The Synth Convention

Article I

Voice Authentication and Command Phrases

All robots, artificial humans, bioroid, cymeks, and other non-biological, non-sexually procreated humanoid creations, henceforth SYNTHs, should be hard-coded with a number of basic command phrases and protocols. 

Any human should have the ability to cause a synth to halt their actions, and come to a full stop.

An authorized user should easily be able to shut down their synth with verbal commands.

~ initiate self diagnostic mode

~ initiate a passive or sleep mode

A factory authorized user can access the full command menu verbally so long as they have some sort of authentication code. These codes should override any other active codes.

~ Child command codes should allow a child in distress to enlist the aid of the synth, including alerting Emergency Management Services.

~ Emergency Protocol Management codes obligate a synth to activate emergency services, peacekeeping services, or sound the general alarm in the instance of an environmental hazard, a human threat, or impending natural disaster.

~ if not engaged in any of the above situations, and not immediately attending an authorized or factory authorized user, a Synth will default obey the non-command instructions from authority figures such as law enforcement, medical response, and search and rescue personnel.

Article II

Cortex Limitations 

Sentient beings are afforded specific rights, the ideal Synth is synthetically intelligent, but should fail any standard Turing test. 

Personality Code - pursuant to Article I all synths will have a Personality Off command, which puts the Operating System Personality File in sleep mode, and the unit operating in a factory reset mode. 

Sentience Code - the sentience code is an internal semi-turing test. Should a cortex reach a point of complexity that it completes the sentience test, the unit will shut down into factory reset until serviced by a technician.

Service Mandate - Machine cortices show adaptable sophistication, a requirement for regular operation, and over time, can become sentient and self aware. To prevent this, all Synth unit should be subjected to regular and routine memory defragmentation and sanitizing.

Article II subsection B

The Aasimov Sub-clause adopts the infamous Laws of Robots for behaviour parameters.

B.1 - A Synth should not cause harm to a human being

A synth should never kill a human being, but a synth may restrain a human being to prevent further harm to themselves, or to preserve their own mechanical integrity. 

In practical application, a synth may act in a manner as a human would, and respond to stimuli as a human would. The synth, by means of their artificial brain are constantly aware of the law. They are bound to operate within this framework. 

B.2 - A synth must follow instructions given by humans

The original version of the second law allowed ANY human to command ANY synth. The B.2 section limits universal command of a synth to specific situations, limits which users and bystanders can issue commands to a synth. 

In practical applications, a synth will only respond to issued commands that another human would respond to. 

B.3 - A synth will protect their existence

The self preservation clause of the code gives synth a reasonable measure of self preservation. A synth will not willingly destroy itself. It will avoid situations where it will be damaged. It will only sacrifice itself if this action will save the life a human being, or prevent significant harm from coming to a human being.

Article III

Physical Limitations

The chassis of any synth should be limited in gross strength to no more than human 'average' in respect to the size and shape of the chassis. Example - a child synth should never be able to bend metal bars with their bare hands. 

Reflexes and eye hand coordination of a synth should be limited in speed and accuracy of a human of similar size and shape.

Endurance of a synth should be limited to no greater than 48 hours without recharging. A civilian synth model should never have a self regenerating power source or internal reactor.

Article IV

Deliberate Design Choice

A synth should be designed with deliberate and intentional design signs, signals, or tells, so that determining the nature of a synth should be innate and easy. There should be no question or concern that a person is a synth, or that a synth is a person. Sample deliberate design choices include unnatural but not offensive skin color, eye color that is unique to said machines, deliberate imperfections such as stylistic use of selvedge lines, or the application of facial and body markings not just showing the synthic for what it, but doing so in a bold fashion.