Robot Guardians

Robots are often created to be the guardians of humans. They can protect us from other robots, protect us from alien invaders, or even protect us from ourselves. In movies such as Robocop, the robot has the traditional protectorate role of policeman, but he is superior in all respects to his human counterparts. Isaac Asimov's robots, governed by the programmed Three Laws, are required to protect humanity even if it means their own death. Some of the earliest stories with an artificial humanlike guardians come from Jewish mythology. These "golems" were created by their masters to serve as guardians for the Jewish village. Jack Williamson's novel The Humanoids takes this theme one step further: his robots protect too well. Humanity is reduced to a mass of happy and simpleminded drones because their guardian robots will not let them do anything that might lead to harm.