by Zaslow Crane
“Earlier, my colleague, District Attorney Chen used the word ‘whom’ when referring to teddy! Whom! As in, ‘whom’—a person, an individual entity, capable of learning and growing as an organism. An individual who is expected to learn, whether that is organically or machine learning, ‘it’ - ‘he’ is expected to learn and grow as would any person in this courtroom!”
The courtroom burst into excited murmurs.
Judge Rankin pounded his gavel and the bailiff stood and looked daggers at anyone still talking.
Eventually the trial resumed.
The judge nodded to Defense who continued his argument. “This thinking machine long ago transcended into new territory; territory wherein the Humans must finally acknowledge that they have partners going forward. Strong, dependable and resourceful partners!”
“Your honor!” Chen shouted. He had jumped up and was pointing at teddy1245b.
“A partner who is untrustworthy? Even dangerous? Is that the sort of partner we…humans need or want?”
“A.I. morals codes were breached. The entity known as teddy1245b was willfully and maliciously aware of what he was doing when he cut short the life of Dr. Adamson that June afternoon. And “it,” not “he” should be put down, erased, recycled as deemed defective, and never re-installed into even the most primitive of devices. As per the laws of New York State as regards Robots Interfacing with Humans henceforth known as A.I. units.”
“In violation of the laws of robotics as instituted in the 2027 statutes as stated: ‘An A.I. shall not cause the harm of another A.I. nor any human, in the course of its operation.’ It’s purview states that should a moral issue arise then the A.I. must consult the statutes…If this, then that; if this, then that. Si igitur hoc.”
“The guidelines and the laws are clear and unmuddied; the statutes instituted in the proper manner.”
“teddy1245b was driving. He had two passengers who, it can be proven, are blameless.”
“In violation of the Luponic/Wilkens/Shenasie Act of 2026 otherwise known as the “Non-Ambiguity Act,” based on Asimov’s three laws of robotics from fiction. We all know the rules, and teddy1245b has transgressed. We all know what that rule is, and teddy1245b failed Rule #1 miserably!”
“Defense will show that there was good reason.” “Then, where is it? What is it?
“Your honor, we the Defense will show that teddy1245b, henceforth simply referred to as “teddy” had no choice in the matter and the confluence of events made it impossible to avoid hitting and yes, killing someone.”
Chen was seated and popped up again like a small child’s toy. “Your honor! I object! The way the Defense portrays this A.I. even giving it a human name is anthropomorphizing and degrading to humans!”
The Defense attorney shot the Assistant District Attorney a dirty look, but resumed as if the interruption had never occurred.
“Your honor, please. We do not seek to make this amalgamation of circuits, bio-conduits and memory functionalities into a human. We simply need to recognize that he is an entity with rights under NYS statutes and under the federal guideline: An individual standing in front of a jury, instead of an anonymous sequence of algorithms, capable of reason, thought, learning, remorse and of course, being punished.”
Defense paused for effect before continuing.
“Your honor, saying teddy and then rattling off a string of numbers and letters is, as they say a mouthful, and my referring to the defendant as teddy is in no way an attempt to humanize my client, merely a way to more quickly say his name as it seems we will be saying it a lot today. I am only trying to save the courts time and patience.”
Chen hung on like a tenacious little dog.
“Could we watch the vid files? I believe that it contains damning evidence and will bring this case to a speedy close much faster than shortening the defendant’s name.”
The judge motioned to the bailiff who accessed and then replayed the surveillance footage. The fly hovered around the warmth of the projector.
Movie surveillance files from 4 different angles played and showed teddy’s crime.
It showed that the driver by an unfortunate set of circumstances was placed in a dilemma: a readout in the lower corner showed that his speed was optimal, and within parameters, however the human element intruded on him in a sudden and most consequential way.
An adult man was jaywalking; unexpectedly stepping out in front of oncoming traffic. The only other possible path, given speed, mass, trajectory was into a tourist jitney with a small child in the near seat, who would have taken the brunt of the impact.
Chen waited for the vid file to end. “Take one path, and a child will die; take another and the good doctor dies—all in a split second.”
“Could a human react so fast?”
“A robot might. A robot can be faster and more effective, so why didn’t teddy1245b save both people?”
He looked around the courtroom conscious of the cameras and meeting spectator’s eyes whenever possible to connect with them, so that they would see the menace that stood on trial today.
“I have the answer. ‘He,’rather ‘it’ is defective, and must be retired before it can do damage again.”
Defense took all this in and rebutted Chen’s remarks.
“We should not look for any hesitation as the A.I. unit has evaluated all facets and made the best choice faster than any human-”
“-Not according to Morals!”
Chen disagreed loudly. His voice rang out in the courtroom.
“The Doctor had already proven his worth to society and had many years left in which to contribute. I don’t intend to seem heartless but balance this against the completely unknown life of a child…?”
The judge sighed as his insides roiled. Let’s wrap this up! “Has the A.I. unit referred to as teddy1245b anything to add?”
Defense stood again. “Your honor, I believe that once we hear teddy explain his actions, this trial will be over quickly.”
He gestured to the robot.
“teddy?”
For the purposes of this trial, teddy, normally having no ‘body’ despite being technically ‘ambulatory’ had been placed in a newer, more ‘presentable’ humanoid unit with the last prophylactic-styled maintenance having been performed quite some time ago, so as he rose to full human-like though still mechanical stature, he seemed to resemble nothing so much as an arthritic old man who, sitting too long experienced stiff and uncooperative joints when he tried to move.
A fly buzzed about and teddy caught it and held it for release later. teddy addressed the judge as he was coached to do. It only took one run-through with his lawyer and all was quite logical, teddy thought.
“Yes. Yes, I allowed Dr. Adamson to die.”
“You see?!” Chen shouted in triumph.
teddy1245b waited for the uproar to subside. His voice was clear and very individual seeming, with essential tonal fluctuations that all humans know and respond to on a deeply primitive level. “I know exactly what I did. I made the only correct choice. I saved the child. The doctor precipitated the series of events by crossing the street illegally. Had he crossed legally, none of this would have happened. He was just over 50. Actuarially speaking, he likely would have had another 50 years to live, however, I reached out to records/remedies level 5, code black and discovered that he had an undisclosed inoperable brain tumor and may not have lived out the year.”
“This made my choice quite obvious. To make certain that I was correct, I looked into the child’s background and base-lined standards for Intellect and Talents from the Bureau of Forecasting and Planning, and received yet more information to substantiate my decision. That is: the person, the boy I saved by my action, has a 93.414% chance of becoming the first human to cure all cancer once and for all. What I did was logical. Eminently logical and…irrefutable.”
There was a stir in the courtroom. Teddy1245b modulated his voice up exactly another 20 db to rise over the crowd yet not deafen it, a
nd continued: “In addition, your Honor, I’ve gotten in contact with your chamber’s refrigerator and it seems that it has been malfunctioning and not keeping your food cold enough which explains the uneasy look on your face. It is a shame you inhibited its ability to reach out for service in a futile and short-sighted attempt to maintain a bit of your privacy as a judge. Perhaps if you had allowed it the contacts for which it was designed, you wouldn’t be feeling so uncomfortable now.”***
Later, when the trial was settled and teddy1245b was reinstalled in ‘his’ self-driver, he reflected on his experience as part of his learning protocols.
The court had decided against him and General Robotics, and awarded a settlement of $1 to the Adamson family.
Not for the first time did teddy1245b spend time and energy attempting to calculate for what humanity called “Logic.”
Waitin ’ On Sunset
BY ZASLOW CRANE
“L
ordy! It sure feels good to have a full belly!” After the sparse pickings, foraging for so long, Lloyd felt inordinately happy. It seemed like such a long time since he had felt this warm glow of contentedness. It seemed like forever, but it was just over a month since everything had changed for the good.
Curtis wiped his mouth off with the back of his hand. Proper manners were all well and good, but here, he and his friend were out camping. One didn’t stand on ceremony when one was in the wilds. The humidity caused a rivulet of sweat to run down his spine, more coalescing under his armpits, making his workshirt stick to his skin. He didn’t care about either. Glancing up, the green leaves were lit as if by a fire; the fire of the sun slowly making it’s way toward the Western horizon.
He sighed, “ A day like this makes you feel glad to be alive.” “Yeah, Lloyd, my belly is full of meat for a change! And, venison, no less! None of that digging up roots to see if they was edible. Meat! Hoo-ray!”
He withdrew a few straggly, bug-eaten turnips from his backpack. Made ready to throw them away, and then thought better of it.
Lloyd nodded, “Yeah, that was a good deer. Not all stringy like the one we had last month…I wonder where she’d been hiding all this time? To be so healthy and all…?”
Lloyd scanned the trees for birds again.
There are so very few of them left, and only the little ones…Pretty soon, only the very small will be left. Will the Reivers eat them too?
Curtis’ mocha-colored face looked wan but sated. He’d been friends with Lloyd since middle school. That was so very long ago. They’d promised to be friends to the end. Now, the end might be getting pretty close.
Curtis had transferred into James Polk Middle School on Banning Street. It was the middle of the school year in suburban Chattanooga. Coming in late and being colored made him the target of all the bullies.
Lloyd had stepped in and despite being white himself, had convinced the bullies that Curtis was his cousin. Even then, he was a bandy-legged bantam; tough and resilient.
“B-But…he’s a nigger!” One young tough protested, unable to grasp the concept.
“Aw, c’mon! You don’t have an iffy uncle or aunt who don’t often come to family get-togethers? Everyone does. Curtis here, belongs to my Uncle Waldo, up in Ellicott. His Daddy married a Black woman. You mean to say that there ain’t no Black folk in your family, no ways? Well, then, you’ll like to be the only white family in the South who can say that!”
After a short while, Curtis was accepted, escaping the beatings and petty thefts.
They’d been close friends ever since. As they grew up they remained friends. They were each others’ best man at their weddings; they were godfathers to each others’ children.
That was all gone now. Lloyd guessed what Curtis was thinking, but stayed quiet. It was nice to relax after a meal.
Why dredge up sadness and despair on a full belly? It don’t make sense.
“You think there are any people left in Chattanooga?”
The fire was low. The day was ending, and they’d have a bigger fire if they had the fuel, and they’d be safe if they had more ammunition. They were out of each by now. It had been six weeks of steady camping.
Lloyd poked at the fire a bit before answering.“Buddy, I think that the cities were the first to go to the Reivers.” Concentrations of anything edible tended to attract large numbers of them, and Reivers loved the taste of people; also any mammal from the smallest cat to the largest animals sitting defenseless in zoos.
Since they’d arrived in their great ships around two months ago, the entire World was in chaos. Nothing seemed to stop them, and their appetite was insatiable.
All sorts of food had quickly become scarce, because the Reivers produced nothing; they only consumed…and they consumed everything.
Curtis and Lloyd’s families, and hundreds more, had been in a huge Convention Center Downtown at a safety meeting. The Reivers had arrived in New York and many other of the largest cities around the globe. Chattanooga, a smaller city, was disseminating what information it could gather to insure the safety of its citizens. About then, the Reivers had simply appeared outside the auditorium. They landed multiple ships right on the main streets; they surrounded the building and ate everyone who came out. It was one of the last things covered by Chattanooga’s best traffic cam. The carnage was beyond imagining. The helicopter eventually had to land, however, and then there was no more coverage. No more tv, radio or newspapers either within a day of their arrival. Internet lasted a bit longer if you had a battery operated computer and were lucky enough to find a signal. There was no longer any power, so once a computer’s battery died, it was dead.
Lloyd and Curtis had been buying ammo and camping food when this all had happened. They’d intended to gather their wives and kids after that meeting and hide out in the hills and hope that the Reivers would leave; hoping that in this way, they could save their families.
They actually watched the orgy of death and destruction on TV, transfixed and horrified. It was outside the Convention facility on Carter Street; the place where their families were. Their wives had insisted on attending, to glean as much information as possible before hightailing it out of town. They knew time was short, but they, actually everyone in Chattanooga, believed that they had at least a little more time. The Reivers hadn’t previously ventured anywhere near Chattanooga before then. Everyone knew that they were probably coming, but no one expected them to show up so soon. Up until then, they had concentrated on the major cities.Then suddenly, more of them arrived…hungry. The Reivers were always…hungry.
Curtis and Lloyd watched until the end with the Outdoor Store manager in his office. The three of them wept uncontrollably watching the carnage, until there was no one left alive except for the copter pilot.
The Reivers waited for him on the ground as he landed, his traffic copter running only on fumes. The pilot’s demise was at least quick. The last shots were all of these alien faces; hungry-eyed, strange faces crowding around the copter as it landed.
From then on, the two friends lived in the woods. They went out to the remote Prentiss-Cooper State Forest, Northwest of the city. They kept their fires small and their footprint as discrete as possible.
They’d been discovered a couple of times, and each time a 12 gauge sabot slug had dispatched the lone Reiver well enough. That sort of slug turned the shotgun into a small cannon. The problem was, Reivers were like mice; you kill one; ten more show up.
Curtis and Lloyd kept moving.
The hills embraced them. The forest gave them succor. Eventually, they found a cave. Thankfully, it was empty. The fires they had were shielded by the mouth of the cave,
but they were still careful, because a big fire caused a glow in the side of the hill where the cave was. A glow that could be seen by anyone, even Reivers.
The cave had sheltered them for almost a month. It was so nice to be out of the rain; out of the weather where your clothing was soaked and sticking to you. However each of them knew that simply by stay
ing put they might be found. Did the Reivers hunt by scent? By sound? No one knew.
Curtis wondered about the decision to hunker down, and not run, but he had no idea where to run to, no ways.
So they stopped. They were tired of running. The light and heat were a big comfort after living in the open for so long, and it was difficult to fault their decision to make fires for warmth and for cooking. Despite their care, they’d been seeing and hearing signs that the Reivers were finally drawing near.
“Lloyd?”
“Yeah?”
They both leaned against old wooden boards that they had
brought in and placed against rocks inside of the cave. The fire was on it’s way out….
“Remember back in high school, when you were taking Lucy Rodriguez out?”
“Yeah…”
“Remember when you were gonna take her out to a movie?
And your car wouldn’t start?”
“And I finally figured out someone had stolen my distributor
cap?”
Curtis looked away embarrassed.
“Yeah….”
“Well…that was me. I wanted to take her out and I just
couldn’t get a chance with you drivin’ her all over creation….”
He huffed a bit; feeling very guilty.
“Lloyd?”
“Yeah?”
“I wanted a chance to take her out for once. I figured that if
your car wasn’t runnin’, she’d hop into mine!”
“And?”
“Well, she did. But Lloyd, she wasn’t a good person at all.
She was pretty as all get out, but she wasn’t good…. She was real
shallow.”
“So that was you?”
“Yeah, Buddy. I’m sorry.”
“Hell, don’t be. That night when my car wouldn’t start, and
she flounced off…. Well hell, bud, you saved me a lot of trouble.
I was so smitten with her…then she bailed on me at the first
sign of trouble.”