What do you think?
Galley Slave - Il robot che leggeva le bozze
- Il robot che leggeva le bozze
- Che tu ne prenda cura
- Il migliore amico dell'uomo
- Che tu ne prenda cura
- Il migliore amico dell'uomo
187 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
About the author
Isaac Asimov
4,431 books28.8k followersWorks of prolific Russian-American writer Isaac Asimov include popular explanations of scientific principles,
The Foundation Trilogy
(1951-1953), and other volumes of fiction.
Isaac Asimov, a professor of biochemistry, wrote as a highly successful author, best known for his books.
Asimov, professor, generally considered of all time, edited more than five hundred books and ninety thousand letters and postcards. He published in nine of the ten major categories of the Dewey decimal classification but lacked only an entry in the category of philosophy (100).
People widely considered Asimov, a master of the genre alongside Robert Anson Heinlein and Arthur Charles Clarke as the "big three" during his lifetime. He later tied Galactic Empire and the Robot into the same universe as his most famous series to create a unified "future history" for his stories much like those that Heinlein pioneered and Cordwainer Smith and Poul Anderson previously produced. He penned "Nightfall," voted in 1964 as the best short story of all time; many persons still honor this title. He also produced well mysteries, fantasy, and a great quantity of nonfiction. Asimov used Paul French, the pen name, for the Lucky Starr, series of juvenile novels.
Most books of Asimov in a historical way go as far back to a time with possible question or concept at its simplest stage. He often provides and mentions well nationalities, birth, and death dates for persons and etymologies and pronunciation guides for technical terms. Guide to Science, the tripartite set Understanding Physics, and Chronology of Science and Discovery exemplify these books.
Asimov, a long-time member, reluctantly served as vice president of Mensa international and described some members of that organization as "brain-proud and aggressive about their IQs." He took more pleasure as president of the humanist association. The asteroid 5020 Asimov, the magazine Asimov's Science Fiction, an elementary school in Brooklyn in New York, and two different awards honor his name.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_As...
Isaac Asimov, a professor of biochemistry, wrote as a highly successful author, best known for his books.
Asimov, professor, generally considered of all time, edited more than five hundred books and ninety thousand letters and postcards. He published in nine of the ten major categories of the Dewey decimal classification but lacked only an entry in the category of philosophy (100).
People widely considered Asimov, a master of the genre alongside Robert Anson Heinlein and Arthur Charles Clarke as the "big three" during his lifetime. He later tied Galactic Empire and the Robot into the same universe as his most famous series to create a unified "future history" for his stories much like those that Heinlein pioneered and Cordwainer Smith and Poul Anderson previously produced. He penned "Nightfall," voted in 1964 as the best short story of all time; many persons still honor this title. He also produced well mysteries, fantasy, and a great quantity of nonfiction. Asimov used Paul French, the pen name, for the Lucky Starr, series of juvenile novels.
Most books of Asimov in a historical way go as far back to a time with possible question or concept at its simplest stage. He often provides and mentions well nationalities, birth, and death dates for persons and etymologies and pronunciation guides for technical terms. Guide to Science, the tripartite set Understanding Physics, and Chronology of Science and Discovery exemplify these books.
Asimov, a long-time member, reluctantly served as vice president of Mensa international and described some members of that organization as "brain-proud and aggressive about their IQs." He took more pleasure as president of the humanist association. The asteroid 5020 Asimov, the magazine Asimov's Science Fiction, an elementary school in Brooklyn in New York, and two different awards honor his name.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_As...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
July 26, 2026
The final story in Asimov's "The Rest of the Robots" short story collection, "Galley Slave" (1957) regards a robot brought to a university to help its professors with mundane and time-consuming proofreading and editorial work. We're seeing a civil trial proceed after a professor later accuses the robot of changing his work because its application of the First Law of Robotics won't allow someone's feelings to be hurt.
Obviously Asimov has spent time thinking about not just how robots, science, AI, and computers will impact future society (that's the core examination of all these Robot series stories) but here he is thinking more personally about the impact those will have on his own beloved profession. Just outstanding.
Obviously Asimov has spent time thinking about not just how robots, science, AI, and computers will impact future society (that's the core examination of all these Robot series stories) but here he is thinking more personally about the impact those will have on his own beloved profession. Just outstanding.
April 17, 2021
listened to the german audiobook it was very well done
September 6, 2025
An incredibly relevant short story in which a University sues the robot manufacturing company because a proof-reading robot allegedly tampered with the original text of a sociology book, inserting false information. The unverified claim is that the machine did so in an attempt to protect humanity from what were the original concepts of the book – under the compulsion of Robotics' First Law – but what if it's something else altogether?
A must-read, in the age of Large Language Models.
A must-read, in the age of Large Language Models.
August 4, 2021
Asimov should have been a lawyer, a robot lawyer; and by that I mean a robot that was also a lawyer, not a lawyer who represents robots.
November 7, 2021
Collected in The Rest of the Robots and The Complete Robot, this can be read a here. In this courtroom drama, Professor of sociology Simon Ninheimer is suing US Robots and Mechanical Men for loss of reputation, claiming robot EZ-27 (Easy) altered parts of his book while checking the galley proofs.
The Attorney for Defense said quietly, "A court action is like a chess game, MI. Robertson. The winner is usually the one who can see more moves ahead, and my friend at the prosecutor's table is no beginner. They can show damage; that's no problem. Their main effort lies in anticipating our defense. They must be counting on us to try to show that Easy couldn't possibly have committed the offense-because of the Laws of Robotics."
Susan Calvin is immediately skeptical as Easy refuses to answer questions during trial, surmising that Ninheimer must have instructed it to stay silent, using Easy's adherence to the 3 laws of robotics in his favor, hampering US Robotic's defense unless Easy can be persuaded to speak, and Susan has the perfect plan for that! In the aftermath, Professor Ninheimer acted as he did because of fears of loss of jobs - to immigrants or robots, this fear persists even today.
"Typewriters and printing presses take away some, but your robot would deprive us of all. Your robot takes over the galleys. Soon it, or other robots, would take over the original writing, the searching of the sources, the checking and cross-checking of passages, perhaps even the deduction of conclusions. What would that leave the scholar? One thing only-the barren decisions concerning what orders to give the robot next! I want to save the future generations of the world of scholarship from such a final hell. That meant more to me than even my own reputation and so I set out to destroy U. S. Robots by whatever means."
Love or hate it, facts are facts and those who cannot adapt will be swept away by the winds of change. The story ends on a bitter-sweet note, I loved the last sentence.
"You were bound to fail," said Susan Calvin. "I was bound to try," said Simon Ninheimer. Calvin turned and left. She did her best to feel no pang of sympathy for the broken man.
She did not entirely succeed.
The Attorney for Defense said quietly, "A court action is like a chess game, MI. Robertson. The winner is usually the one who can see more moves ahead, and my friend at the prosecutor's table is no beginner. They can show damage; that's no problem. Their main effort lies in anticipating our defense. They must be counting on us to try to show that Easy couldn't possibly have committed the offense-because of the Laws of Robotics."
Susan Calvin is immediately skeptical as Easy refuses to answer questions during trial, surmising that Ninheimer must have instructed it to stay silent, using Easy's adherence to the 3 laws of robotics in his favor, hampering US Robotic's defense unless Easy can be persuaded to speak, and Susan has the perfect plan for that! In the aftermath, Professor Ninheimer acted as he did because of fears of loss of jobs - to immigrants or robots, this fear persists even today.
"Typewriters and printing presses take away some, but your robot would deprive us of all. Your robot takes over the galleys. Soon it, or other robots, would take over the original writing, the searching of the sources, the checking and cross-checking of passages, perhaps even the deduction of conclusions. What would that leave the scholar? One thing only-the barren decisions concerning what orders to give the robot next! I want to save the future generations of the world of scholarship from such a final hell. That meant more to me than even my own reputation and so I set out to destroy U. S. Robots by whatever means."
Love or hate it, facts are facts and those who cannot adapt will be swept away by the winds of change. The story ends on a bitter-sweet note, I loved the last sentence.
"You were bound to fail," said Susan Calvin. "I was bound to try," said Simon Ninheimer. Calvin turned and left. She did her best to feel no pang of sympathy for the broken man.
She did not entirely succeed.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 27, 2024
You can find this in
The Complete Robot
and
Robot Visions
.
US Robots is getting sued after a proof reading robot that they placed at a university allegedly destroys a professors reputation.
Another good little story concerning the application of the "Three Laws of Robotics" in the real world.
And our next robot story will be "Little Lost Robot".
US Robots is getting sued after a proof reading robot that they placed at a university allegedly destroys a professors reputation.
Another good little story concerning the application of the "Three Laws of Robotics" in the real world.
And our next robot story will be "Little Lost Robot".
December 17, 2023
A story over thirty years old that touches on the AI debate that is going on now. Asimov was brilliant and always ahead of his time, so anything he wrote is worth checking out and this is no exception. The story is told in the form of a court case where a professor is claiming that a robot did him irreparable damage due to its editing of his book that was to be his crowning glory. This can be found in 'Robot Visions', narrated by George Guidell.
July 8, 2019
One of my favorites. A man tries to frame a robot, essentially, and the whole story is told as a courtroom drama with a series of flashbacks. I like how they tease out information, and the climax is very satisfying. The very end was rather contemplation-worthy, as well, considering today's world compared to this sci-fi story of 50+ years ago.
November 4, 2023
Una lettura interessante, soprattutto il primo e il secondo racconto.
Il primo è interessante vedere come si riesca a far confessare una persona grazie alle tre leggi della robotica. Il secondo per come George vede la situazione
Il primo è interessante vedere come si riesca a far confessare una persona grazie alle tre leggi della robotica. Il secondo per come George vede la situazione
March 1, 2024
Leave it to Asimov to put a robot on trial to prove that the 3 laws of positronic brain robots prevent it harming humans! This short story is a great backgrounder on Asimov's 3 laws and also a good Perry Mason episode!
May 2, 2024
Another Robot masterpiece. And another prove that Asimov can write about almost everything, this time a trial. Oh, and read carefully the end, there's a "foreshadowing" about what will happen with his "Universe" history, concerning robots, creative thinking and bureaucracy (Foundation goosebumps😅)
August 23, 2022
"galeote" siempre hay una reflexión final que me encanta de asimov y te lo muestra de una manera que aparte te entretiene.
Read
April 27, 2024Rip Isaac Asimov you would have loved A.I. fearmongering
October 6, 2025
Im Zeitalter der LLMs eine beklemmend aktuelle Geschichte. Sollte sehr breit gehört werden.
August 18, 2025
que mas puedo decir? es cine, un predict muy severo que se tiró el viejo isaac
July 7, 2014
One of the few things by Asimov that I liked.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews