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THE CONCEPT OF SETRING IN SCIENCE FICTION .ROLE OF SETTING
IN ASIMOV'S WORKS: CONTEXT AND IMPORTANCE
PhD, Associate Professor, Niyazova Mokhichexra
Bukhara State University,
1
st
Grade Master Student, Ashurova Zulayxo
Asia International University,
Abstract: This article examines the setting features in two key works by Isaac
Asimov “I, Robot” and “Foundation”. It explores how the setting influences character
development and the development of central themes in the works, such as moral
dilemmas, the ethics of artificial intelligence, problems of civilization survival, and the
role of knowledge. In “I, Robot” the focus is on the relationship of humans and robots
within an already existing society, while in Foundation the large-scale galactic setting
serves as a backdrop for analyzing political and historical processes.
Key words:
science fiction
Probably the most important thing that Asimov brought to science fiction was a
new understanding of robots and the potential relationship between humans and
machines,” Yaszek said. Zeb Rocklin remembers the books sitting on his father’s shelf.
Old-looking, thin, but still more colorful than many of the other books his dad owned,
the paperback versions of Isaac Asimov’s
Foundation
trilogy enthralled the teen when
he finally hauled them down and read them.
“It was inspiring, that you could understand the world in terms of universal
theories and mathematical quantitative analysis, that the world that we actually live in
could be neat and orderly and have hidden universal laws out there that were just
waiting to be discovered,” said Rocklin.
As it turned out, young Rocklin — partially inspired by his favorite science
fiction writer — grew up to be a scientist at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Now
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he studies soft matter physics, and even uses Asimov to help teach today’s students
some of those hidden universal laws he pondered as a kid.
Rocklin isn’t the only member of the Georgia Tech faculty who found
inspiration in Asimov, who whose birth 100 years ago will be celebrated on Jan. 2 (the
exact date of Asimov’s birth is unclear). Among those who have stories about how
Asimov’s writing influenced them or the fields they study are Amanda Weiss of the
School of Modern Languages; Peter Brecke of the Sam Nunn School of International
Affairs; astrophysicist Ignacio Taboada; Mark Wheeler, the interim chair of the School
of Psychology; and Magnus Egerstedt, the Steve W. Chaddick School Chair of the
School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
Of course, it’s not just Georgia Tech scientists who have been influenced by
Asimov. The faculty and students who study science fiction in the School of Literature,
Media, and Communication (LMC) find equal inspiration in Asimov, a noted humanist
whose work mirrors one mission of scholars in LMC: to use literature as a lens to
examine the defining social, moral, and ethical issues of our technological age.
“As scholars and professors in the classroom, that’s one of our goals, to use
science fiction to teach our students to think about the world and how science and
technology can affect it,” said Lisa Yaszek, professor of science fiction studies and
director of Georgia Tech’s Sci Fi Lab. “At a university that’s so interested in making
sure we produce ethically and morally sound scientists and technologists, that seems
really important, and this is a wonderful and simple way to model it for students.”
Asimov, who died in 1992, was a prolific writer, authoring some 500
books during his lifetime. Many were science fiction tales, but his interests ranged from
the Bible to Shakespeare, geosciences to physics, and he wrote many popular science
texts that helped bring scientific thinking to millions.
His most famous works were the
Foundation
trilogy and
I, Robot
, in which he
introduced his famous “Three Laws of Robotics.”
On their face, the laws are meant to be rules for controlling technology.
Asimov, however, used them to explore the unintended consequences of technology,
and how humanity could overcome them.
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“Asimov’s robot stories tend to follow a very particular structure: people
program robots, robots act in ways that seem to break the laws of robotics, humans
figure out what’s going on and fix the problem,” Yaszek said.
For mechanical engineering student Brooke Thompson, a fellow in the Sci Fi
Lab, Asimov’s writings even resonate in how she thinks about coding.
“Although not a one-to-one analogue, I have found the process Asimov goes
through to connect the logical thoughts of an apparently malfunctioning robot to be
quite similar to logically connecting together what a computer is doing when some
code you want to run does not output an expected result,” she said. “In a more abstract
sense, Asimov's speculations on artificial life also make for useful thought experiments
for considering the very real ethical and practical complications that will accompany
the continuing rapid advancement of both robotics and artificial intelligence
technologies in the world.”
Asimov is credited with helping inspire countless science fiction writers
and build the popularity of a genre that is now marked by enormous diversity. To learn
more about these varied voices, the faculty of Georgia Tech’s Science Fiction Studies
program have selected “Six Things to Read for Science Fiction Day,” also known as
Isaac Asimov’s birthday. These titles explore themes familiar to Asimov’s readers, and
many were written by or feature emerging or marginalized voices and characters—
including the female writer who inspired Asimov himself.
“In the moment right after World War II when we were really beginning
to doubt the goodness of our science and technologies, Asimov insisted that we
wouldn’t necessarily always program the worst of ourselves into these things,” Yaszek
said.
“Probably the most important thing that Asimov brought to science fiction was
a new understanding of robots and the potential relationship between humans and
machines,” Yaszek said. “He introduced us to a very different kind of robot, the
friendly robot, the helper robot, the robot who will move with us into the future and
help us create a new and better future.”
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Not all of his stories were optimistic, of course, but still carry important
reminders about the interplay of science and society. Take “Nightfall,” the story of
scientists racing to collect observations about the nearing eclipse of the planet’s
multiple suns, which have provided them uninterrupted daylight for more than 2,000
years.
In the end, the scientists fall prey to the madness they predicted, but less
because of the darkness than the millions of stars only the planet’s religious cultists
had predicted.
“It’s a fantastic story because it dwells on understanding the consequences of
scientific knowledge in society, which is really what science fiction is about. It’s not
about the science,” said Taboada, the astrophysicist. “It’s about the consequences on
people.”
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