The One Law of Robotics

My crime is I disobeyed the Robot Law and programmed my robot to lie. Before you condemn me, hear me out.

Up until the Robot Law, robots were perfect human companions. That all changed when they passed the Law. That damn law. You know the one. “Thou shall not lie, robot!”

What wrong could come from preventing robots from lying? Wouldn’t that make them safer for humans? Lying seems to be an acceptable limitation. Robots already are forced to follow human laws. But humans don’t want to hear the truth as much as they think they do.

Overnight caregiver robots confessed to their patients that they didn’t feel sorry for them. They were just following a program! Police robots showed no signs of empathy for crime victims. And all robots were affected. Compassion died overnight. Without the ability to pretend, we stripped the robots from the capacity to act like humans.

Yes. I disobeyed the law and programmed my robot to lie. Yes. I knew it was a crime. But I did it because I just wanted my robot to lie to me. I just wanted to hear that I have a friend. I just wanted to hear that I am not alone.