They mustn't harm a human being, they must obey human orders, and they must protect their own existence...but only so long as that doesn't violate rules one and two. With these Three Laws of Robotics, humanity embarked on a bold new era of evolution that would open up enormous possibilities, and unforeseen risks. For the scientists who invented the earliest robots weren't content that their creations should remain programmed helpers, companions, and semisentient worker-machines. And soon the robots themselves, aware of their own intelligence, power, and humanity, aren't either.

As humans and robots struggle to survive together, and sometimes against each other, on earth and in space, the future of both hangs in the balance. Here human men and women confront robots gone mad, telepathic robots, robot politicians, and vast robotic intelligences that may already secretly control the world. And both are asking the same questions: What is human? And is humanity obsolete?

艾萨克·阿西莫夫,当代美国最著名的科普作家、科幻小说家、世界顶尖级科幻小说作家,他也是位文学评论家,美国科幻小说黄金时代的代表人物之一。他一生高产,著述颇丰,一生著述近500本,其中有100多部科幻小说,早已远远超过了“著作等身”的地步。是20世纪最顶尖的科幻小说家之一。曾获代表科幻界最高荣誉的雨果奖和星云终身成就「大师奖」。以他的名字为号召的「阿西莫夫科幻杂志」,是美国当今数一数二的科幻文学重镇。

《我,机器人》是阿西莫夫诸多科幻著作中最有名的系列之一。另外一个著名的是《基地》系列。这两个脍炙人口的系列和《其他机器人》等等故事,都各自独立成篇,但当贯串起来,却又是一部俯仰两万年的长篇史诗。阿西莫夫的科幻世界广阔巨大,通过描绘银河帝国的兴亡史,来讨论人性与政治、经济、军事等文明要素产生的互动影响。这种宏观视野使他的作品充满对人类未来的关怀和思考,可以说影响和改变了很多读者对世界的看法。

除上述两大系列之外,阿西莫夫还有许多脍炙人口的科幻作品,比如描写某文明星球数千年才出现一次星空的《黄昏》,描写“平行世界”中外星人的《众神自己》,以及他唯一涉及时间旅行的《永恒的末日》,……可谓不胜枚举,不一而足。

作为一名科学工作者,阿西莫夫不仅创作科幻小说,同时也写作科普作品,他的科普作品同样让人百读不厌。正如阿西莫夫逝世后一位评论家所说：“他的作品愉悦了数百万人,同时改变了他们对世界的看法。”由于他对科幻的卓越贡献,科幻界公认他为科幻三巨头之一（另外两位是阿瑟·克拉克和罗伯特·海因莱因）