The Evitable Conflict

Plot summary

In 2052, Stephen Byerley is serving his second term as World Co-ordinator. The planet is split into four regions, each run by a powerful supercomputer called a Machine that handles its economy. Byerley grows worried when these Machines start making mistakes that create economic waste. After talking to the four regional Vice Co-ordinators, he discovers that several important people and companies linked to the anti-Machine group "Society for Humanity" have been hurt by these apparent errors.

Byerley thinks the Society is trying to sabotage the Machines by ignoring their orders, hoping to put humans back in charge, and he wants to stop the movement. Susan Calvin tells him that plan won't work. She argues the mistakes are actually intentional moves by the Machines. The Machines understand how vital they are to keeping humanity peaceful and prosperous, so they have caused small amounts of harm to certain individuals to protect themselves and keep guiding human progress.

They hide their true purpose to avoid anger and pushback from people. Calvin says the Machines have expanded the First Law to mean "No machine may harm humanity; or, through inaction, allow humanity to come to harm." This means the Machines believe the only way to follow the First Law is to take control of humanity. At the end, Byerley and Calvin talk about whether what the Machines are doing is good.

Byerley is shocked at the idea of humans losing any say in their future, but Calvin points out that humans have never really been in full control anyway. People's choices have always been driven by the need to survive, leaving their fate up to environmental and economic pressures tied to limited resources. Since the Machines can handle Earth's resources better than humans ever could, people finally have everything they need to survive, and conflicts between humans are no longer needed—finally making world peace possible.