“No one can say for sure what will happen, not even its creator. “I view it as a piece of tangible philosophy,” Reben, a roboticist and artist based in Berkeley, Calif., told The Washington Post by phone early Friday morning. Reben’s devices mix art and technology, often whimsically, like his solar-powered music box that plays “You Are My Sunshine.”
This new machine, however, was not designed for whimsy. It’s the first ever robot to “autonomously and intentionally” break the First Law of Robotics, Reben says on his website. The law, one of a trio of famous science fiction principles created by author Isaac Asimov, declares that robots must not allow harm to befall humans.” – Ben Guarino