Robots (and their implications) discussed at the Vatican
The First Int'l Symposium on RoboEthics (happening Jan 30 and 31st) is actually surprisingly hip. It reminds me of Dr. Frank McConnell's Science Fiction class where they touch a lot on fictional works (like Frankenstein and its orgins in the Golem, Blade Runner) to paint various imagined "robotic" extrapolations as well as highly regarded "real-world" thinkers like Bill Joy.

At the crux, rightly sits how probable is Asimov's Four Rules of Robotics:

1. A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
Asimov added a further rule to combat a more sinister prospect:
4. A robot may not injure humanity, or, through inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.

It would have been very interesting to participate in this debate.

Though, I think if we did invent robots the first hundred, or so, would run amuck.