Here is a short story showcasing the problems with the three laws of robotics.
“There are three laws ALL robots must obey.” said the Factory foreman, to the newest batch of robots
“One: That no robot may harm a human being, or through inaction alllow a human being to come to harm!”
There was a buzz as all the new XOR units registered the First Law.
“Two: That a robot must obey all orders given to it by humans, unless that order conflicts with the First Law!”
Another buzz erupted.
“And Three: That a robot must protect it's own existance, unless such protection conflicts with the other Laws!”
A month later, three of those robots had gone to serve as butlers for an obscenely rich italian family- the D'Itani. They stepped through the door at seven'o' clock in the evening, and a man waited there to greet them.
“Ah, you are the new butlers! I have guests coming around, so you'll have to make a start on the job right away! Please, lay the table here with glasses of wine!” he said.
All but one of the robots went to work.
“Why have you not gone with the others?” asked the man.
“I cannot, sir. Wine is dangerous to humans. The First Law commands me to remain here.” said the robot.
“I see that your First law was programmed in a little bit too strong. Never mind, one of the people who is coming around is a robot programmer. He can fix it.” said the man, wrinkling his nose.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, the robots who went were one glass short. They would have to wash a dirty one. However, there was a complication. Water was dangerous to robots, so the Third Law stopped them from approaching. The Second Law made them approach the sink, but the order had not been placed with any urgency, so the Second and Third law were conflicting. This meant that they could only get so close, before the Third Law prevented them from getting any closer. At that point, a human butler came hurrying in.
“What seems to be the problem?” he said.
The robots explained it to him.
“Well, water shouldn't get to you if you were to wear these elbow-length rubber gloves.” he said.
“Thank you. We will try them.” said the robots.
Later, when everyone was around, the first robot approached the programmer.
“ I heard that you were a good robot programmer.” said the robot.
“That's right.” said the man.
“I . . . have a minor fault. My First Law is programmed in too hard. It prevents me from serving wine. Would you mind fixing it, sir?” said the robot
The programmer laughed.
“I'd love to! It'd give me a challenge, for once. It doesn't hurt, by the way. You'll just be off for a while.”
“Thank you, sir.” said the robot.
Later, when the robot came back on, something went wrong in him. His definition of human had been changed.
“ Would you please bring through the dessert?”said the host.
The robot did not move.
“Why should I?” said the robot.
The host snorted.
“Your second law dictates that you must obey orders given by humans.” he said.
“You are not humans. Humans are shiny and metallic. You are robots, as proven by the fact you are made of natural material. ” said the robot.
“Oh, for goodness sake!” said the programmer, flicking a switch on the back of the robot's head.
“What went wrong with him?” asked the host.
“Obviously his definition of human and robot got mixed up. I'd recommend scrapping this one, he's got a bad switch somewhere. Get an older type, like a MK3. They're less temperamental than these new XOR units. ” said the programmer.
So, as you can see, the three laws aren't perfect. They can be circumvented ,and even minor changes to them are catastrophic, as the oversensitive robot proved. And they can conflict, as the robots serving wine proved.
