Artificial life forms have come a long way from when moviegoers first encountered Robby the Robot in “Forbidden Planet” (1959). Sentient robots, androids and other artificial life forms have been a part of our literature long before they began to be a part of our films and more recently, be discussed in our everyday culture.

Iconic science fiction writer Isaac Asimov published a book of short stories called “I, Robot” in 1950. In one story, Asimov lays out the Three Laws of Robotics, which start with this: “A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.” This law formed the basis for our understanding of artificial intelligence, in a nutshell. “Good” robots would not harm humans. “Bad” robots (or androids, computers or cyborgs) would seek h

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