Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics as a trait for robots

[jay042]

I have been writing up a bunch of robot characters lately and reading some of Asimov's stories which got me thinking about his Three Laws of Robotics.

• A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
  
• A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
• A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

When I stated up Robby the Robot I basically gave it the three laws in the form a major Code of Conduct and a Weakness. I was thinking of combining the two into a single trait.

Three Laws Safe (Special Bad) A robot character is programed to obey the Three Laws of Robotics. It must protect human life above all else, and failing to do so can have dire consequences to it's function. If it is ordered to kill a human, or acts in a way that will cause harm to a human, it will cease to function and suffer 4 levels of damage reducing it's attributes. The damage cannot be repaired except by a herd technology roll. This trait grants  4 character points.

[Stormcrow]

Robby the Robot started to overload when he was ordered to kill a human. But in general the Three Laws wouldn't require that. The exceptions stated in the Laws bypass this.

So a general robot ordered to kill a human would just say, "Sorry, that goes against my programming. Can I get you a Coke instead?" A Three Laws robot doesn't need a Weakness; it's just a straightforward Major Code of Conduct.

The thing about the Three Laws is that they don't work. They never have. Asimov's first stories involving them are all about the Three Laws not working. Robots constantly search for ways trick humans and bypass the Three Laws to serve their own interests.