foundation - Demerzel and the Laws of Robotics - Science Fiction & Fantasy Stack Exchange

Question

In S01E10, we see Demerzel violate the First Law by

killing Brother Dawn.

Does this mean she is not bound by the Laws of Robotics at all, or is there an alternate explanation that allows her to occasionally violate them while remaining true to Asimov’s Robots universe?

Answer 1

Wikipedia states that Goyer noted in an interview that Demerzel is not bound by the Three Laws.

In the 2021 Apple TV adaptation of Foundation, Eto Demerzel is played by Laura Birn. In an interview, show developer and executive producer David Goyer explained that the Apple TV adaptation's portrayal of Demerzel is a robot not bound by the Three Laws of Robotics, explaining multiple scenes where she kills or allows killing and torture to occur in her presence.

That said, the citation they provide does not seem to include that quote.

I suspect that the idea is similar to Asimov's works, in which the Zeroth Law is formulated in a discussion between Giskard and Daneel, and their formation of the theory of psychohistory allows them to violate the first law in a more direct manner without their brains degrading due to having mathematical proof that their actions benefit humanity.

Goyer does indicate that he wants the audience to speculate on Demerzel's reasoning:

He added: "What I hope people take away from this episode is they're wondering did Demerzel kill Dawn because she was programmed to?

"Because she had to in order to preserve the Genetic Dynasty and he's an aberration? Or is a little bit of that payback for what happened in Episode 8?"