The three law's created by science fiction author and professor of biochemistry Isaac Asimov are as follows:
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 any orders given to 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.
What if the robot simply lies, does that sidestep these governing directives?
Professor Ronald Arkin and research engineer Alan Wagner have created algorithms guiding a robot that will in essence be able to deceive either humans or other mechanisms. "We use interdependence theory and game theory to explore the phenomena of deception from the perspective of robotics, and to develop an algorithm which allows an artificially intelligent system to determine if deception is warranted in a social situation," said Arkin and Wagner.
Depending on the situation the robot can strategically evade, lie or even use guile to complete its task. This research and development will certainly be a valuable asset to the U.S. military, in which this project has gained funding. "We will use the following example to illustrate our ideas: a valuable robotic asset operates at a military base. The base comes under attack and is in danger of being overrun. If the robot is discovered by the attackers then they will gain valuable information and hardware. The robot must hide and select a deceptive strategy that will reduce the chance that it will be encountered."
The implications these algorithms represent are astounding if you consider the merging of a Predator drone acting on its own. For example: You need to take out a specific target that is embedded in a populated city with anti-air capability. The drone can acquire the data it needs by tricking and maneuver past the city's defenses, neutralize its target, and return to its base without being spotted or the need for human interaction. Sounds too much like Terminator movie's "Skynet" to me.
This work was funded by Grant No. N00014-08-1-0696 from the Office of Naval Research (ONR). The content is solely the responsibility of the principal investigator and does not necessarily represent the official view of ONR.
Eavesdropper