Missing Wit

23: Round Two

  Kurt and Lina came to the courtroom for the third hearing. Out of necessity, Lina had to live with Kurt. Lina had no identity and was not seen as a human being. Therefore, it was not possible to stay anywhere else. She couldn't afford a house or stay in a hotel. And this stay together was causing more strained relationships with each passing day. According to Lina, this case should have ended as soon as possible. From the outside, Lina's nerves seemed to be gone. However, Lina was a robot and was very good at hiding her own emotions.

Kurt and Lina again sat on opposite chairs in the middle of the room. At the judge's signal, the trial resumed. The first question, as always, was Kurt's. The board eagerly awaited Kurt's question. Looked like he was acting cool it to make a better impression on the case.

"If I remember correctly, you said in the last hearing that a factor that creates personality is experiences and that experiences are the systematic inference of events from memory. To understand what experiences are for you, you have to understand what memory is for you. So can you define memory for us?"

"Memory," said Lina. "It is the filtering of people's input according to their own attention and prior knowledge."

"So how do you decide whether to memorize an event or not?"

"As I said. It depends on what he directs his attention to."

"Do robots have a human-like attention?"

"Robots have attention, too. Why not? One of the tasks of attention is to reduce the load that may occur on memory."

"I didn't ask him," Kurt replied. "The key part in the question is 'human-like'. Human attention is a construct that will change how one sees reality. This creates such a complex memory. I don't think there is such attention in robots."

The board listened attentively to what Kurt had to say. Kurt's argument was pretty deep. While Lina was thinking, the board debated for a while what Kurt had said. Meanwhile, Lina silently contemplated her answer.

Lina broke her silence after a few seconds, "Is there any criteria for how they will perceive reality?" she asked Kurt.

Upon Kurt's "No" answer - which Lina expected - "Then the real perception of robots is just as valid. No measurement when it says. If there is no measurement, there is no comparison. So we can't compare one's perception of reality with another."

"I think that's enough for this question," the judge interrupted. "From now on, it will be an off-topic discussion." Then, "Do you agree?" he asked the board.

The board thought for a while. Then a member of the board stood up and said, "Yes, that's enough."

"Ladies and gentlemen," said the judge. "We take a 15-minute break. In the meantime, let the board consider what has been said. Then, Mr. Schütz will ask his other question."

And the people on the board started to come out of the hall one by one. There was great curiosity about this trial outside. But no one was saying anything. At the will of the judge, and at the request of the ministries, no information would be made public until a decision was made.

After the break, everyone took their places again. It was just a little late for the judge to arrive. He promised Kurt to ask questions after the judge took his seat.

"Since we've talked about all the factors of personality, let's talk a little bit about what personality is. What do you think personality is, Lina?"

"It is how people react the stimuli around them. Even if the input is not the same, processing will give different responses, even if their brains are similar at birth. This is because of personality. It is formed by shaping the circuits in the brain, for you, with inputs."

"However, your shaping was done by someone else. Doesn't that mean you can't have a personality?"

Lina knew Kurt wasn't asking questions. This was indirectly Kurt provoking Lina. Lina was annoyed at this question, but remained calm so as not to seem unfair. And he came up with a wise answer to give. "Aren't you 'made' by someone else? Again, you use the same definition for humans, but a different word for robots."

"Partially," Kurt said. "It is not the same."

"True, but my 'creation' can also be partially categorized. Why did you choose to discriminate in this way?"

Kurt was going to answer but the judge stopped him. "Okay, that's enough. It seems that Mr. Schütz does not want to believe that he is copying his sister." From that sentence even the judge seemed to believe that Lina, now officially called the New Lina Schütz, was real. "Let the board prepare its report on whether the new Lina Schütz is actually an individual. Mr. Schütz has one more chance as the legal creator of New Lina Schütz. If you show that there is a logical error in what the New Lina Schütz said, I will rule in your favor. But if not, I have to act according to the board report."

"So if I can't prove I'm incompetent, I'm going to lose a substantial share of my company," Kurt said, with a laugh. This joke cleared the tense atmosphere that had just formed. Everyone started laughing.

"I guess so," replied the judge, as they went out.