> as lemmas

1941 I. Asimov in Astounding Sci. Fiction May 53/2 ‘You know the fundamental law impressed upon the positronic brain of all robots, of course.’... ‘Certainly... On no conditions is a human being to be injured in any way, even when such injury is directly ordered by another human.’

1942 I. Asimov in Astounding Sci.-Fiction Mar. 100/1 Let's start with the three fundamental rules of Robotics—the three rules that are built most deeply into a robot's positronic brain.]

1944 I. Asimov in Astounding Sci. Fiction Feb. 165/2 If your analysis were correct, Dave would have to break down the First Law of Robotics: That a robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to be injured.

1950 I. Asimov I, Robot p. ix (heading) The three laws of robotics.

1968 I. Asimov in Sci. Jrnl. Oct. 116/2 Eventually, I formulated these safeguards in the shape of ‘The Three Laws of Robotics’. 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 the orders given it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. 3. A robot must protect its own existence, except where such protection would conflict with the First or Second Law.

1974 G. Butler Coffin for Canary viii. 100 Perhaps we are robots. Robots acting out the last Law of Robotics... To tend towards the human.

1984 Statistician 33 355 Fox..calls this the ‘Principle of Cognitive Emulation’ (and remarks that it has also been called the Fourth Law of Robotics!).

1990 New Scientist 13 Oct. 54/3 Time for a new law of robotics: A robot shall not leave a project skint, or by inaction cause it to be skint.

2001 M. K. Booker Monsters, Mushroom Clouds, & Cold War i. 32 Asimov's famed Laws of Robotics presumably ensured the benevolent nature of his robots.