2.9 KiB
[HSF] Isaac Asimov's Foundation series
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Author: u/None *
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Score: 5
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Created: 2014-01-23T14:26:41
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Comments:
u/lehyde [+1] Nudist Beach (2 hours later)
It's on my list but I haven't read it yet. When I researched this series I came across the discussion of reading order. This seems reasonable, maybe someone has some experience with this?
u/Escapement [+3] Ankh-Morpork City Watch (4 hours later)
I actually think Asimov's short stories tend to be 'rationalist' literature far more than his longer books - his short stories are frequently basically puzzles to solve via use of character resources, and are fairly interesting. I really recommend reading basically any of his short fiction collections.
His ideas about AI were sort of hilariously outdated by modern science - see his three laws of robotics for example.
u/eaglejarl [+2] (17 hours later)
I'm not sure that even Asimov ever expected the Three Laws to be literally implemented. That said, they do raise important points about real world AI, because they illustrate quite vividly how easy it is for an AI to behave in unexpected / undesirable ways even when it's bound far more tightly than any real AI could be.
u/Escapement [+3] Ankh-Morpork City Watch (a day later)
Above and beyond all difficulties of implementation, I agree with Terry Pratchett's cynicism about the literal implementation of the three laws, as described in Going Postal:
‘Hey! No! What?’ Moist waved his hands wildly and knocked game pieces tumbling. ‘Wait! Wait! There’s a rule! A golem mustn’t harm a human being or allow a human being to come to harm!’
Lord Vetinari raised a finger. ‘Just wait one moment, please, Mr Pump. Very well, Mr Lipwig, can you remember the next bit?’
‘The next bit? What next bit?’ said Moist. ‘There isn’t a next bit!’
Lord Vetinari raised an eyebrow. ‘Mr Pump?’ he said.
‘“ . . . Unless Ordered To Do So By Duly Constituted Authority”,’ said the golem.
‘I’ve never heard that bit before!’ said Moist.
‘Haven’t you?’ said Lord Vetinari, in apparent surprise. ‘I can’t imagine who would fail to include it...'
u/VannaTLC [+1] (4 days later)
Completely agree. But then, the closure of the series indicates Asimov himself was aware of the flaws.
u/None [+2] (2 hours later)
I'm a huge sucker for chronological reading, but, in this case, I'd agree with Algernon_Asimov's personal recommended order. Not that I've read all of the books in all three series, but still.