In Asimov’s Bicentennial Man the scene that struck me the most was when Andrew was on his way to the library and the two men come up to him. They tell him to take his clothing off because he is a robot and shouldn’t being wearing clothes and want to disassemble Andrew. I immediately connected this scene with slavery and racism. These two men thought that Andrew was below them because he was a robot but fail to recognize that Andrew is a sentient being very similar to themselves. Despite being free Andrew is still forced to listen to the orders of these two men even though it would destroy him. He and his rights are less protected than the two men who attack him on the street. This reminded me of the Jim Crow laws that kept power over former slaves even after they were freed. This story looks at the rights of a sentient being, which in this case is a robot, and the prejudices of a society.
From our point of view the actions of the two men on the street are despicable. We have the privilege of knowing that Andrew thinks and feels the same way humans do. These two men are displaying pretty clearly the fear that is held by society towards robots. They don’t think of robots as intelligent sentient beings because they view robots as a tool to be used for their own gain.
This story will become more and more relevant as our technology in robotics and artificial intelligence becomes more advanced. The laws of robotics will need to be carefully examined and adapt as the technology adapts.