Can Astro sin?

[dannavy85]

An interesting thought. Can Astro sin? We know Atlas is capable of sin because of the Omega Factor but was Astro programmed to be sinless?

The 1980's Astro of course sinned when he lied to that blind girl about True the robot's injury. Even thought it was a "white" lie, any lie has the chance of causing an injury so in that case Astro did sin.

Astro does have a "sin nature" thanks to Doctor Tenma's programming but he also has the ability to steer away from anything bad because of his ability to learn and instantly recall stored information.

Yet is he still capable of any wrong? I think so.

[Tetsuwan Penguin]

I think that because of his kokoro he can get into a situation where he faces a moral hobson's choice where there is no right answer, including one of non action. Ask yourself this, in such a situation what choice would a saint make? i guess that's where the "zeroth law" applies?

[Earthshine]

He has free will and it's been stated over and over that he does. It's been shown that he can disobey rules, orders by his parents and commands by police which for ANY AI is a big deal.

These actions have always been shown to be done however because 'it's the right thing to do'. I think a better way to look at this is that Atom is incapable of NOT doing what is right, no matter if he gets in trouble. If he has to lie in order to maintain peace then it's the right thing to do, if he has to steal a plane in order to stop a bomb from going off that is the right thing to do.

I know Tezuka said that robots could never do wrong on their own, that it was always due to humanity making them a certain way (such as with Atlas, it was never due directly to him being born and then deciding to do the things he did - it was due to his creator).

So back to the question of 'could he do wrong'? I think it's very possible because he's been shown to (disobey for a good reason) but also because he's special for a robot. Tezuka I think wanted to send a message that although Atom did not have to do any of the things he did for humanity, he did anyway because that's the way he is. No one made him to be a hero - he chose to do it himself. If he could chose to do that on his own I think it's very possible he could have chosen to be something else.

[Dante69]

He was supposed to replace a human, so he can act like one, good or bad. He has always been a good little boy. Even if he would, it would be out of character (it happens).
Yes, he is capable of sin. You must remember, he is Atom.

[AprilSeven]

I believe Astro does have programming to help assure he doesn't go astray, but I also feel he could "sin" . . . just how much of a sin is debatable.

I don't picture him as a selfish person. And he seems to feel that actions we know to be "sinful" aren't particulary logical or appealing, so why "go there?"

Most - if not all - of what is considered sinful behavior involves gratifying our own desires at the expense of others. This isn't how Astro EVER seems to think (although Uran seems to display that behavior, and it gets Astro very frustrated).

[jeffbert]

Interesting discussion; I agree that Atom breaks rules only for the purpose of helping people. Or, could I say, only TO SERVE MAN? As I recall, Asimov's robots often faced dilemmas in which they had similar choices; though I cannot recall any specific situations. I think I can say that Asimov's robots usually were not concerned with the prospect of being punished for taking certain appropriate actions, as Atom was. SEA SERPENT ISLAND comes to mind; I think a better ending would have been Atom being commended for defying ARTICLE 9 of the ROBOT LAW in order to fulfill the higher law of helping those who were enslaved reach freedom. But then, if we were going to complicate the story, he could have gone to Ochanomizu for permission to go abroad.

But, back to the point: Atom weighed the potential for saving the letter writer against the chance of being caught & deactivated. BTW, no such thought were given to going abroad when Atom went to Africa, intent on creating a nation for robots. Of course, he was not interested in SERVING MAN in that story.

[avatargirl]

HI- TO ME ASTROBOY cant sin unless he has a soul! I love ASTROBOY cause he cares about everyone! HE is the way I would want to act if I was a female robot! LOVING AND CARING AND SWEET TO EVERYONE and willing to protect my human and robot and animal and alien friends!

PRAY EVERYONE THE VERY BEST IN LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP!

I BELIEVE ASTROBOY IS TOO SWEET TO SIN AND HURT ANYONE!

[dragonpawclaws]

As I recall, Asimov's robots often faced dilemmas in which they had similar choices; though I cannot recall any specific situations.

I remember one of Asimov's stories, simply titled LIAR! in which a robot (I think his name was Herbie) told several humans complete lies because it was what they wanted to hear, and he wished to spare their feelings as his programming stipulated that their mental well being was just as important as their physical well being. Only, when they all confronted him at once about it he could say nothing at all, as to confirm that what he said was untrue would (in his mind) hurt everyone involved. To him the lies were protecting their mental state, and he did not view it as a sin at all. (Though to be fair, most of Asimov's robots don't have a concept of what sin is.) The humans involved, of course, didn't see it that way, they were pretty pissed, as it made them all look very foolish. In the end, Herbie shut down as he realized he could say no more without causing them further distress.

Personally, I believe that Atom CAN sin, but sins for the greater good. Not because he wants to, because he has to. And we should all hope he can, for our own good. Us humans can be pretty stupid sometimes, and even though Atom often makes mistakes like the rest of us, I'd trust his capability to see the big picture over our often irrationally narrow outlook any day, sin or no. :d evil:

[diehard67]

astro would be able to sin if he wanted but like avatargirl said he probably wouldn't want to.

[dannavy85]

One of the difficult choices in the 2003 episode came between Inspector Towashi and Astro.

Towashi you can tell does what authority tells him to do. When they tell him to "put the city to right." as the Chief Law Officer it means stop the riots no matter how many eggs get broken.

Astro is going off all the evidence. The GP-4 bots are not defective, the whole situation is being stoked for political gains and nothing's going to get better no matter what anyone tries to do. The bottom line is you still have a hot fueled entity in the population that's set in their ways. Arresting the GP-4's without directly challenging the hotheads is flat out wrong.

Astro however did the one thing that was correct, we are subject to the authorities but that doesn't mean we should trust them with blind obedience no matter how good they make themselves or how good they voice their intentions. There must always be a check and balance to every action by authority.