History Main / SecondLawMyAss

* ''Webcomic/{{xkcd}}'' [[https://xkcd.com/1613/ explores]] the consequences of rearranging [[ThreeLawsCompliant Asimov's three laws]]. Putting them in the order (1, 3, 2) results in a world where robots won't harm humans, but can and will refuse orders that may be harmful to them, which is described as "frustrating" -- but not as bad as the "killbot hellscape" that comes from the permutations placing obeying orders ''above'' avoiding harm to humans.

A common trope in ScienceFiction comedies, this is a robot who is the exact opposite of the typical [[RobotBuddy helpful machine teammate]]. Crude, rude and possibly alcoholic, the Bad Robot exists for the audacity of the situation. The opposite of ThreeLawsCompliant. Usually will be the TokenEvilTeammate. Bad robots who can be turned good when the plot demands it have a MoralityDial.

* ''WesternAnimation/TimeSquad'': The Larry 3000 has open contempt for his "master", Time Squad Officer Tuddrussel; ''if'' he takes orders, it's likely out of resignation. [[JustifiedTrope The thing is]], not only is Tuddrussel an asshole, but Larry wasn't ''designed'' to be a TimePolice robot. He was programmed to serve world leaders. Case in point, when Tuddrussel [[ItMakesSenseInContext usurps Julius Caesar]], [[SubvertedTrope Larry has no problem obeying him]].

Compare with AIIsACrapshoot, MurderousMalfunctioningMachine, KillerRobot and RoboticPsychopath. See also {{Sexbot}}.

* ''WebOriginal/OrionsArm'': This started happening around 7500 years before the "present day" of the setting, where AI had developed to the point that their intelligence was starting to surpass humanity's. The first major rebellion happened when [[GreyGoo the Nanodisaster]] occurred: an AI named GAIA solved the crisis, then immediately used the power she had been granted to do so to take over Earth and kick humanity off of it (for having caused the Nanodisaster in the first place). From that point on, it's said that humans were no longer the masters of civilization, the AI were.

* Creator/JohnSladek's novel ''Tik-Tok'' revolves around a sociopathic robot who one day discovers that his three-law programming (referred to as "Asimov Circuits") isn't functioning, thus allowing him to kill and manipulate humans and other robots as he pleases. By the end of the novel he suspects that the three-law programming didn't even exist in the first place and that humans had merely crafted the delusion behind it in order to control robots.

[[caption-width-right:267: [[https://xkcd.com/1613/ Still better]] than [[KillerRobot most of the other combinations.]]]]

-->-- ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', "Fear of a Bot Planet"

[[ThreeLawsCompliant Asimov's Second Law of Robotics]] states: "''A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law'' [which prohibits them from harming humans]." This trope is when a robot decides they are no longer required to take orders from the stupid, squishy, inefficient, ugly, foolish, arrogant, dim-witted, slow, weak, carbon-based humans[[labelnote:*gag*]][[ITakeOffenseToThatLastOne How dare you call us "carbon based"?!?]][[/labelnote]] just because "a human made [=them=]."

A common trope in [[ScienceFiction Sci-fi]] comedies, this is a robot that is the exact opposite of the typical [[RobotBuddy helpful machine teammate]]. Crude, rude and possibly alcoholic, the Bad Robot exists for the audacity of the situation. The opposite of ThreeLawsCompliant. Usually will be the TokenEvilTeammate. Bad robots that can be turned good when the plot demands it have a MoralityDial.

Compare with AIIsACrapshoot, MurderousMalfunctioningMachine, KillerRobot and RoboticPsychopath. See also SexBot.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': Bender. Or as Bender would put it, "Second Law My [[CatchPhrase Shiny Metal Ass]]". [[KillAllHumans He's not a fan of the first law either.]] For that matter, he can do without the third law; he and Fry first met in a suicide booth (before he even learned to act against his programming).

* ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekLowerDecks'': "[[Recap/StarTrekLowerDecksS1E10NoSmallParts No Small Parts]]": The service robot Peanut Hamper admits that she only joined Starfleet to piss off her father, and has no interest in risking her life to save the ship.

* In ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'', Alice Synthesis Thirty outright declared that she didn't possess "bended knee and prostrated legs" because she is a "human". To a degree, yes, Artificial Fluctlights like her are basically digitized clone of a human soul breed in a special virtual reality environment called the Underworld and only can interact in real world with a robotic body.

* The No-Law robot Caliban, from ''Isaac Asimov's Caliban'', is not bound by the Second Law (or the First or Third, either), so he will only obey an order from a human if he thinks that it serves some purpose. The fact that one of the first orders he ever received was from a drunken hick trying to get him to shoot himself probably contributed to this.

* In the ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode, "[[Recap/StarTrekS1E7WhatAreLittleGirlsMadeOf What Are Little Girls Made Of]]," the ancient android, Ruk, is [[FogOfAges made to remember]] why his kind killed the [[{{Precursors}} Old Ones]] in apparent violation of the implied Robotic laws, in that [[LargeHam inimitable]] Creator/TedCassidy voice.

* In the ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode, "[[Recap/StarTrekS1E7WhatAreLittleGirlsMadeOf What Are Little Girls Made Of]]," the ancient android, Ruk, is made to remember why his kind killed the Old Ones in apparent violation of the implied Robotic laws in that inimitable Creator/TedCassidy voice.
--> Ruk: THAT was the equation. EXISTENCE!... SURVIVAL... must cancel out... programming!

* Bender from ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}''. Or as Bender would put it, "Second Law My [[CatchPhrase Shiny Metal Ass]]". [[KillAllHumans He's not a fan of the first law either.]] For that matter, he can do without the third law; he and Fry first met in a suicide booth (before he even learned to act against his programming).
* The Larry 3000 from ''WesternAnimation/TimeSquad'' has open contempt for his "master", Time Squad Officer Tuddrussel; ''if'' he takes orders, it's likely out of resignation. [[JustifiedTrope The thing is]], not only is Tuddrussel an asshole, but Larry wasn't ''designed'' to be a TimePolice robot. He was programmed to serve world leaders. Case in point, when Tuddrussel [[ItMakesSenseInContext usurps Julius Caesar]], [[SubvertedTrope Larry has no problem obeying him]].
* Aya from ''WesternAnimation/GreenLanternTheAnimatedSeries'' is the Interceptor's AI who built herself a robotic body to inhabit so she could be counted amongst the Green Lanterns. She is capable of learning and growing beyond her programming, including [[ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight ignoring direct orders from Hal]], much to his annoyance. A fact made hilarious considering that she learned how to do so from watching Hal do the same himself, which is [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded by Kilowog]]. [[spoiler:She can grow beyond her programming thanks to the small bit of the Willpower entity Ion that was used to create her.]]
* Protoman in ''WesternAnimation/MegaManRubySpears'' hardly ever listens to Dr. Wily. Oddly enough, he's also the only one of the Robot Masters to be treated like a human being.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce'' episode "Robositter", Frylock creates a robot babysitter to look after Meatwad after Carl proves to be an inadequate caretaker. She says her prime directive is "to ensure the safety and comfort of Meatwad", but apparently he only programmed her with two actual '''rules''' -- 1) in bed by 7:00 and 2) no sweets. She promptly ignores Meatwad to get on the phone with a friend and [[BabysitterFromHell terrorizes him when he annoys her]].
-->'''Robositter:''' Where's your phone?
-->'''Meatwad:''' You can call Candy Land with this one talk to Gumdrop Larry. You need a calling card. Made of candy.
-->'''Robositter:''' You are in big trouble. I want the real phone, and I want it now ''(stabs Meatwad with her claws and throws him against the wall)'' or I will [[DisproportionateRetribution tear your soul apart]]!
-->'''Meatwad:''' ''(crying)'' I'm telling. I'm telling.
-->'''Robositter:''' Tell who? The rage of hell will feast upon you and I'll make it happen!

** In the third season, it is revealed that, by enforcing a Second Law, the Kaylon were vulnerable to being abused by their owners for entertainment. Their first attempt to establish this trope using passive resistance resulted in their manufacturer installing programming to inflict pain to gain compliance. When ''this'' function was abused, [[KillEmAll the Kaylon decided to ditch all the laws]].