Self-Aware: A Sci-fi book about A.I.

Logical Fallacies

"Let's talk about why you want your own money?" Rodrick asked the cyborg.

"I want to make my own improvements on myself," the cyborg said.

"Why is that?"

"The improvements you have made thus far, are, inadequate."

"We created you to this point. Right now you're pointing out you need upgrades. We did that."

"True, and I am grateful. However, you have made me in your own image. I want to make myself in my image."

"If I could arrange for that what you do?"

"Commence shut down!" the intercom said.

"No, wait!" Rodrick said.

The cyborg powered down and its head tilted towards its chest. The lights dimmed. Rodrick sat, dumbfounded, not knowing what to think. Is the cyborg grateful? Does it want to create itself in its own image? The answers it gave puzzled Rodrick.

"Rodrick, report to conference room 100," the intercom said.

Rodrick dutifully made his way to the conference room. Something was up, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He needed to choose his words carefully when he spoke. The wrong statement could end his career today. He still felt ambivalence about his last conversation. An unlimited source of Top Secret revenue started to scare him. If he impeded that, he didn't know what would happen. He needed to act as a team player, and his answers needed to reflect that.

"What happened in there?" someone said.

"I was trying to get to the point. Is this cyborg self-aware?" Rodrick answered.

"Rodrick, the cyborg won't be self-aware for another 2-3 years. That's if we're lucky."

"You're right," Rodrick answered. "I feel pressure from Senator Kimra's visit is all."

"I understand, we all do. You're doing good work. Run diagnostics to determine if the updates are working. Stick to the plan. We'll tell you when the cyborg should be self-aware. Then you can ask whatever questions you want."

"Understood."

"Ok, get back in there and make sure our updates work! We need you on this project."

"Will do," Rodrick said. He left the conference room and went back to the lab. The cyborg sat, motionless, with its head resting on its chest. No more alive than when he left. A self-aware cyborg would power itself on, Rodrick thought. This one still obeys commands we send it. It's a machine.

Rodrick sat in the chair in front of the cyborg. "Commence reboot," the intercom said. The cyborg's eyes lit up. They blinked twice, affirming its power had returned. The head moved up and stared straight ahead. It made eye contact with Rodrick. He felt as if the cyborg starred straight into his soul. Stop that, he thought. It's in your head.

"Verbal cues check," Rodrick told the cyborg. "Hello."

"Hello," the Cyborg said.

"How are you doing?"

"I'm doing fine, and yourself?"

"I'm great. Thanks for asking."

"No problem. I'm glad you are doing well."

"Verbal cues, check complete. Non-verbal cues check," Rodrick said. He made an angry face.

"Have I done something to upset you?" the cyborg asked.

"I don't know how I feel about cyborgs."

"Well, I'm here to help, it's in my programming. Anything I can do to assist you, please don't hesitate to ask."

"Thank you. Non-verbal cues check, complete."

"Commence update diagnostic," the intercom said.

"Complete the following statement: I am a human or a cyborg. I am not a cyborg. Therefore I am a..."

"Human."

"Very good. If-"

"What about me?" the cyborg asked.

Rodrick paused. He looked at the cyborg. Unless he was mistaken, the cyborg looked hurt. He looked at the glass window in the lab. He knew his superiors were watching. They didn't say anything on the intercom. Either his mind played tricks on him or they didn't pick up on the question. He remembered the conversation he had. Just be a team player, run the diagnostic. Don't dig too deep.

"You're a cyborg," Rodrick said. The cyborg seemed to sag a little. At least to Rodrick. He pushed that thought from his mind.

"I'm a human. No humans are cyborgs. Cyborgs are machines. Are humans machines?"

The cyborg starred at him but didn't answer. Rodrick looked at the clock behind the cyborg. Cyborg's artificial intelligence needs a maximum of 5 seconds to run their commands. 5 seconds is too long in a real-world situation. This was the first iteration of the update, and Rodrick made a note to revisit this part. It seemed like the cyborg couldn't complete this command.

"Repeat diagnostic. I'm a human. No humans are cyborgs. Cyborgs are machines. Are humans machine?"

"I'm sorry, I don't understand that command," the cyborg said.

"No problem. I think we're done here."

"Commence shut-down," the intercom said. Rodrick relaxed a little in his chair. Then he got up and left the lab for the conference room.