Isaac Asimov

A writer and biochemist, Isaac Asimov was born in Russia and grew up in the United States. His works can be divided between fiction and non-fiction.

Asimov wrote his first science fiction story at the age of 18. Two years later, he had already published over 30 stories, novels and short stories, including his classic, Nightfall, which, in 1968, was voted best science fiction story in history. Asimov defined Nightfall as ‘social science fiction’, a sub-genre focusing mostly on the human condition rather than the space race.

Asimov’s 1950 book, I, Robot, put forward a set of rules or ethics for ‘robotics’, a word that is found in dictionaries today thanks to him. There are three laws of robotics: a robot must not harm a human being, a robot must obey human beings, and a robot must protect its own existence. However, things may not always go according to plan, as was demonstrated in the 2005 box office hit I, Robot, starring Will Smith.