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Robopsychology
 
 
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Robopsychology is the fictional study of the personalities of intelligent machines
Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science which aims to create it. Major AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents,"...
. The term and the concept were popularised by Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov

Isaac Asimov , was a Russian-born United States author and professor of biochemistry, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books....
 in the short stories collected in I, Robot
I, Robot

I, Robot is a collection of nine science fiction short stories by Isaac Asimov, first published by Gnome Press in 1950 in an edition of 5,000 copies....
, which featured robopsychologist Dr. Susan Calvin
Susan Calvin

Dr. Susan Calvin is a fictional character from Isaac Asimov's Isaac Asimov's Robot Series. She was the chief Robopsychology at U.S. Robots and Mechanical Men., the major manufacturer of robots in the 21st century....
, and whose plots largely revolved around the protagonist solving problems connected with intelligent robot
Robot

A robot is a virtual or mechanical artificial agent. In practice, it is usually an Electromechanics which, by its appearance or movements, conveys a sense that it has Intention or Agency of its own....
 behavior.

The stories also introduced Asimov's famous Three Laws of Robotics
Three Laws of Robotics

In science fiction, the Three Laws of Robotics are a set of three rules written by Isaac Asimov, which almost all positronic brains appearing in his fiction must obey....
. Another robopsychologist mentioned by name (the only other one in the robot series) is Clinton Madarian, who is introduced as being Susan Calvin's successor in the story Feminine Intuition
Feminine Intuition

"Feminine Intuition" is a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov, originally published in the October 1969 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and collected in The Bicentennial Man and Other Stories , The Complete Robot , and Robot Visions....
.

As described by Asimov, robopsychology appears to be a mixture of detailed mathematical analysis
Mathematics

Mathematics is the study of quantity, structure, space, change, and related topics of pattern and form. Mathematicians seek out patterns whether found in numbers, space, natural science, computers, imaginary abstractions, or elsewhere....
 and traditional psychology
Psychology

Psychology is an academic and applied science discipline involving the science study of human mental functions and behavior. Occasionally it also relies on symbolic hermeneutics and critical theory, although these traditions are less pronounced than in other social sciences such as sociology....
, applied to robots.






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Encyclopedia


Robopsychology is the fictional study of the personalities of intelligent machines
Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science which aims to create it. Major AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents,"...
. The term and the concept were popularised by Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov

Isaac Asimov , was a Russian-born United States author and professor of biochemistry, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books....
 in the short stories collected in I, Robot
I, Robot

I, Robot is a collection of nine science fiction short stories by Isaac Asimov, first published by Gnome Press in 1950 in an edition of 5,000 copies....
, which featured robopsychologist Dr. Susan Calvin
Susan Calvin

Dr. Susan Calvin is a fictional character from Isaac Asimov's Isaac Asimov's Robot Series. She was the chief Robopsychology at U.S. Robots and Mechanical Men., the major manufacturer of robots in the 21st century....
, and whose plots largely revolved around the protagonist solving problems connected with intelligent robot
Robot

A robot is a virtual or mechanical artificial agent. In practice, it is usually an Electromechanics which, by its appearance or movements, conveys a sense that it has Intention or Agency of its own....
 behavior.

The stories also introduced Asimov's famous Three Laws of Robotics
Three Laws of Robotics

In science fiction, the Three Laws of Robotics are a set of three rules written by Isaac Asimov, which almost all positronic brains appearing in his fiction must obey....
. Another robopsychologist mentioned by name (the only other one in the robot series) is Clinton Madarian, who is introduced as being Susan Calvin's successor in the story Feminine Intuition
Feminine Intuition

"Feminine Intuition" is a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov, originally published in the October 1969 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and collected in The Bicentennial Man and Other Stories , The Complete Robot , and Robot Visions....
.

As described by Asimov, robopsychology appears to be a mixture of detailed mathematical analysis
Mathematics

Mathematics is the study of quantity, structure, space, change, and related topics of pattern and form. Mathematicians seek out patterns whether found in numbers, space, natural science, computers, imaginary abstractions, or elsewhere....
 and traditional psychology
Psychology

Psychology is an academic and applied science discipline involving the science study of human mental functions and behavior. Occasionally it also relies on symbolic hermeneutics and critical theory, although these traditions are less pronounced than in other social sciences such as sociology....
, applied to robots. Human psychology is also a part, covering human interaction with robots. This includes the 'Frankenstein complex
Frankenstein complex

In Isaac Asimov's robot novels, the Frankenstein complex is a colloquial term for the fear of robots. Asimov's stories predict that the phobia will be widespread against machines that resemble people ....
' - the irrational fear that robots (or other creations) will turn on their creator.

See also

  • Psychohistory
    Psychohistory (fictional)

    Psychohistory, a fictional science in Isaac Asimov's Foundation Trilogy universe, combines history, sociology, and mathematical statistics to make exact predictions of the collective actions of very large groups of people, such as the Galactic Empire ....
  • Cybernetics
    Cybernetics

    Cybernetics is the interdisciplinary study of the structure of regulatory systems. Cybernetics is closely related to control theory and systems theory....