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

The Green Light

"What does he know?" a figure on Anthonis's computer asked.

"He stumbled onto some electronic surveillance installations," Anthonis said.

"How did this happen?"

"He asked too many questions. The cyborg called him naive and he wanted to know why," Anthonis said.

"Why would the cyborg say that?" the figure asked.

"It concluded from surveilling the computers here in the building that Cybertechnology had ulterior motives. It inferred that Rodrick did not know this."

"And?"

"What do you mean?"

"It sounds like the cyborg has an affinity to Rodrick."

"Are you implying that the cyborg is self-aware?" Anthonis started to get nervous.

"You said it, but I'll ask. Is the cyborg self-aware?"

"We would need to run a complete diagnostic. It would include a wide variety of questions. Rodrick came up with them."

"Why haven't we done this yet?"

"Rodrick hasn't determined the cyborg has potential to be self-aware."

"Or hasn't told you if he thinks it is."

"It's possible," Anthonis said.

"Do you have the questions?"

"Yes."

"If the cyborg answers them correctly, can we determine if it's self-aware?"

"It's not that simple. The questions are to start a dialogue. The answers could still correspond to previous updates."

"And we need Rodrick to make that determination."

"Correct."

"So we either need to bring Rodrick up to speed on what we have installed, or find someone else."

"Let me talk to him," Anthonis said.

"You've done well so far. Do you think you can convince him this has grown past a science project?"

"I believe I can."

"Do it. And send me the video of the last diagnostic," the screen went blank.

Anthonis made a phone call. "Rodrick! How's it going? Great! Listen, we need to talk about bringing you further into the fold."

"How many defense protocols have you installed in the cyborg?" Rodrick demanded.

"Rodrick, you knew this became a defense project. We all know what the end goal is. It's no different than when the military trains a human," Anthonis said.

"Only social enterprises don't build humans," Rodrick said.

"Weren't we past this?" Anthonis asked.

"We are. It's just, I never understood the implications of creating a weapon of war."

"It's a defense project. This is national security. We're trying to save lives."

"Right, so what do you need me to do?"

"The DoD wants to know if the cyborg is self-aware."

"It's not."

"They want 100% confidence."

"What did you tell them?"

"That you're the only one that can determine if the cyborg is self-aware."

"I should have asked, what are you not telling me?"

"My conversations with the DoD are on a need to know basis. Right now, I'm the only one that needs to know."

"I'm a pawn in the military industrial complex."

"You play a vital role in this project. Yes, you are a cog in the machine now. Tell me, Rodrick, do you think there's a chance Cyborg is self-aware?"

"It doesn't matter what I think. What does the DoD want?"

"They've been reviewing the diagnostics. So far, we've shut down the tests everytime the cyborg extends beyond protocol."

"Like I said, I don't know if the cyborg is self-aware."

"What if we didn't shut down the test next time. What do you think we would find out? Has the cyborg achieved consciousness?"

"It's possible."

"Let's find out. Together. This could your moment in history."

Rodrick thought about that. The cyborg could be self-aware. This could be his chance to prove it. Maybe it didn't matter how they arrived at the conclusion of his life's work. Did the ends justify the means?

"Let's do it," Rodrick said.

"Great. I'm giving the green light to run the diagnostic until we have a definitive answer."

"Sounds good."