Parallel Vol. 5

What is the measure of life? At what point can we say a being is truly living and sentient. I have often pondered this question as we advance even further into our Artificial Intelligence research. If an A.I, at some point develops the ability to feel pain, to empathize, to questions its surrounding logic, can we still deem it as an object? If we terminate such an object, are we truly shutting down software or would we be ending a life?

But even scarier, if A.Is do develop to that extent, do we entertain their existence? Any being that can love, can just as easily hate. What do we do if the A.Is we build come to hate our existence? Do we destroy them, and deprive more of ever being created?

I do not know these answers, but I fear time is fast running out for us to answer these questions. 

But, seriously, I wonder... Can an A.I ever truly live?

-Excerpt from Mato Ryumaki's 5th-grade report.