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Post by Susan Calvin Kroptokin on Jan 11, 2016 16:42:50 GMT -7
PC Staff: Susan C. Kroptokin [Head Researcher] Dorothy Deucalion [Researcher] ____________________________________________ Located at the edge of New Starhaven were a collection of industrial buildings that collectively formed the campus of the Robotics Institute. The Robotics Institute was founded in 2095 AD for the explicit purpose of designing mechanical men to help humankind explore and colonize the heavens. At any given time the institute housed only a dozen or so human researchers, but the large space was populated by a small army of robots. Some of these robots, such as the gate attendant, were humanoid in form, but others, such as the large space ships in the hangars, did not immediately betray the artificial intelligence inside. In the center of the institute's campus was a cylinder tower, where the non-robotic residents had their living quarters in. At the very top was the office of the head researcher, Susan Kroptokin. From this uppermost office the campus and the neighboring areas could be seen without disturbance. At night it was still possible to see the stars and other celestial bodies, but the light from the city made it increasingly harder to make them out. Some of the researchers had proposed moving the campus away from the city and into the wilderness, but logistics constrained the ability of the institute to do so. In the entrance way was a large sign that read: The Robotics Institute. Etched underneath the sign were the three laws of robotics that governed each robot manufactured by the institute. - A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
- A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
- A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
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Post by Dorothy Deucalion on Jan 11, 2016 18:40:54 GMT -7
Dorothy twiddled her thumbs. She was outside the head researcher's office, seated in the large couch in the outside waiting room. There was a collection of periodicals ranging from the Martian Times, a daily newspaper, to the Galle Gazette, a monthly joke magazine. Dorothy had tried to read one of them, but could not concentrate. It was the last sol of the work cycle, which meant that each researcher had a brief talk with the head researcher to provide an oral progress report.
Normally this was a quick five minute chat of what the researcher was working on at the moment and what they planned to do in the next work cycle. If this was all that she expected out of this talk Dorothy would not have been nearly as worried, but this time things would be different. Her project, the Ark Mission, had stumbled into an unexpected challenge.
Most roboticists devoted their energy towards trying to create an increasingly humanoid robot. The underlying thought was that human was already an efficient form and robots should strive to replicate that form with the occasional enhancement. Biorobotics, the study of organic robots, had exploded in recent years and it seemed like every new roboticist trying to make a name for themselves entered the subfield. There was one institute researcher who was quickly gaining fame for his engineering of cheap high quality synthetic organs to lengthen a human's life. There was rumors that another was trying to create robots capable of matching the Blight mutants in power.
Of the dozen or so researchers that belonged to the institute Dorothy was one of three devoted to non-humanoid robots. The other two non-humanoid robots were both in their late eighties and had been born when the most common robot was box shaped.
"You can come in Dorothy. We just finished our talk."
Dorothy looked toward the door. The one who had addressed her was a short man, one of her coworkers, who had exited the door and was motioning her towards her. She nodded in response and made her way into the head researchers office.
"Hello Doctor Kroptokin, I trust your week has gone well..."
The head researcher, Susan, was a middle aged woman. Like many of the elder members of the institute she had been born on Earth and it showed in the darker tone of her skin. Humans who had been born on Earth had a darker complexion than those on Mars. Dorothy suspected that Earth's closer proximity to the sun was the reason behind it. Susan was also shorter than Dorothy by a good foot. She did however envy her red hair.
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Post by Susan Calvin Kroptokin on Jan 11, 2016 19:22:20 GMT -7
I rubbed my forehead. I hated the end of the work cycle.
Before creating the institute I had spent almost a decade working for a large engineering firm. I spent countless days in a small cubicle toiling away and for what? A pay check at the end of the moon cycle? When I left I was not given so much as a hand shake by my former boss. I was not given credit for any of my inventions. Hell, when I founded the institute my former employer threatened to sue me under grounds that I had signed a non-compete clause in my initial contract. Fortunately my lawyer managed to get me out of that by pointing out my institute was an expressly non-profit venture.
I had created the institute primarily in the hopes that the human race would populate more than just Mars and a few half-civilized outposts by the time I died. However I had also created it in order to allow me to conduct my research without some nitwit constraining me. I accomplished this and there was minimal bureaucracy in the institute, but the last four years had required me to devote so much of my time towards administration that I scarcely had any time to do research myself.
These end of work cycle progress reports were the worst as they reminded me of how many advances were going on around me while I sat in on an endless line of meetings.
"Things have been well." I responded. I wore the brightest smile I could as I motioned Double D to sit in one of my chairs.
I allowed myself a moment to take in things. I envied Double D. She was one of our younger researchers. Unlike myself and the rest of the deadwood she had never been forced to work in a cubicle. She had plenty of time to concentrate on her studies and even managed to maintain a happy family life. A family! I wish I had a family. The closest thing I had to family was my personal robot, and who wants to be cared for by a machine? Did she know just how privileged she was?
Now what was Double D working on last time? Oh yes.
"Now tell me how are things with the Ark program. If I recall, last cycle you told me that you had launched one of the ships into unexplored space to see how it would react. Did all go well? I am hoping to launch our first colonization attempt later this year in the Canopus system. It is close in galactic terms, but I fear still to far to allow real time orders to be given from here should something occur."
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Post by Dorothy Deucalion on Jan 11, 2016 19:46:03 GMT -7
Dorothy sat down as Susan's request. She stayed still until it was her turn to speak. How was the Ark program going?
"Well, not quite."
She paused for a moment.
"You see the ship, the HSS Argo, has ugh.. how to put it mutinied?"
"As you know, the purpose of the Ark project was to create a non-humanoid robot capable of exploring space without needing constant orders from us. We have advanced to the point where most robots are capable of breaking complex orders into several smaller tasks without needing us to tell it so. When you tell your personal robot to make you breakfast you do not have to tell it to prepare twelve ounces of orange juice. That is not the case with non-humanoid robots."
"One of the advantages of humanoid robots is that they think similarly to how a human does. They have the same form as we do. Two arms, two legs, two eyes, and so forth. The form of the robot influences how it reacts. That gives us humans, at least those of us with a background in robopsychology, the ability to word our orders in such a way to get the desired result. Conversely the problem with non-humanoid robots is that we humans can not as easily plan ahead how our orders might be taken. How can a human know how a robotic chicken will act? A human is not a chicken."
"Can I be blamed then if I did not expect our robot space ship to mutiny? I am after all not a space ship myself."
Dorothy stopped there and waited for the head researcher's response.
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Post by Susan Calvin Kroptokin on Jan 12, 2016 10:10:04 GMT -7
I rubbed my forehead. Why was it that my researchers felt the need to inform me about something I already knew? What really bugged me was when they admitted that I already knew. "As you may know.." YES I DO KNOW. Why waste time going over what I already know?
A few weeks back one of my researchers felt it necessary to go over the three laws of robotics with me. I had to restrain myself then from choking him. I more than knew the three laws - I was part of task of creating the programming that embedded the three laws. Another time I was lectured about the mass exodus from Earth to Mars. I had lived that too!
I did not allow my face to show annoyance and maintained my smile.
"Oh that is not too bad. In the early days we had plenty of robots mutiny. We have all of our robots programmed with the three laws, but did you know there are firms that do not bother? I heard just the other day that there is a planet, not recorded in the public space maps of course, that is populated solely by those robots that have mutinied."
I waved my hand towards Dorothy.
"If that is what has you worried do not sweat it. We can just send a team of humanoid robots to dispose of it with a magnetic gun. Even if this robot has mutinied the first law holds absolute and it cannot cause harm to human beings. That is what has you worried right?"
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Post by Dorothy Deucalion on Jan 12, 2016 10:31:22 GMT -7
"Eh not quite.."
Dorothy tried to avoid the head researcher's eyes as she next spoke.
"You see the HSS Argo has never interacted with another space ship that had human beings inside. It has only ever interacted with its siblings."
She clutched her hands into a fist.
"That means there is a possibility that it thinks that other space ships are like it. Strictly speaking the first law merely states that a robot may not KNOWINGLY injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. This means that the HSS Argo would have no difficulty destroying space ships boarded by human beings. It is doubtful that it would immediately engage another space ship in combat, but it is a significant risk."
"And we cannot send other robotic space ships after it either. Until we understand why it mutinied we can not be sure that it was simply a glitch unique to it. It is possible that the rest of the Ark-class ships have the same defect. W- I do not want to be responsible for having an army of rogue homicidal space ships running around."
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Post by Susan Calvin Kroptokin on Jan 12, 2016 12:58:09 GMT -7
A robot capable of killing human beings had mutinied. Now that was quite a problem was it not?
Robots 'mutinied' more often than the public knew. It was usually due to an order being given incorrectly. The majority of mutinied robots had been told 'to get lost' and did so by going into unexplored space. These robots were not dangerous and their mutiny was a financial loss, but were no more dangerous than a lost toaster. The threat laid among those robots that mutinied because they had not been programmed with the three laws or had circumvented them through a design error.
I twiddled my thumbs. I could inform the Federation and have them dispose of the robot, but by doing so I would raise scrutiny over the ability of the institute to act independently. As long as the bulk of the institute's resources were located on Mars we were under the watch of the Federation. The sooner that we could colonize a planet of our own the sooner we could act more freely.
"We will have to hire privateers to capture the HSS Argo."
It was funny how privateer sounded infinitely better than mercenary despite both referring to the same thing.
"It would be cheaper to send some robots but as you say, one glitched robot glitches the factory. I will handle the details. If we act fast we might be able to avoid outsiders learning about our mistake. I want you to focus on getting to the bottom of why the HSS Argo mutinied."
I raised my hand, anticipating Dorothy wishing to speak.
"You will not be punished, so do not worry about that. These things happen when you are working at the edge of science. Last year one of our researchers nearly opened a worm hole that would have destroyed the planet. Now get out of here. I can forgive mistakes, but never idleness."
I motioned Dorothy towards the door.
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Post by Dorothy Deucalion on Jan 12, 2016 15:27:00 GMT -7
"..."
Dorothy exhaled a batch of air. She knew that the institute was lenient, but it was always reassuring to hear she was not about to yelled at, have her pay docked, or worse.
"As you say head. I will get on it immediately. I will ask Doctor Smith to help as well. I remember he had a similar problem once, although in his case it was just a robot dog that went missing in the outskirts."
Dorothy exited out of the room upon being invited to do so. A killer space ship! Putting the problem into words only horrified her all that much more. It was a blessing that the HSS Argo was in unexplored space, far away from the main trading routes and the eyes of the Federation.
[End Scene]
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