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

Shifting Political Winds

The scientist left the room. The lights dimmed as he left. He walked down the hall into a conference room. There, other professionals waited.

"What do you think, Rodrick?" they asked the scientist who questioned the robot.

"It's hard to say if we've achieved consciousness," Rodrick said.

"I'd say the cyborg sounds self-aware," someone in the room said.

"Who is this?" Rodrick asked.

"That's Senator Kimra."

"Senator Kimra from the Artificial Intelligence oversight committee. It's nice to have you here," Rodrick said. "Our last update on our cyborg attempted to install logical deduction. The cyborg should be able to deduce facts about his environment, even himself. It still has yet to feel desires, dreams, and goals. Self-awareness and all that goes with it hasn't happened yet."

"What is the evidence to support your conclusion?" Senator Kimra asked. "The cyborg desired to have money to improve itself. That sounds like it has desires, dreams, and goals."

"We need further tests to come to a conclusion. So far, the cyborg has answered every question I asked. They seem truthful enough. We've program self-betterment in prior updates. We want our cyborgs to have the desire to continuously improve. The answers today reflect those desires. In fact, everything the cyborg said today is consistent with the previous programming."

"I see," said the Senator, "I need to know as soon as Cybertechnology Inc creates a self-aware cyborg."

"Understood," someone said. The Senator and several other people left the room. Once they left, the scientists relaxed a little bit.

"You did good," someone told Rodrick.

"Thanks. The cyborg isn't self-aware, is it?" Rodrick asked.

"Let's hope not, at least not yet. It's an election year. Political winds are shifting. Creating a self-aware cyborg now could become a firebrand issue. Our country's new leadership could make or break us."

"Do you think the Senator would want to shut us down?" Rodricks asked.

"Maybe not her, but her opponent might. Even if she wins, she might have to make concessions to stay in office. We receive funding from the National Science Foundation. Publicly, she could oppose us. Privately, there may not be a lot she could do, or want to do. In response, we could classify our work."

"Great, more red tape," Rodrick said.

"At first, yes. Secrecy could give us more leeway, or more funding. It could expedite our work."

"You want to classify the Self-Awareness project? I thought we bettering science with our work?"

"The Department of Defense has expressed interest in funding our project. The only thing is, they'd like to classify everything we do and make it a property of the US Military. Our budget would increase substantially. After a period, we could release a less sophisticated version of our work to the public."

"Why would the DoD want to fund our work?"

"Think about it. The military is mechanized. The only limitations of our units is they can't think for themselves. Our military has to program every conceivable outcome. A self-aware cyborg could understand self-preservation. It could experience the camaraderie that human soldiers feel. It would work towards accomplishing missions. We would never need to maintain human units. Only mass production would limit the size of our military."

"You can't be serious. An army of cyborgs. Cybertechnology Inc is a social enterprise. When did we start thinking of becoming a defense company."

"An army, navy, air force, and space force. Who knows, maybe even intelligence? Political winds are shifting. The government is taking notice. I don't need to point out, this could be an unlimited source of revenue for Cyberthechnology Inc."

"I don't know if I'm comfortable with this," Rodrick said.

"We need on board. You have leverage now. However, the right sources of funding, this project may continue with or without you. That funding could create a real opportunity for you. You know the cyborgs the best, and you're well spoken. You could be the DoD's go-to liaison."

"That's true. I'll sleep on it."

"Great. You did well today. Take tomorrow off to think about it."

"Sounds good."