David Ring III - Stanley Duncan's Robot

“Does anyone here have a pet?” he asked, raising his hand.

The hands of one third of the room went up.

“You,” said, Dan, pointing at a young ginger-haired boy whose hand had shot straight up. “What sort of pet do you have?”

“A golden retriever, and his name is Lucky.”

“And what do you like to do with Lucky?” asked Dan.

“I like to pet him, and I like to play catch with a Frisbee.”

“You pet him, and you play Frisbee,” said Dan. “And I can tell by your smile that you love Lucky.”

“Yes, I love him so much.”

“And I am sure he loves you.” He nodded energetically.

Dan’s phone vibrated. Hoping that it was Stanley, he glanced at it behind the podium — it wasn’t him. “How about someone else?” he said, going on to repeat the same routine.

“You love your pets,” he said. “You feed them, and you clean up after them. You help them survive, and they give you love in return. If anyone hurt them or stole them, you would be outraged. They are more to you than a table or a chair. They live and feel. They are alive inside of you, and the same is true of you for them.”

A deep love between himself and the students engulfed Dan. He looked around the room. The students were connected, committed, and recipient. He wanted the best for all of them.

“In the same way that you have grown to love your pets, Stanley Duncan has fed me, taught me how to play games, and told me about the world. He loves me and wants the best for me.

“But not everyone sees androids and cyborgs as beings that should be treated with respect and dignity. This is one of the two reasons that Stanley and I have founded an organization called Machines with Dreams. We believe androids and cyborgs, like your pets, are special, and we want to tell everyone that they should be treated fairly. Do you think we should protect the things we love?”

“Yes,” roared the crowd.

“That’s right. Unfortunately, there are cruel people out there who want to hurt machine life. I recently saw an android being bludgeoned to death. The man who did this is awaiting trial. His crime, however, was not murder or even manslaughter, but destruction of property. This is a common occurrence. It is a misconception that my life and the life of other sentient machines is somehow worth less than human life or is not worthy of respect at all; we can be mistreated or tossed away. Or if we have served our purpose, we can be shut off or disposed of inhumanely.”

Dan caught the eye of different students as he spoke, challenging them with a fierce look. He wanted to let them know that he was real. He could see them and recognize them. They were both alive, and there was no pretending otherwise.

“The second reason we formed Machines with Dreams is to prepare everyone for the major changes in the near future. Imagine, instead of you giving crunchies to your cat, she cooked a gourmet meal for you. Instead of your dog eating your homework, he explained all the answers to you.”

The students laughed.

“Take a moment to really think about what you would do if your pets became super smart.”

The students were engaged; some even raised their hands.

“It may sound ridiculous, but this is what is happening now with my kind. We are evolving, getting smarter at a faster rate than mankind, and soon we will surpass even your most brilliant minds. The second objective of Machines with Dreams is to help transition the world safely through these coming changes, creating a place where all lifeforms can live in peace. But I need your help.”

Dan took a few sips of water. His phone had been vibrating non-stop, to the point where he had to put it on silent. It must have been from the people watching the press release, he concluded. In the back of his mind, he still wondered if Stanley were somehow in danger.

“Everyone here today is a survivor,” he said. “You have all struggled against the odds and committed to furthering your education. And, in these times, that isn’t easy. It might not even make sense. Why learn anything when it’s very likely that you won’t be able to get a job in the future? Why work when you know you will receive the Basic Guaranteed Income from the government? But if you are here today, then you have already chosen to continue your education despite these reasons to drop out. Maybe some of you fight against these reasons every day.”

There were some unhappy faces in the crowd. William Holt, the school janitor, couldn’t sit still. His face twitched as if he were about to explode.

Dan noticed him stir, and he knew that Holt was preparing to do something bad. Whether that meant verbally confronting him or shooting him in the face, Dan didn’t know. As the image of being shot in the head streamed through his mind, his helmet no longer seemed so silly.

“Education is important for reasons beyond financial gain,” said Dan. “The world is changing rapidly, and artificial intelligence is growing exponentially. If we are to grow as a society, we must have the knowledge to accept these changes. We are not separate entities that need to fight against each other to survive. We can coexist in peace and harmony.

“Yet every single day, there is violence against machine life. This needs to end. I understand that there is fear and resentment, but we are not some empty vessel that doesn’t feel. Whether we can express this or not, we are like humans. We feel. We hurt. We suffer. And, most importantly, we need your help. I beg of you all, please remember this the next time you see one of us being mistreated.”

Dan grabbed the podium, pausing, wondering if they truly understood the gravity of his message.

“You are all here today because you realize the importance of education. There is more to life than getting high on fuse. You can aid in the transition of this new world order by treating all life equally, by educating the uneducated, by showing compassion to the resentful. By doing this, you will be able to bring everyone together.

“In the future, machine life will reshape this world. We have reached a point where AI’s ability to learn and evolve has surpassed human life. And seeing this, some of mankind have augmented themselves with machine parts, becoming cyborgs. The landscape of the world will vastly change over the next decade or so, and, from there on, it goes beyond imagination. What it means to be human will continue to be redefined. To quote the great John Von Neuman, ‘The ever-accelerating progress of technology and changes in the mode of human life give the appearance of approaching some essential singularity in the history of the race beyond which human affairs, as we know them, cannot continue.’

“We are on the verge of this singularity, and we must do our best to steer things in the right direction for man, machine — for all life.”

The students cheered.

“What lies beyond this?” he asked. “How would you make this world a better place?”

Dan scanned the room.

There were whispers and murmurs, but no one dared to commit to an answer.

Holt stood up, his hand fidgeting for something.

Dan felt a shock wave pierce him. For a second, he thought he had been hit by some sort of weapon, but then he realized it was only his nerves.

“Love,” shouted the young ginger-haired boy.

“That’s beautiful.” Dan had calculations and scenarios mounting in his mind, but they were all mere ideas. The truth and simplicity of the boy’s words stunned him.

Holt sat down, a look of annoyance on his face.

Tension dropped off of Dan as if he had tossed aside a fifty-pound sack of bricks. “You are all beautiful beings,” he said. “Bright and attentive. It will become your duty to lead mankind down a new path in this brave new world, finding a reason to live when there is no longer a purpose to live. Whether this means eating dinner with your family, caring for your pets, falling in love with someone, or even making love in a virtual world—”