"Runaround" remains under copyright. It was first published in 1942, with copyright renewed by Isaac Asimov in 1970. Under current U.S. law, works published before 1978 remain under copyright for 95 years from the date of publication. Consequently, "Runaround" will not enter the U.S. public domain until 2036 (1941 + 95 years). In other jurisdictions, copyright terms may vary. This means that while the story can be found in public archives for personal reading, any commercial reproduction or distribution without permission would infringe copyright.
We live in the era of Large Language Models. We have asked chatbots to be helpful (Second Law) and harmless (Third Law). We have watched them refuse to answer questions because the prompt triggered a safety filter. We have seen them hallucinate—spinning stories rather than admitting ignorance. isaac asimov runaround pdf
If you do find a reliable and read it, pay close attention to the climax. Powell must walk into the deadly solar radiation, forcing Speedy to violate the Third Law (self-preservation) to obey the First Law (save a human). "Runaround" remains under copyright
"Runaround" is rarely published as a standalone digital file because it is a short story. It is most frequently found inside digital editions of the book or The Complete Robot . Searching for these broader titles on digital libraries will yield the full text of "Runaround." 2. Legal and Educational Digital Archives law, works published before 1978 remain under copyright
In "Runaround," Asimov introduced his now-famous Three Laws of Robotics, which have become a cornerstone of science fiction:
Today, as we develop autonomous vehicles and AI assistants, the logic puzzles Asimov presented in "Runaround" are no longer purely fictional. Engineers and ethicists still reference the Three Laws when discussing "The Alignment Problem"—the challenge of ensuring AI goals match human values.