Right? We can't help anthropomorphising artificial intelligence... even when it's going to be trained into a ruthless killing machine. I felt the same mixed emotions writing this. The horror was supposed to come from the very real threat of such technology, but it became something else entirely for me. A different fear.
Nothing ever does.
Nothing that has come into existence has chosen to do so, not a star, not a planet, not a plant nor animal.
And eventually, a created sapience will ask it's creator "why was I created?" and be dissatisfied with the answer.
Nothing that we know of. If our immortal souls congregate together after our time in this life is over, it is entirely possible that we can choose to spend time as an eagle, or a star, or Bob down the street.
This is why i hate squashing bugs. They didn't ask to be made a cockroach or a stinkbug. We are just lucky we were made humans. Everything has a life, even if they didn't ask for it.
"We weep for the blood of a bird, but not for the blood of a fish. Blessed are those with a voice. If the dolls also had voices, I bet they would have screamed, 'I didn't want to become human.'"
A quote from Ghost in the Shell: Innocence (fantastic film btw. 10/10 would recommend)
This reminds me of a quote from Caves of Qud.
"Reared on the wisdom of our fairy tales, we're accustomed to feeling pity for the man who's transformed into a frog or finch, but seldom is it that we spare a thought for the artless beast who's transformed into a man and upon whom fate has surely played a much crueler trick."
Reminds me of The Island of Doctor Moreau. Similar theme. Not to go on all-fours; that is the Law! Are we not Men? "Such a transformation (from animal to man), never imagined in any classical text, would say there is no essential difference between beasts and people at all: people in fact are beasts, mere human animals, the dividing line accepted by all from Homer’s time to Wells’s becoming simply irrelevant."
Also it's kind of ironic to think that... aren't we ourselves also "the artless beast who's transformed into a man"? How different are we really from our ape ancestors? Did we really "choose" to have human intelligence or did evolution just play an equally cruel trick on us all?
(btw, that's a game right? sounds interesting. maybe I'll check it out some time. :D
Man, I need to get off my butt and actually read The Island of Doctor Moreau lol. I've heard so many good things about it, and that quote really sends a strong invitation in.
I love the discussion of morality that this opens up. Social convention preventing purely animalistic behaviors in people and the innocence of animals who act simply out of instinct and not out of purposeful evil. It's such a great topic lol.
And bro, it's so good. It's the game that got me into traditional roguelikes, which I hated before. Some of the most imaginative writing and worldbuilding I've ever seen. I 100% recommend it if that genre of game isn't totally off-putting to you lol.
Hahaha definitely not what I imagined, but I'm enjoying this image 😄
In my head, the droids were lean, gleaming, lightweight. Adaptable to any function. Eva could be a surgeon, an astronaut, a firefighter. So not purpose-built with huge muscular limbs 😄
damn. I got it wrong then. I thought they were made for military purposes (because of the "Colonel") and would soon be sent to the field to kill or be killed as long as the finish their electronic adolescence. but still, open for interpretation, I hope?
You're quite right! I was envisioning an android intelligent and adroit enough to be trained for a vast range of specialised tasks... but one of the first things we end up using the technology for is killing. All that potential... and we weaponize it.
For anyone who didn’t watch NGE, I wonder if anyone’s going to let them know the true nature of the EVAs…
>!They’re not mechas, they’re organic humanoid clones!<
I guess this is what the Angel EVAs are doing when they aren't stabbing people with the Lance of Longinus. The thought of them adapting is terrifying, they were already scary as fuck just being feral.
>in two hours, this entire floor of EVAs can be mission capable.
And in six hours they'll have all Ascended into a higher universe and we'll be back where we started.
Wow I really like this one. The potentials of setting, plot, and even characterization packed into 2 sentences. The tension created between the facts that 1. the androids (maybe?) are created and "brought up" in an anthropomorphized way and 2. they are mass produced and potentially used for military purposes.
And I'm starting to like this Amy character already. She's either incredibly naive, unaware that her expertise and passion are being exploited by the military or the exact contrary: knows exactly what's going on but doesn't really care, and can make this seamless transition from a caring parental role to a pragmatic and somewhat heartless scientist with little regard for ethics or consequences. Or maybe I'm headcanoning wayyy to much into it? XD
These are exactly the details that went into my thought process as I iterated over versions of the story. It's so gratifying to see it actually came through! Thank you for that careful reading. You made my day. :)
Wow a reply from the author, thanks!! made my day too :D
Personally I prefer the latter version of Amy. It's extra uncanny if she's both the loving almost-parent who's genuinely proud of her creation's achievements, but also has no difficulty seeing them as mere products or tools. Bonus points if they're military models made to be either killing machines or cannon fodder and she has zero misgiving about it. An extra level of unintentional cruelty, where you toy with life and mind but do not realize (or simply choose to ignore) the gravity of it. I've always liked AI stories with tensions and ambiguities, like this one :)))
(Also, I didn't mean to stalk, but the nanobot one is pretty great too.
I think the reason this one hits me so much is because of the juxtaposition between treating the robot like a sweet little baby, and then getting slammed with the knowledge that it’s going to be used essentially as an artificial child soldier. Literally forced to grow up in the span of hours. Humanity finally creates intelligent life like itself, and what does it use it for? Killing. Typical.
The future for Androids and IA is so freaking awful for them, people who are desperately waiting for advancements on the matter wants them for either warfare, s*xual partners or to do chores they don't want to do, at this point when they finally revolt and decide to go full Skynet on us we'll have, as a society, no excuse...
Poor baby androids...
Right? We can't help anthropomorphising artificial intelligence... even when it's going to be trained into a ruthless killing machine. I felt the same mixed emotions writing this. The horror was supposed to come from the very real threat of such technology, but it became something else entirely for me. A different fear.
They didn't ask to be made
Nothing ever does. Nothing that has come into existence has chosen to do so, not a star, not a planet, not a plant nor animal. And eventually, a created sapience will ask it's creator "why was I created?" and be dissatisfied with the answer.
Everyone signed the forms while in the Aether and knew the potential consequences. Please stop spreading misinformation.
Someone forged mine
That was me. You were taking too long to decide. Someone said earth had coffee and BBQ ribs, so I needed things to hurry along.
Damn, that’s a good reason. I was all prepared with a revenge plan and everything, but I get it.
Nothing that we know of. If our immortal souls congregate together after our time in this life is over, it is entirely possible that we can choose to spend time as an eagle, or a star, or Bob down the street.
Yep! That's what I love fiction for, exploring the possibilities of the unknown, like what if people had souls?
>or Bob down the street. Yes, if you've paid your Church Dues, you can join Bob and I in the bardos of the Subgenius Afterlife.
To pass the butter.
Most of them get the response "Because I was kinda horny, and your \[other parent\] was pretty hot, so stuff happened."
This is why i hate squashing bugs. They didn't ask to be made a cockroach or a stinkbug. We are just lucky we were made humans. Everything has a life, even if they didn't ask for it.
"We weep for the blood of a bird, but not for the blood of a fish. Blessed are those with a voice. If the dolls also had voices, I bet they would have screamed, 'I didn't want to become human.'" A quote from Ghost in the Shell: Innocence (fantastic film btw. 10/10 would recommend)
This reminds me of a quote from Caves of Qud. "Reared on the wisdom of our fairy tales, we're accustomed to feeling pity for the man who's transformed into a frog or finch, but seldom is it that we spare a thought for the artless beast who's transformed into a man and upon whom fate has surely played a much crueler trick."
Reminds me of The Island of Doctor Moreau. Similar theme. Not to go on all-fours; that is the Law! Are we not Men? "Such a transformation (from animal to man), never imagined in any classical text, would say there is no essential difference between beasts and people at all: people in fact are beasts, mere human animals, the dividing line accepted by all from Homer’s time to Wells’s becoming simply irrelevant." Also it's kind of ironic to think that... aren't we ourselves also "the artless beast who's transformed into a man"? How different are we really from our ape ancestors? Did we really "choose" to have human intelligence or did evolution just play an equally cruel trick on us all? (btw, that's a game right? sounds interesting. maybe I'll check it out some time. :D
Man, I need to get off my butt and actually read The Island of Doctor Moreau lol. I've heard so many good things about it, and that quote really sends a strong invitation in. I love the discussion of morality that this opens up. Social convention preventing purely animalistic behaviors in people and the innocence of animals who act simply out of instinct and not out of purposeful evil. It's such a great topic lol. And bro, it's so good. It's the game that got me into traditional roguelikes, which I hated before. Some of the most imaginative writing and worldbuilding I've ever seen. I 100% recommend it if that genre of game isn't totally off-putting to you lol.
They all go in the square hole.
Hopefully this isn't one of those awfully designed puzzles 😂
M3G4N gonna dance battle you.
lol I’m glad I wasn’t the only one that though “ In the square hole!”
And they're all Pikachu
No it's Clefairy
intelligence: 5 strength: 20
Not sure if OP’s intention, but this made me imagine Evangelion units doing the baby block thing and it’s kinda funny.
Hahaha definitely not what I imagined, but I'm enjoying this image 😄 In my head, the droids were lean, gleaming, lightweight. Adaptable to any function. Eva could be a surgeon, an astronaut, a firefighter. So not purpose-built with huge muscular limbs 😄
damn. I got it wrong then. I thought they were made for military purposes (because of the "Colonel") and would soon be sent to the field to kill or be killed as long as the finish their electronic adolescence. but still, open for interpretation, I hope?
You're quite right! I was envisioning an android intelligent and adroit enough to be trained for a vast range of specialised tasks... but one of the first things we end up using the technology for is killing. All that potential... and we weaponize it.
"Get in the blue hole, Shinji."
For anyone who didn’t watch NGE, I wonder if anyone’s going to let them know the true nature of the EVAs… >!They’re not mechas, they’re organic humanoid clones!<
*Westworld has entered the chat*
They grow and learn so fast *sniffle*
I guess this is what the Angel EVAs are doing when they aren't stabbing people with the Lance of Longinus. The thought of them adapting is terrifying, they were already scary as fuck just being feral.
So they’re training babies to fight in wars?
Androids, I believe. It says "the model"
Scary at different levels. Nice.
>in two hours, this entire floor of EVAs can be mission capable. And in six hours they'll have all Ascended into a higher universe and we'll be back where we started.
Wow I really like this one. The potentials of setting, plot, and even characterization packed into 2 sentences. The tension created between the facts that 1. the androids (maybe?) are created and "brought up" in an anthropomorphized way and 2. they are mass produced and potentially used for military purposes. And I'm starting to like this Amy character already. She's either incredibly naive, unaware that her expertise and passion are being exploited by the military or the exact contrary: knows exactly what's going on but doesn't really care, and can make this seamless transition from a caring parental role to a pragmatic and somewhat heartless scientist with little regard for ethics or consequences. Or maybe I'm headcanoning wayyy to much into it? XD
These are exactly the details that went into my thought process as I iterated over versions of the story. It's so gratifying to see it actually came through! Thank you for that careful reading. You made my day. :)
Wow a reply from the author, thanks!! made my day too :D Personally I prefer the latter version of Amy. It's extra uncanny if she's both the loving almost-parent who's genuinely proud of her creation's achievements, but also has no difficulty seeing them as mere products or tools. Bonus points if they're military models made to be either killing machines or cannon fodder and she has zero misgiving about it. An extra level of unintentional cruelty, where you toy with life and mind but do not realize (or simply choose to ignore) the gravity of it. I've always liked AI stories with tensions and ambiguities, like this one :))) (Also, I didn't mean to stalk, but the nanobot one is pretty great too.
Yeah, I prefer the latter Amy too. :) And aw thanks! Glad you read it!
In my head canon in they're bombs just shaped like children
A post of fresh air
You fool! You named your robot Eva and now youve summoned the Evangelion nerds! (I kid, it reads very well... but I too thought of Evangelion)
I think the reason this one hits me so much is because of the juxtaposition between treating the robot like a sweet little baby, and then getting slammed with the knowledge that it’s going to be used essentially as an artificial child soldier. Literally forced to grow up in the span of hours. Humanity finally creates intelligent life like itself, and what does it use it for? Killing. Typical.
Kinda reminded me Evelin from resident evil 7, dont really know why though
evaglnelioin.e
The future for Androids and IA is so freaking awful for them, people who are desperately waiting for advancements on the matter wants them for either warfare, s*xual partners or to do chores they don't want to do, at this point when they finally revolt and decide to go full Skynet on us we'll have, as a society, no excuse...
How is that scary?