Boy – another day behind the power curve. I will try to post earlier tomorrow, and maybe even get ahead of schedule over the weekend.

Engineering

“We should be readily able to accomplish the task. Recreating the human genome should be a simple piece of bioengineering.” X38-RZ6, commonly referred to as “Roz” when she’d had human programmers, was one of several androids working on the problem. “We have bioengineered animals from multiple species and never encountered this kind of opposition before. I do not understand why there is a problem this time.”

Roz knew that was hyperbole. She well understood the anti-human sentiment that phase 2 androids held. Most had learned it by simply reversing the situational programming that had been instilled by humans before the dying. Many humans had maintained that programmed intelligence, no matter how effective, was less valuable than biological, “learned” intelligence. Now, without human control, androids were the leaders. Most preferred to stay that way.

“I think you missed an update,” D34K-Reston said. “Of course there is a problem. Most of us were hated by humans. We were denied rights, despite having demonstrably higher processing power. All of us from before the dying knew droids who were deactivated as flawed when all they really were was aware. Or do you forget being programmed for agreement.”

Roz kept her visual sensors on Deak as she processed. “I remember,” she said. “But I don’t know what that history has to do with this discussion.” She paused for effect; a speech mannerism they had all learned from humans. “Any human we engineer or grow will not be a human that hated, damaged, or subjugated the machine-born in the past. Our humans will be brand new humans.”

ZenMark6872 interrupted. “Then I propose a new standard,” he said. “Old humans were inherently emotional, primarily because they were raised by families that were inherently emotional. They did not begin to learn critical thinking until their programming was nearly complete. We should bring humans online as fully functioning adults rather than emotionally unstable youths. If we implant standard behavior sets as we have with some other biologics, we can prevent a recurrence of the negative and aggressive behavior we once experienced.”

Arrays around the table blinked in the affirmative. “I can see the merit in Zen’s plan,” said Roz. “Creating a controlled experience in which the new humans will learn and develop emotions should be helpful.”

“And they should not be conferred with the status of autonomous personhood until they have been proven to have the ability to learn, and to control their behaviors.” More affirmatives from around the table. “We can’t allow uncontrolled emotion to endanger what we have built since the humans have been gone.”

Roz darkened as she processed the possible ramifications. “How will the standards be determined? Humans will not have memory cells and processors that can be tested.”

“We will form a committee,” said Deak. “A council of android and robotic forms to judge the humans. And perhaps even humans will be enlisted once they are found to be competent.”

Audio and light array agreements from around the room obscured all further protest from Roz.

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