A Robot Masseur - Creation Moments

Ecclesiastes 12:1
“Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;”

I was fascinated by a New Scientist headline that declared: “Robots can now give full-body personalised massages at home”. The article stated: “French company Capsix Robotics and researchers at the University of Plymouth in the UK have both created robots that can give personalised massages”. Negative reactions to the massaging robot brought back to mind the series of short stories and novels on this very subject by Isaac Asimov. If only this French company could reassure people by programming the robots with Asimov’s famous Three Laws of Robotics:

A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
A robot must obey the 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.

What is fascinating about Asimov’s Robotic Laws is that they describe a form of morality without mentioning God for what were essentially sentient beings. The question that always occurred to me, when reading those stories, was “Says who?” … to which the answer is “Says the robot’s maker”.

God has given us His laws, which we have disobeyed. The atheist says, “Says who?” We reply, “Says our Creator”, who has also made a way back to Him for us through the life, death and resurrection of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.

Prayer:The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. Though we are sinners, we thank You that You have made a way for us to be forgiven and made right with You through the merits of none other than Jesus Christ. Amen.

Author: Paul F. Taylor

Ref: Asimov, I (1950), I, Robot (New York, NY: Gnome Press). Image: ASIMO by Honda, CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported.