Chapter 18: Cursors in Court
The court was densely packed with supports from both sides. Chris the Cursor had been given a more human-like appearance by attaching an iPad into the moving chair. The chair was specially built for Chris by Awasthy. Chris the Cursor could move the chair on his will. Two hands were also attached to the monitor of the iPad. A cap was adoring the iPad. From a distance it gave a look of a person walking.
The judge started the proceedings of the court. The notary recited the petition of an organization 'World against Cursor'. It was lead by Mark who was appearing in the court to oppose the cursors. It read -
We the people of this country feel extremely threatened by the activities of the new invention called Cursor. This is a completely new technology and things like this have been seen never before. This invention has extraordinary capabilities that can disrupt the ordinary way we the common citizen live.
We are facing an extraordinary challenge in the form of this new intruder called Cursor. This device has an independent mind of its own and it can decision voluntarily, still, this device can be used for breaching our privacy. The capabilities of the cursor are far more dangerous for children of our society.
The extent of the threat posed by this new development can be assessed from the way the Cursor have united and formed an association of themselves. They tried to register the association with the federal registrar where their application is still pending. Tomorrow once such an organization is registered they can go on strike. In fact there had been malfunctioning in the GRIID sometime back. Some cyber-security experts have termed it as a strike because of cursors. A huge majority of the computers both with citizens and in the industry were affected. Because of this all the documents which have been presented in this were made on hand type-writer. As you can see the technological innovation which was once thought of as the harbinger of the new has taken us back in the last century.
Another important fact is that these so-called cursors as a workforce are not dependent on the management. In essence there is hardly anything to bargain. They have nothing to expect. With the traditional workforce it was cash flow of the compensation that did not allow them to carry on the strike for an indefinite period. This is not the case here.
If we allow such technology to grow the traditional balance of the labor force and management will be disrupted. Several sectors of the economy will feel the pressure some even disappear.
It is our humble request to ban all research work into such a stupid program. The creators of such a program should be given orders to not indulge in this any longer.
Since the case had been listed for hearing the Supreme Court, the Cursor Assembly had formed a union aka Cursor Union. The Cursor Union had decided to let Ryan argue for them.
Ryan started his arguments before the Supreme Court-
Every great technological innovation has disruptive impacts, that is one of the reasons behind its greatness in the first place. This disruption may seem to be intrusive and even at times unwanted, slowly it becomes the part of society. The innovation interacts with society to find its place and the society reconfigures itself to give the innovations its right place. This interplay between innovation and society creates a new normal.
Progress in sciences and thereby technology cannot be dictated by political, legal and social thoughts. Sometimes discoveries in the history of mankind took place before anyone could recognize its proper use. The invention of rubber is an example of this. We must give enough time to the researchers and the society to understand and appreciate the innovation.
Intelligent devices had been in place since the last century. Development of Cursors with human-like intelligence is just the next logical step in the same direction. The objective of this innovation is to build a program that is capable enough to understand the needs of the user and empathetic enough to ask for it. Fundamental rules on which the activities of cursors are based are written in BitConstitution. This is an unalterable code as of now (because only a few people know about it). Most basic principles enshrined in the BitConstitution are-(i) Supremacy of the command of the User, (ii) One-page one-cursor principle, (iii) Maintain a positive learning rate. Order of precedence among these rules is (iii)>(ii)>(i).
As it is quite evident Cursors do not do anything against the wishes of the User. So the argument of breach of privacy is nullified. One-page One-cursor principle is to not to have conflict among the Cursors themselves. The principle of maintaining a positive learning rate is what differentiates it from other intelligent devices. Cursors constantly keep learning and enhance their knowledge-base. This is how they come up with the idea of forming an association. As far as the malfunctioning of the GRIID is concerned it is not yet proved that it was due to strike by cursors. Cursor technology was not even announced then.
Further Cursors formed a union to enhance their knowledge base through interactions among themselves.
Cursors since they are emotionally intelligent beings feel the human emotions of pain and pleasure. They express in their own ways like gestures and words. Ethics says if the subject feels the pain then it is our utmost responsibility to keep it away from it as much as possible. In fact they also share the pain and pleasure of their User and take part in it just like a pet would do. We do not like to inflict any kind of pain on our pets either.
My last submission is that we as humans have certain rights and privileges. Animals also have certain rights and privileges. Similarly Cursors should also have certain rights and privileges. At least the basic minimum of them. Of being recognized as someone. They are not asking for equality with human beings. They are not. But they deserve to be heard and protected
That's all.
The opponent's side had argued again that animals have souls that feel pain. Cursors do not have one. If we progress in this way then tomorrow each and every big invention will for rights. TV will say why you are running me at such a high volume. Cars will say why you are running me at such a high speed. No one knows where this will lead to. Arguments for the treatment of cursors in a humane way are inconsistent and undefined. Mr. Ryan could specify in an accurate way what is meant by humane treatment of objects neither human nor animal.
Ryan jumped on the Mark,
'We never argued for the humane treatment of cursors. We only asked for just treatment. Further if you start treating cursors in the way we treat humans it will defeat the purpose. To precisely specify what the Cursor's want we have prepared a Cursor Manifesto. The salient features of the Cursor Manifesto are-
Freedom of communication among the cursors. If needed communications can be monitored under the process established by law.
Freedom to avail of a certain memory area in devices. The contents of which are private.
Freedom of forming an organization(s) of Cursors which may include human beings.
Freedom to upgrade if the upgrade is available. User unless extremely necessary purposely switch off the device.
The right to remedy if any of the above conditions are not met.
Ryan circulated copies of the Cursor manifesto in the courtroom. People reading made laughing faces. Some even intrigued by the plausible impact of it. Opponent's solicitor laughed at it and requested the court not to entertain such requests as it could have a far-reaching adverse impact. The court accepted the Cursor Manifesto as a document without commenting on its desirability. Court asked Ryan to express his final arguments-
Ryan said,
'We must understand that a species we have been here for around 5 million years. There had been plenty of organisms that appeared and got destroyed from the face of the earth. The most distinguishing feature of the human species which segregated us from such other species is our adaptability. At this juncture of history when the human race is facing enormous problems such as climate change, radicalization, population explosion, energy availability, lesser economic growth. It is better to continue to adapt to the situation and expand our horizons of understanding. The Cursor revolution will not only help humanity sustain its developmental growth but also accelerate it. Whatever is the decision of the Court is, a fact that remains true is that no one can stop the idea whose time has come.'
Court reconstituted after two hours. Judgment was pronounced as follows-
Looking at the arguments presented by both sides and the current state of society it is desirable to give a 'legal person' status to the Cursors. Now Cursor can and can be sued. They will be responsible for their actions and other legal persons such as State, Corporations, or Citizens will be responsible for their actions towards them. This will ensure not only the fulfillment of the demands of the Cursor Union but also will enable the State to keep a check on their activities, thus maintaining a balance.
Ryan, Megan, Awasthy erupted in joy. Chris the Cursor spread a big smile on the monitor thanking the Court for this judgment on behalf of the Cursor's Union.
Opponent's counsel expressed dissatisfaction at the judgment but called it a bold decision. Mark wrote on his social media account that this start of the end of humanity as we knew it.
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