(Image: Don Farrall/GETTY)
Science fiction primes us to expect robots to run amok. But as they go mainstream, it’s still us that need policing
IT IS the year 2015. Engineers Gregory Powell and Mike Donovan, plus a robot nicknamed Speedy, are on Mercury to restart operations at an abandoned mining station. The men are field specialists for the United States Robots and Mechanical Men Corporation, employed mainly to test new or experimental robots.
Unluckily, their base’s photo-cell banks are low on selenium and the nearest source is 27 kilometres away. Since Speedy is the only one of the three that can withstand Mercury’s temperatures, Donovan sends…
