"Runaround" in Astounding Science Fiction (March 1942); later published in I, Robot (1950)
; The Zeroth Law of Robotics:
Later included among these laws as a more fundamental directive
Later included among these laws as a more fundamental directive
“
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.
— Isaac Asimov
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws." in the context of ""Runaround" in Astounding Science Fiction (March 1942); later published in I, Robot (1950)
; The Zeroth Law of Robotics:
Later included among these laws as a more fundamental directive" to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Isaac Asimov" (Quotes, The Three Laws of Robotics (1942), The Third Law of Robotics)
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
About Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov (c. 2 January 1920 – 6 April 1992) was a Russian-born American biochemist who was a prolific writer of both fiction and non-fiction, his works include the Foundation series and I, Robot.
About Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov (c. 2 January 1920 – 6 April 1992) was a Russian-born American biochemist who was a prolific writer of both fiction and non-fiction, his works include the Foundation series and I, Robot.
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