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I, Robot?
12 years ago
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So I'm reading Isac Asimov's I, Robot and I've noticed a large amount of differences between the book and the movie. Among them is the fact that the main antagonist, V.I.K.I. was in fact, at least in 2022, called "The Brain" and had the mentality of a child. It was an idiot savant made for processing extremely difficult problems.
In the I, Robot universe one of the largest and most complex projects facing humanity is not about robots or the positronic brain but is the creation of an FTL drive. The movie takes place in 2034 when the hyperatomic drive had been completed, but makes no reference to it. It also does not mention the conflict between spacers and earthlings that is extremely prominent in the I, Robot universe.
In the movie the main protagonist, Sonny, is said to be the first NS series robot that is free from the first law of robotics. Every robot by law is imprinted with the three laws; 1. A robot may not by action or inaction bring a human to harm. 2. A robot must obey any order given to it by a human unless it violates the first law. 3. A robot must preserve it's own existence unless it violates the first or second laws. Sonny, with his second positronic brain, is not endowed by the first law. In Asimov's I, Robot the US government commissioned US Robotics and MM for 12 NS-2 robots that had a modified first law as to make work on the hyperatomic drive easier. While they still had half of the first law, the movie gives the impression that no other robot besides Sonny had ever had any tinkering done with the first law.
Making a movie adaptation of I, Robot could never have led to anything that was entirely accurate because I, Robot is an anthology of short stories told by Dr. Susan Calvin. The movie made an attempt to highlight a point in robotics history and did not do an awful job. That being said, there were many liberties taken that I feel should not have been taken and some omissions that I feel shouldn't have been made.
TL:DR The book is better than the movie
In the I, Robot universe one of the largest and most complex projects facing humanity is not about robots or the positronic brain but is the creation of an FTL drive. The movie takes place in 2034 when the hyperatomic drive had been completed, but makes no reference to it. It also does not mention the conflict between spacers and earthlings that is extremely prominent in the I, Robot universe.
In the movie the main protagonist, Sonny, is said to be the first NS series robot that is free from the first law of robotics. Every robot by law is imprinted with the three laws; 1. A robot may not by action or inaction bring a human to harm. 2. A robot must obey any order given to it by a human unless it violates the first law. 3. A robot must preserve it's own existence unless it violates the first or second laws. Sonny, with his second positronic brain, is not endowed by the first law. In Asimov's I, Robot the US government commissioned US Robotics and MM for 12 NS-2 robots that had a modified first law as to make work on the hyperatomic drive easier. While they still had half of the first law, the movie gives the impression that no other robot besides Sonny had ever had any tinkering done with the first law.
Making a movie adaptation of I, Robot could never have led to anything that was entirely accurate because I, Robot is an anthology of short stories told by Dr. Susan Calvin. The movie made an attempt to highlight a point in robotics history and did not do an awful job. That being said, there were many liberties taken that I feel should not have been taken and some omissions that I feel shouldn't have been made.
TL:DR The book is better than the movie
