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Would the imposition of Asimov's three laws of robotics make a robot act in a Buddhist manner?

  • 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.

In this case I think we can associate "human" with "higher power or morality" - be that suttas, kamma, laws, or whatever.

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Animate being are created through Dependent Origination, Nutriment, etc. The Buddha's teaching is for such beings. The part is morality, concentration and wisdom. Even this laws may engrain morality I am not sure if concentration and wisdom can be developed by a robot. A robot may have memory of the teachings but cannot practice. So robot cannot become Buddhist by practice.

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No, because a Buddhist need not obey any order given to it by a human regardless of whether or not it harms another human.

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  • I have added a caveat to the question clarifying "human" since it is context based.
    – Majenko
    Apr 23, 2017 at 22:54

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