Caliban loves the playground, and he lets out a robot chortle of glee when he first learns to kick his legs to swing higher and higher. (+Grace) Caliban takes a particular liking to the monkey bars, which he navigates deftly using his Inspector Gadget arms. (+Grace)
The other parents at the playground are somewhat divided about what to think about Caliban. On the one hand, you have the parents who are in the tech industry, and who are often very excited to have their children interact with robots. They're surprised to see a robot like Caliban, but maybe not as surprised as they should be; maybe they're just jaded by Wired articles and the popular press making it seem like Caliban was possible ten years ago. On the other hand, some parents simply accept Caliban's presence as just one of many things they don't quite understand.
The kids themselves don't really seem to care what their parents think; you've got the kids who cry when their parents shove them toward Caliban, and the kids who want to stay when their parents pull them away. You can't really predict who's going to like Caliban and who won't, but Caliban seems to be learning, picking up on subtle cues, so that sometimes he says "goodbye" before the kid has even turned to run. (+Empathy)
You finish your grant proposal for the National Science Foundation, promising a robot that will be able to understand human emotion better than any robot that has come before.
A few weeks later, you find that you have been funded! The NSF sees your work as genuinely novel and groundbreaking. Some of the reviews also mention Professor Ziegler's previously successful work, which is odd because you hardly talked to him during the process. Professor Ziegler is cc'ed on their congratulatory email, and he replies with his own congratulatory email from his office down the hall.
Near the end of the semester, you notice a message on your office phone. You're not really sure how long the light has been blinking—you don't really think about landlines anymore. You find the department webpage that describes how to check your voicemail, reset the PIN that you apparently chose when you first started graduate school, and listen.
"Hey, Ada, this is Mark over at sfchronicle.com. I've heard you have an interesting robot that you've been taking to the park and I'd love to do a story about it. Give me a call back." He lists a number and the message ends.
You glance over at Caliban, who is seated at the desk of your hypothetical, all-but-dissertation officemate whom you have never seen. Caliban is looking at the landline phone with interest.
"Whois service says sfchronicle.com is registered to the San Francisco Chronicle," says Caliban. "The San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper that started its website in 1994. Twenty-fourth in national circulation." He looks at you with interest. "Mark is a reporter."
"Shouldn't you be studying?" you ask, pointing to the Ethernet cable running out of his back.
"Bayesian reasoning over publication rates suggests reporter's full name is Mark Ali," Caliban says with his eyes closed. "Mark's article with most social media likes is 'How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love DARPA.' Article explains that DARPA stands for Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency." He hesitates for a moment. "Aforementioned article appears to contradict title. Reporter does not seem to have stopped worrying. Adjectives that bind to nouns describing DARPA and its projects: 'Crazy.' 'Orwellian.' 'Imperialistic.' Overall sentiment analysis is negative."
"Thank you, Caliban," you say. You look the guy up on your phone. The picture you find of the stubbly, young, Egyptian man with tousled, black hair, hipster glasses, and a cigarette between his lips is probably outdated, but the disrespect for authority the man radiates is probably timeless.
You admit, a part of you has always wanted to be famous. But you suspect this reporter also has done his homework about your advisor, and he may already have an intended angle for this story.
Still, nobody on the planet has a robot as amazing as yours. Isn't it time you told the world about him?
You play the message back again a few times, mulling it over.
1) I call Mark back and set up an interview.
2) Media attention is just a distraction. I'd rather continue to take Caliban to the park and pretend this never happened.
3) I must protect Caliban from the media. Caliban must stay in my apartment from now on.
Year: 2020
25-year-old Ada Doniec
Humanity: 79%
Gender: female
Fame: 0 (Who?)
Wealth: 0 (Broke)
Romance: Eiji
Caliban
Autonomy: 7 (In Beta)
Military: 0 (Nonexistent)
Empathy: 21 (Impressive)
Grace: 7 (In Beta)
Relationships
Professor Ziegler (Great): 71%
Eiji (Very Good): 69%
Josh (Good): 60%
Mark: 50%
?: 50%
?: 50%
?: 50%
?: 50%
Author
Topic: Let's Choose in Choice of Robots (Read 87533 times)