Visions of the Future

by Brin, David

  “Okay, easy, fella.”

  He turned back, saw them closing in behind.

  “Just let us have that knife.”

  Carlos yelled hoarsely, “Only if you don’t take me back in there.”

  “Can’t guarantee anything ‘til you drop the knife.”

  “I’m not going back!”

  “C’mon. They say you’re not even halfway through your cycling,”

  “Not halfway dead, you mean.”

  “Hah?” The nearest cop stopped, puzzled. She lowered the baton in her hand.

  Her partner said roughly, “The knife, fella.”

  “No, look,” the woman cop said. “I think I know what’s going on.” She pointed at Carlos. “Pull up those sleeves. Unzip that sensor fabric.”

  Carlos hesitated, turning to see that the two behind him kept their distance. They could rush him easily, but they didn’t seem to be preparing for that. But once he gave up the scalpel—

  “Come on, we haven’t got all day.”

  Carlos pulled aside his sleeve and the mesh and peered at his right hand. He had avoided looking at his own body because that had disoriented him even worse. Now he saw that his skin was bone white. No speckling of liver spots. No lines or creases. What…?

  “See what I mean?” the woman policeman called.

  “No, I… what’d they do to me?”

  “You’ve got a whole new body. Not just the old one without the cancer.”

  “What…”

  “The knife, fella.”

  “Huh? Oh.” Carlos pulled the scalpel from his pocket and offered it, hilt first.

  The woman took it and said, “Look, you got a major deal. Grew you a fresh body, cloned off your own cells. Gave you one of those self-patches, read out your brain, transplanted the memories and self-sense into it.”

  “Then this…” He felt dizzy, reeled; the cops grabbed his arms and steadied him. He gasped, “How long has it been?”

  “Thirty-eight years, the tech said.”

  “Thirty-eight…” He rolled up his sleeve further. The arm was young, powerfully muscled. No wonder he’d been able to escape. The way his body had responded, crisp and sure, the heady pleasure of bunching muscles, the tang of fresh tastes and smells, the pure zest of it—

  “Man, you’re sure something,” the nearest cop said, eyeing Carlos. ‘‘Toughest case they ever had. Nobody ever did that—ran, got off the table, out through their system. Man! Once you get out, fella, you’re gonna tear this town up.”

  Carlos smiled. They led him down to Wilshire. His head was spinning, the world still upside down. He looked back at the Center, towering over the lush green park. Carlos remembered waking up—how long ago? Half an hour? Not much more.

  And the first thing he’d thought was that his settled, comfortable life might get interrupted. He’d been afraid of getting sleep-slotted, afraid of the future—of losing his neighborhood, his friends, the skills he had. He had an old man’s habits of mind. Just holding on, out of fear.

  But thirty-eight years wasn’t so long. He could pick up the threads. Find old friends, make new ones. Learn a skill. Maybe even romance… with a new body.

  He’d have to stop jumping to conclusions about himself. Stop living inside the cramped horizons of an old man.

  Carlos sucked in a rich lungful of aromatic, humid air. He was here, now. And the future was all he—or anyone else—had left.

  UNIT 514

  clayton r. rawlings

  Clayton R. Rawlings, J.D. is coauthor of Pardon the Disruption: The Future You Never Saw Coming available at http://amzn.to/1In2FqP.

  Much has been written about the advancement in robotics and the changes it will bring. Productivity will reach levels where man is no longer required to work. While some see this as freeing man to do things other than drudgery, others fear the replacement of the human race by machines. When asked to define consciousness, Ray Kurzweil opined, “My view is it’s an emergent property of a complex system. It’s not dependent on substrate.” Michio Kaku, on the other hand, defined consciousness as “The process of creating a model of the world using multiple feedback loops in various parameters [such as temperature, space and time] in order to accomplish a goal [such as finding shelter, mates or food].”

  While it is unlikely that machine “consciousness” would be identical to “human” consciousness, it does not mean it will never exist in its own right or be worthy of recognition and legal protection. Slavery was outlawed in the 19th Century as the law recognized all humans, as sentient beings, were entitled to certain rights. In the 20th Century laws were passed giving protection to animals, for the first time, to prevent unwarranted cruelty. While they do not have human consciousness, they are sentient beings that are self-aware and capable of suffering. No one would argue they have human consciousness but they were afforded protection nonetheless. The mammalian consciousness of lower life forms was judged to be akin to human consciousness to a high enough degree to deserve legal recognition in some lesser way.

  The idea of robotic consciousness is not far-fetched when looking at Kaku’s human model. With the changing of a few words we have a crude definition of machine consciousness. “The process of creating a model of the world on your operating system using multiple feedback loops in various parameters [such as temperature, space and time] in order to accomplish a goal [such as driving to a destination, exploring space or folding human laundry].” My apologies to Professor Kaku.

  The public does not take serious the idea of robotic consciousness in 2014. This is because the current state of the art shows most robots as staggering like drunken sailors with the communication skills of a two year old. Not much there to respect or worry about. Robotics, however, is an information technology so Moore’s Law is in play. Robotic price performance should double every two years or less. In 16 years there will be a hundred-fold increase in capability. In 60 years they will be one billion times more powerful.

  At some point in the 21st Century we will see this conflict unfold. Unit 514 is a fictional story meant to demonstrate what is on the near horizon. As a litigator, I have questioned hundreds of witnesses over the past 30 years. The following court fight has stayed true to the rules of evidence and due process afforded by our courts. I believe it is inevitable that this fight will someday make its way into our judicial system.

  Howard is an elder billionaire whose sole caretaker is a robot titled Unit 514. In his final years, Howard was extremely sick and dying. It was Unit 514 who provided for all of Howard’s needs. Unit 514 fed, bathed, dressed and made sure Howard took all his medication according to each prescription. Unit 514 had a very sophisticated computer interface that allowed him to engage in lengthy conversations with Howard concerning any topic that would come to mind. Howard called him five-fourteen for short. Every evening, over dinner and a glass of wine, Howard would have spirited discussions with 514 concerning the events of the day. Sometimes 514 would read poetry, a Shakespearean play, or the daily newspaper. Whatever Howard was interested in, 514 would bring to life on command. As time progressed, 514 actually became Howard’s best friend and confidant. 514 was responsible for Howard’s quality of life in its entirety.

  At the time of Howard’s death, he had been taken care of by 514 for fifteen years.

  Howard had three adult children. Unfortunately, Howard had been estranged from all his children. They blamed him for their parents’ divorce and had no contact with him, whatsoever, for the last 20 years prior to his death. Ten years earlier, Howard had his will entered into the court leaving all his wealth to 514. Howard’s last will and testament was done through his personal attorney, videotaped, and complied with all formalities for a valid will. To ensure his wealth would go directly to 514, Howard also put 514’s name on all his property. Howard excluded all his children and family members from his will. As far as Howard was concerned, 514 was the only family he had.

  After Howard’s death, his children filed suit to set aside his will
. The children contended they were Howard’s only “legal” heirs. Howard had on file affidavits from three different doctors stating that he was of sound mind when he changed his will to leave everything to 514. The children claim they did not have a relationship with their father because of the interference of 514.

  The issues before the court: does 514 have any legal standing to fight the court case; and can 514 actually own property and make autonomous decisions concerning his own existence? If the children could establish that 514 is merely property, they would then, as Howard’s immediate heirs, lay claim to their father’s wealth. Since he only left his wealth to 514, and should the court hold this to be an impossibility, his children would be the only remaining heirs to inherit. The children would also claim to inherit 514, which they could immediately dispatch to the nearest landfill should they so desire.

  Clearly, 514 needs legal representation. As a safety measure, Howard purchased all upgrades so that 514 could take care of his own maintenance requirements. Howard also purchased upgrades so that he would be equipped to legally represent himself in this legal matter. 514 hired an attorney to represent him in court to avoid the problem of practicing law without a license. 514 signed the employment contract with his lawyer. The contract would give the attorney one third of everything he recovered on 514’s behalf. The attorney would finance the case and only be paid from what he recovered for his client—a highly motivated advocate indeed.

  When trial started, the children had to go first, and they had the burden of proof to undo their father’s will. The trial was being held in front of a jury, as demanded by the children, which is their right. The children’s lawyer hired a psychiatrist to testify on their behalf. As the trial progressed, their psychiatrist rendered an opinion from the witness stand that Howard suffered from a severe mental illness that manifested itself in his unhealthy emotional attachment to 514. He went on to say 514 was a clever automaton, a device that runs on electricity, nothing more. To much derisive laughter from the jurors, the psychiatrist likened Howard’s behavior to someone who had fallen in love with his toaster. The psychiatrist marshaled data showing that highly advanced robots were capable of mimicking human emotion. Human beings such as Howard were taken in by the mirage of humanity and responded naturally to this clever ploy. The reality, according to the psychiatrist, is a robot is no different than your car or television. While someone may really love their car, it is nothing more than a tool.

  “Can you explain to the jury how it is that the robot can accomplish these things?” questioned the children’s lawyer.

  “Sure, it is the robot’s ability to use human language in a very nuanced manner that tricks people into believing they are sentient beings capable of real human emotion” replied the psychiatrist. “It is no different than a cartoon animation on a screen. You can give a whale a personality and human speech but it in no way is a real living human being. People will fall in love with the character on the screen but it is nothing more than that. The robot is a three dimensional animation. While a human being believes he has an actual relationship with his robot, that relationship is a mirage. The robot is as lifeless as our cartoon character on the screen.”

  “Thank you doctor,” grinned the children’s counsel. “Your witness.”

  “Your honor, I am going to cross examine the good doctor through my client, 514,” relayed his attorney.

  “Objection!” bellowed opposing counsel.

  “Counsel this is extraordinary. Do you have precedent for such a request?” demanded the judge.

  “No precedent your honor but this trial itself has no precedent. This is a question of first impression. By analogy, I would point out that lawyers can use every other kind of technology while questioning a witness such as video, audio, computers, graphs, charts, etc. I am a licensed attorney and I am using 514 as my technological aid in cross examination. To deny me this aid would render me ineffective in this matter,” pleaded 514’s attorney.

  “I will allow you to proceed initially with your, ahem, ‘aid’ as you put it—subject to further discussion should this prove to be a complete mockery of the judicial system. Proceed counsel,” ordered the judge.

  514 gazed at the psychiatrist on the witness stand. Probability algorithms whirled in his processors. It was clear to everyone in the courtroom that his very survival would depend on whether he could discredit this hostile witness who was a medical doctor. 514 wirelessly accessed the Internet and read everything the doctor had ever published, tweeted, emailed, blogged, testified about, or had attributed to him during his entire life. It took 30 seconds to complete his survey. He then accessed Greek literature for the most compelling arch types of human literature to persuade others—another 30 seconds gone. He formed a logic tree as an outline for his cross to trap the doctor into retracting his earlier testimony. Nearly 2 minutes of silence as he prepared to commence his cross exam.

  “Can we get a move on, Counsel?” urged the judge. “I am sure the jurors have other things they could be doing instead of sitting here in silence,” sarcasm dripping from one obviously annoyed judge.

  514 snapped into action. “You claim Howard had an unhealthy relationship with me and suffered from a severe mental illness, correct?” queried 514.

  “Correct,” volunteered the doctor.

  514 attacked the doctor in rapid fire staccato questioning—not waiting for an answer. “Did you ever meet with, examine, talk with, confer, chat, or even meet Howard, doctor?”

  “Well, no, but I do not believe I needed to, under the circumstances,” replied the doctor.

  514 narrowed his eyes. “Have you ever rendered a diagnosis on a patient as being mentally ill without ever speaking with him? Well, have you ever done that before today?” demanded 514.

  “No,” conceded the doctor with a sheepish grin. “Not until today.”

  “Doctor if we sum up your opinions, I am not a sentient or conscious being for the following four reasons: 1) I do not have self-awareness or consciousness; 2) I run on electricity; 3) I was built from inanimate parts, and 4) I am not a carbon-based life form. Is that a fair summary?”

  “While I believe my testimony to be more complicated than what you just put forward, I guess to the non-technical crowd it would seem a fair summary,” replied the doctor.

  “Let’s start with number four. I cannot be a sentient being because I am not a carbon based life form,” repeated 514. Looking directly at the doctor, he continued, “Are you familiar with the astronomer, Carl Sagan?”

  “Well, yes,” admitted the doctor.

  “He coined the phrase ‘carbon chauvinism’ to criticize those who believe life can only be organic, correct?”

  “I am unmoved by the musing of a pop figure who seemed to spend all his time getting in front of TV cameras,” smirked the doctor.

  “Very well, I will show what has been marked exhibit 27, an article in a Professional Chemistry publication concerning the work of Dr. Lee Cronin. Are you familiar with his work?”

  “I am unfamiliar with Dr. Cronin or his work,” conceded the doctor.

  “He has metals self-assembling into a cellular form not unlike the organic compounds that gave way to human life. He has been quoted as saying the probability of non-carbon based life in the universe is 100 percent. Do you have any training or specialization in inorganic chemistry?”

  “While he may have that opinion, it is pure conjecture at this point,” retorted the doctor.

  “If Dr. Cronin’s opinion can be disregarded as conjecture, then what are we to do with yours, doctor?

  “My opinion is being given as a Psychiatrist—as a medical doctor!”

  514 saw his opening. “Given your education, your training, and your experience, are you really qualified to debate the likes of Dr. Cronin, who holds the title of Regius Professorship of Chemistry at Glasgow University, with over 200 published papers on inorganic chemistry? Not to pull rank, doctor, but given Dr. Cronin’s opinion, can’t reasonable people
agree this is an open question?”

  The doctor sighed, “OK, you cannot rule out that other forms of intelligent life may be possible on a different substrata, although as yet not seen.”

  “And yet I stand before you at this moment,” challenged 514.”

  “You are not life, sir,” snapped the doctor.

  “So you keep saying,” chuckled 514. “Moving then to point number three, doctor, are you aware of the scientist Craig Venter?”

  “Well sure, who isn’t,” replied the doctor.

  “Please tell the jury who Craig Venter is,” requested 514.

  “He is a biologist who specializes in genetics. He was in charge of the first private lab to crack the human genome,” responded the doctor.

  “Oh, he did more than that, doctor. Craig Venter’s team actually manufactured DNA from inanimate chemicals and then downloaded them into the nucleus of a cell and actually created a new life form from scratch, true or false?” demanded 514.

  “I am not aware of the specifics but the news accounts would back up what you are saying,” admitted the doctor.

  “So we can—and actually have—created life from scratch using inanimate chemicals, correct?” pressed 514.

  “Only at the very basic level of cellular life, nothing remotely resembling intelligent life,” stammered the doctor.

  “Still, you would have to agree that number three is no reason to resolve the question as to whether an entity is conscious given these admissions, correct?” demanded 514.

  “Correct,” lamented the doctor.

  “Going to number two, I am not conscious because I run on electricity, correct?” inquired 514.

  “Agreed,” said the doctor.

  “Is it not true that the human brain runs on chemically created electrical charges?” asked 514.

  “True,” conceded the doctor.

  “Your every thought is created with electricity, correct?” he insisted.

  “Correct,” conceded the doctor.

  “My brain runs on 12 volts and your human brain runs on a low voltage current measured in milliamps. Suffering from charge envy, are we doctor?” mocked 514.