Editing I, Robot (section)

==Popular culture references==
{{in popular culture|section|date=January 2024}}
{{See also|The Three Laws of Robotics in popular culture}}
In 2004, ''[[The Saturday Evening Post]]'' said that ''I, Robot'''s [[Three Laws of Robotics|Three Laws]] "revolutionized the science fiction genre and made robots far more interesting than they ever had been before."<ref>{{cite journal |last=Kreiter |first=Ted |title=Revisiting The Master Of Science Fiction |journal=Saturday Evening Post |volume=276 |issue=6 |page=38 |issn=0048-9239}}</ref> ''I, Robot'' has influenced many aspects of modern popular culture, particularly with respect to science fiction and technology. One example of this is in the technology industry. The name of the real-life modem manufacturer named [[U.S. Robotics]] was directly inspired by ''I, Robot''. The name is taken from the name of a robot manufacturer ("United States Robots and Mechanical Men") that appears throughout Asimov's robot short stories.<ref>''U.S. Robotics Press Kit, 2004'', p3 [http://www.usr.com/download/brochures/press-backgrounder.pdf PDF format] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928020238/http://www.usr.com/download/brochures/press-backgrounder.pdf |date=September 28, 2007 }}</ref>

Many works in the field of science fiction have also paid homage to Asimov's collection.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}

An episode of the original ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek]]'' series, "[[I, Mudd]]" (1967), which depicts a planet of androids in need of humans, references ''I, Robot''. Another reference appears in the title of a ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' episode, "[[I, Borg]]" (1992), in which Geordi La Forge befriends a lost member of the Borg collective and teaches it a sense of individuality and free will.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}

A ''[[Doctor Who]]'' story, ''[[The Robots of Death]]'' (1977), references ''I, Robot'' with the "First Principle", with one character stating: "Robots can't harm humans. It's the first principle."<ref>{{cite serial |title=The Robots of Death |series=[[Doctor Who]] |last=Boucher |first=Chris (Writer) |author-link=Chris Boucher |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One|BBC1]] |date=29 January – 19 February 1977}}</ref>

In the film ''[[Aliens (film)|Aliens]]'' (1986), the synthetic person Bishop paraphrases Asimov's First Law in the line: "It is impossible for me to harm, or by omission of action allow to be harmed, a human being."<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DS7WyOSYBIY | title=Reaction of Ripley when she founds out that Bishop's android - Aliens (1986) in 1080p | website=[[YouTube]] | date=November 10, 2022 }}</ref>

An episode of ''[[The Simpsons]]'' entitled "[[I D'oh Bot]]" (2004) has [[Professor Frink]] build a robot named "Smashius Clay" (also named "Killhammad Aieee") that follows all three of Asimov's laws of robotics.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wellman |first=Henry M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3EPBDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA135 |title=Reading Minds: How Childhood Teaches Us to Understand People |date=2019-12-03 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-087868-9 |page=135 |language=en}}</ref>

The [[animated series|animated]] science fiction/comedy ''[[Futurama]]'' makes several references to ''I, Robot''. The title of the episode "[[I, Roommate]]" (1999) is a spoof on ''I, Robot'' although the plot of the episode has little to do with the original stories.<ref name="Drawn">{{cite book |title=Drawn to Television: Prime-Time Animation from the Flintstones to Family Guy |url=https://archive.org/details/drawntotelevisio0000book |url-access=registration |author=M. Keith Booker |page=[https://archive.org/details/drawntotelevisio0000book/page/122 122] |isbn=0-275-99019-2 |year=2006 |publisher=Praeger |location=Westport, Conn.}}</ref> Additionally, the episode "[[The Cyber House Rules]]" included an optician named "Eye Robot" and the episode "[[Anthology of Interest II]]" included a segment called "I, Meatbag."<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Cyber House Rules - The Infosphere, the Futurama Wiki |url=https://theinfosphere.org/The_Cyber_House_Rules |access-date=2024-05-31 |website=theinfosphere.org |archive-date=February 6, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240206014444/https://theinfosphere.org/The_Cyber_House_Rules |url-status=live }}</ref> Also in "[[Bender's Game]]" (2008) the psychiatrist is shown a [[logical fallacy]] and explodes when the assistant shouts "Liar!" a la "[[Liar! (short story)|Liar!]]". Leela once told Bender to "cover his ears" so that he would not hear the robot-destroying paradox which she used to destroy Robot Santa (he punishes the bad, he kills people, killing is bad, therefore he must punish himself), causing a total breakdown; additionally, Bender has stated that he is Three Laws Safe.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}

The [[positronic brain]], which Asimov named his robots' central processors, is what powers [[Data (Star Trek)|Data]] from ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'', as well as other Soong type androids. Positronic brains have been referenced in a number of other television shows including ''[[Doctor Who]]'', ''[[Once Upon a Time... Space]]'', ''[[Perry Rhodan]]'', ''[[The Number of the Beast (novel)|The Number of the Beast]]'', and others.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}

Author [[Cory Doctorow]] has written a story called "[[I, Robot (Cory Doctorow)|I, Robot]]" as homage to and critique of Asimov,<ref>Doctorow, Cory. "Cory Doctorow's Craphound.com". http://www.craphound.com/?p=189 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080427172226/http://craphound.com/?p=189 |date=April 27, 2008 }} (retrieved April 27, 2008)</ref> as well as "I, Row-Boat", both released in the 2007 short story collection ''[[Overclocked: Stories of the Future Present]]''. He has also said, "If I return to this theme, it will be with a story about uplifted cheese sandwiches, called 'I, Rarebit.'"<ref>{{cite web |last=Doctorow |first=Cory |title=Cory Doctorow's Craphound.com |url=http://www.craphound.com/?p=1676 |accessdate=2008-04-27 |archive-date=March 31, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080331001528/http://craphound.com/?p=1676 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Other cultural references to the book are less directly related to science fiction and technology. The album ''[[I Robot (album)|I Robot]]'' (1977), by [[The Alan Parsons Project]], was inspired by Asimov's ''I, Robot''. In its original conception, the album was to follow the themes and concepts presented in the short story collection. The Alan Parsons Project were not able to obtain the rights in spite of Asimov's enthusiasm; he had already assigned the rights elsewhere. Thus, the album's concept was altered slightly although the name was kept (minus comma to avoid copyright infringement).<ref>[http://www.the-alan-parsons-project.com/albums.html Official Alan Parsons Project website] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090218125336/http://www.the-alan-parsons-project.com/albums.html |date=2009-02-18 }}</ref> An album, ''[[I, Human]]'' (2009), by Singaporean band [[Deus Ex Machina (Death Metal)|Deus Ex Machina]], draws heavily upon Asimov's principles on robotics and applies it to the concept of cloning.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.live4metal.com/reviews-784.htm |title=Reviews |publisher=Live 4 Metal |access-date=2011-10-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111019101359/http://www.live4metal.com/reviews-784.htm |archive-date=2011-10-19 }}</ref>

The Indian science fiction film ''[[Endhiran]]'' (2010) refers to Asimov's three laws for artificial intelligence for the fictional character "Chitti: The Robot". When a scientist takes in the robot for evaluation, the panel inquires whether the robot was built using the Three Laws of Robotics.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}

The theme for [[Burning Man#2013 to 2019|Burning Man 2018]] was "I, Robot".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://journal.burningman.org/2017/10/philosophical-center/the-theme/i-robot/ |title=I, ROBOT |date=October 18, 2017 |access-date=June 1, 2018 |archive-date=July 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180703163017/https://journal.burningman.org/2017/10/philosophical-center/the-theme/i-robot/ |url-status=live }}</ref>