Minidou Wyn &
Les robots by Isaac Asimov

Some of the stories in this book deserve a five star, but some do not and this is why I am rating Asimov's "I, Robot" with three stars. It was interesting to read, especially to observe how some people react to robots and most importantly how robots react to people. Driven by three basic laws, their whole existence relies on these and yet every time it was unpredictable how the laws of robotics would apply to each specific situation. That was what drew me in to keep reading. But on the other hand, being written in 1950 played its part. The explanation of the technology was a tiny bit old-fashioned, which is, of course, understandable but not as satisfying while reading. Even though I must admit, Mr. Asimov knew what was up if he got to predict AI 100 years into the future.

Obviously a bit dated, but at the same time this felt like a look into our future with AI

I loved this book! Probably one of my favourite ever reads. I will definitely read it again!

The mixture of short stories is great, some whimsical and fun stories, some stories that seem to have real peril. All stories well written!

I especially liked the last story "The Evitable Conflict" as it gave a real positive perspective on the possible end result of AI.

Dr. Susan Calvin is an interesting protagonist through the overarching story across the short stories and her perception of the robots gives them such a brightness of personality.

All the Powell and Donovan bits were hilarious too, very reminiscent of my experiences working with engineers.

Strong recommend and probably one every one should read.

3,5 rounded up to 4

Isaac Asimov is one of the founders of the science fiction, so I’ve heard. I had high expectations when I started this book and can see why people say that. Unfortunately, I haven’t found a deeper meaning inside the sci-fi setting. This book is a fantastic collection of stories that are set in a futuristic world full of androids. It’s a well written book, I’ve enjoyed reading it, but I was always looking for a secret meaning in those stories. Like, what does it mean to be a human? or what makes robots “tick”? Instead, plot of some stories was based on a word pun. I would definitely pick up another book my Asimov, but probably with lower expectations.

I chose to delve into "I, Robot" following my experience with Apple TV's Foundation. Asimov's visionary narrative showcases a forward-thinking perspective. Although some aspects might appear perplexing when viewed through a contemporary lens of robotics and artificial intelligence, particularly the concept of the 'positronic brain,' the exploration of the three Fundamental Rules of Robotics and Robopsychology captivates the imagination. As Asimov navigates the intricacies of robots, the narrative subtly delves into profound reflections on what it truly means to be human.

ATTENTION SPOILERS!!! No doubt, influence of Isaac Asimov and "I, Robot" in particular to the sci-fi genre is huge. The three rules, defined in this book literally formed the basis for describing AI and robot in sci-fi literature and has been referenced thousand times by different authors. "I, Robot" is definitely one of the gems of the genre and it's "must read" for everyone interested in science fiction and robotics. But with all said, there are still some inconsistencies that I noticed. The first thing that drags attention and makes you say "Whaaat?" is how robots from the novel are described as black boxes. No one knows what's going on inside their mind and all they can do is assumptions from investigation of their behavior. Whereas it should be possible to interfere with their thinking process by altering this "positronic field". Because it's program after all. There is some code, controlling the behavior of these robots, and it should be possible to alter this code, change some lines, make robot do whatever you want. I understand that it's AI and made to be autonomous, but anyway, it'd be stupid not to leave some backdoors to control them in the case of emergency. I mean they are made by human for human, right? Think of our current driverless cars; We can switch down the autopilot and take manual control at any moment. Another manifestation of the same issue is how they communicate with robots. It's verbal only! We see some moments where doctor Calvin chooses words and expressions to talk to a brain in order to keep it from paradox and malfunction. That's not how robots work in real. Of course, verbal communication is more fancy and user friendly but in such scientific projects like development of hyper-drive, there should be more advanced ways of communicating (like through a console by writing a code). The part where the Brain builds a space ship with hyperdrive was ridiculous. I mean, it couldn't have been built only by robots. Where were all the building materials and supplies coming from? Why no one knows the principles of how this hyperdrive works? Even after it's been built. It's like they didn't care about how it's gonna be working, they were just waiting there until the thing will be ready. Doesn't seem much scientific, does it? Second thing that make the book less believable is the world politics and economy. World divided to global regions, governed by Coordinators. We can find it at pretty much every sci-fi book about future. But we see that the real world gets more divided and separated, number of military conflicts are at the same level as 50 years ago. World economy at the book is controlled by so called Machines which define the economical plan for production of all the goods. That's some communist economy that didn't prove itself and I don't thing companies like "U.S. Robots.." could exist at such economical conditions. I believe, these are things that we can notice only from current point of development of the world, technology and AI systems and it was impossible for Isaac Asimov to foresee all that at 1950. But anyway, it's fun reading and author touches upon lots of important issues about development of AI, robotics ethics etc. I rate it 4 stars from 5.

Absolutely loved it. Susan Calvin is a memorable character. Also hate the folks who made the movie. What were they thinking?

So sunny! So clumsy! (“His dark eyes smoldered.”) So misanthropic! (The humans call the bots “Boy”, who call humans “master”.) So warmly cool! The story ‘Evidence’ is 4/5.

Não vou dizer que Asimov é um grande escritor em sua prosa — fui seduzido pela capa maravilhosa da edição brasileira da Editora Aleph, de modo que não posso julgar o original pela tradução —, mas vou dizer enfaticamente o seguinte: ele é um gênio artesão de premissas. Para quem não sabe, "Eu, Robô" não é exatamente um romance, mas sim uma coleção de nove histórias curtas (cada uma pode ser lida por inteiro em cerca de meia hora, talvez menos) publicadas separadamente na década de 40. Existe uma narrativa sutil e funcional conectando todas essas histórias menores, mas cada uma tem seu início, meio e fim. Sobre eles, devo dizer que os fins e os meios são competentes, mas o que brilha mesmo são os inícios. Uma das minhas histórias favoritas, por exemplo, parte da premissa "O que aconteceria com um robô que 'nasce' dotado de uma mente plenamente desenvolvida e capaz de raciocínio lógico muito além do de qualquer humano, porém sem absolutamente nenhum conhecimento factual sobre o mundo? A que conclusões ele chega?" O desenvolvimento dessa premissa é fantástico. "Eu, Robô" é o primeiro livro a estabelecer as influentes Três Leis da Robótica, também conhecidas como Leis de Asimov, que foram adotadas, expandidas ou pelo menos referenciadas em diversas outras histórias de ficção científica. Elas são como uma bússola moral, implantada diretamente em seus "cérebros", que todo robô precisa seguir. Asimov bolou essas leis e, em todas as histórias, se põe a explorar as consequências de situações em o cumprimento delas é impedido ou tornado ambíguo. Em suma, é um livro fascinante.

The first book in my A-Z of authors was I, Robot by Isaac Asimov. It wasn't what I expected, in that it was several short stories, somewhat connected rather than one continuous story. Some of the stories I loved, especially Robbie and the one about the politician who everyone thought was a robot. But some were clogged down in science and I struggled to understand them, or really care. I loved the ideas that Asimov had, about the world being divided into four parts rather than continents and countries and how robots would be used in the future. Considering this book was written in the fifties Asimov was definitely ahead of his time and makes you really think the impact robots could have on human life.

Tam 1 yıl önce okumuşum şimdi vakıf serisine başlarken tekrar okumak istedim. Muhteşem bir kitap. Cutie seni asla unutmam 😂

I really wanted to read some of Asimov’s works, so I opted for this one, and I decided to read it in english instead of italian (my first language) cause I want to improve my understanding of the english language. The book itself isn’t complicated, and helps to increase the words you know without having to search them every second, but these kind of stories aren’t really my cup of tea so I’m a bit biased, and even though I enjoyed his writing and how the author portrays the environments and characters I wasn’t really motivated to finish it, so I had to force myself to read it. Also, I bought the book without any previous research so, I got confused by the many changes of characters and situation, (only understood lately how the book was composed, but it’s my fault indeed). Even though I couldn’t really appreciate this novel, i’d recommend it, because it’s really a book that was ahead of its times, and stresses some concerns about technologies that should find more space in the discussions these days. I really enjoyed the first two chapters after all.

Really entertaining read. Very well written book, with many witty, funny and interesting moments. The only thing that I found a bit lacking where the characters, they where a bit plain.

3,5 Stars

This book was sort of forced in me by my friend. But I don't regret it. It was a likable classic I didn't mind reading. I liked 'Liar!' the best. I can't even really explain why. I guess, cause it played with humans' emotions? But all the other stories were not bad as well. But, unfortunately, I wasn't blown away by the book. Maybe it was the writing style, maybe Ice just started it at the wrong time. However, no regrets.

Normally I am not a fan of short stories but I loved this! I can’t wait to read more from this author.

I loved it! I didn't know that it was going to be a bunch of short stories relating to robots and the idea of how they change humanity. There were no bad short stories, though I did enjoy the last few the most since they made you question how human robots really can be in those settings. It's a great classic science fiction read , though if you think it will be like the movie, just know that the movie took the idea of a single story and adapted it.

DNFed at 51%

Llegué a este libro por obligación ya que tuve que leerlo para una materia de la carrera que estudiaba, pero como me gusta la ciencia ficción supuse que lo iba a amar sin lugar a dudas. Pues no mi ciela. Perdón, siento que fallé como lectora de ciencia ficción no amándolo, pero no lo sentí así. No es que esté mal, sino que tiene un ritmo que no me atrae, no hay tensión, no tiene ese no sé qué que qué sé yo, por decirlo de alguna manera. Es una serie de historias cortas, que no necesariamente significa algo malo, pero bueno, ninguna terminó de encantarme por lo que no puedo decir demasiadas cosas buenas del global. Contrario a lo que digo otras veces igual, le voy a dar otra oportunidad a Asimov seguramente, porque me niego a creer que este amo y señor de la ciencia ficción no haya escrito nada que no pueda llegar a adorar. Aun con toda esta reseña un poco caótica, recomiendo el libro, no es largo y puede que lo disfruten.

I went into this book knowing the basic gist of it, but not really knowing what to expect. Well, what I found was unexpected but not unpleasant. I enjoyed this book for what it was: a science fiction romp from one of the genre's proclaimed masters. I found myself enjoying the writing style and really getting into a few of the stories. It was the rather dull stories that were in between the good ones that brought my opinion of this book down. Still, I can say that I liked it.

There are many thought-provoking ideas and concepts weaved throughout the short stories -- including psychology, politics, etc. The short stories explore Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics. These stories sat with me for a long time (as well as his other books) after I read them. I still think about them from time to them. One of my favorite stories in the collection is "Little Lost Robot."

Reading this reminded me of The Daily WTF where a weird problem is presented, and eventually solved. That's much of the format of this series of short stories. The book is a combination of various parts of these 9 stores, which are considered the beginning of Asimovs Robot/Empire/Foundation series.