Robot Rights?

Isaac Asimov, revered science fiction author of I, Robot and Foundation Series, died almost 15 years ago. Yet now, the South Korean government is looking to his writings to inspire a new Robot Ethics Charter: rules to keep humans from misusing robots.

Government representatives say the charter will be issued in April, spurred by the country's flurry of recent and soon-to-be robot releases: one carries a machine gun and patrols the border with North Korea; another does chores for the elderly; still another prototype, the creepily named "EveR-2 Muse," is a talking model of a female human that also makes elaborate facial expressions.

South Korean robots, apparently, will be given slave-status rights, according to three rules proposed decades ago by Asimov:

1. A robot may not injure a human or, through inaction, allow a human to come to harm

2. A robot must obey orders given by a human unless these conflict with the first law

3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as this does not conflict with the first or second law

"Imagine if some people treat androids as if the machines were their wives," Park Hye-Young of the ministry's code of ethics team told New Scientist. "Others may get addicted to interacting with them just as many internet users get hooked on the cyberworld."

Ok...that thought alone is frightening. But more puzzling: the three rules outlined above wouldn't preclude this scenario. That is, people could treat robots "as their wives" or "get addicted to interacting with them" while still adhering to these proposed rules...right? Am I missing something?

For cool robot work done here in the U.S., check out the borgs chosen for the Carnegie Mellon Robot Hall of Fame.