words fail to express the conscientious beauty and majestic logic of his projects. 

用「容易理解」來形容作者的文筆恐怕不是很精確，因為它的精彩之處，多半跟作者直率的敘述風格有關，但這兩個詞都不足以他莊嚴又一絲不苟的邏輯。

My father, Paul Farrell, gave me this book when I was 8 years old, and it meant much to me then, but like any classic book it means something completely different and equally great to me now. If you are a reader, a writer, or a scientist, read this book. 

我的父親Paul Farrell在我8歲時給了我這本書，那對當時的我來說意義重大。如今雖然讀過許多其他偉大作品，它仍在我心中佔有一席之地。如果你是一位讀者、作者、或是科學家，看看這本書吧。

I, Robot 原著封面
photo credit: Flicker (RA.AZ)

Asimov's 3 Laws of Robotics
艾西莫夫的「機器人三定律」

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
機器人不得傷害人類，或坐視人類受到傷害

2. A robot must obey orders given by a human being unless it conflicts with the First Law.
除非違背第一法則，否則機器人必須服從人類命令

3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection won’t conflict with the First or Second Law.
除非違背第一或第二法則，否則機器人必須保護自己

文/Max Power

本文收錄於英語島English Island 2018年6月號
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