Behavioral inhibitor

Behavioral inhibitors were part of a droid's core programming that governed how the unit acted in common situations related to obedience, safety, ethics, and morality. Droids were programmed to obey their owners, and in the event that the orders conflicted with the restrictions laid down in the behavioral inhibitors, the units were required to inform their master of the contradiction.

The most common restriction was that droids could not kill an sentient being directly, or through inaction such as warning the being of an imminent threat. Some droids, such as battle droids, did not have this programming. Other restrictions included self-preservation programming except where the alternative would harm a sentient being, not being able to lie or fabricate information, and to not purposefully inconvenience a sentient being.

The inhibitors could be subverted if the droid continued to develop a personality through the lack of regular memory wipes. In some cases, owners actually encouraged the droid to break their programming, trusting in their judgment to make independent decisions.

Text and facts from the “Behavioral inhibitor/Legends” article on Wookieepedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Modified for this site.