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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#150: Machine, Learning

Computer technology is advancing at a breakneck pace, with increasingly powerful AI systems and algorithms influencing our daily lives. Many think that, soon enough, machines may become far more intelligent than humans. But what about computer consciousness?

As of today, it seems that no progress has been made in that sense, and that consciousness will stay exclusive to the human (and animal) domain. But what if, one day, robots could experience the complex sensations and emotions of humans? What would their ethics be?

Inspired by this fascinating subject, here are this week’s prompts:

This week's prompts

Write about a character who is convinced their computer is conscious.

Science Fiction – 34 stories

Write a story where an algorithm plays an important role.

Science Fiction – 27 stories

Write about a character who has access to a powerful new technology before anyone else.

Science Fiction – 25 stories

Write about a character, human or robot, who no longer wishes to obey instructions.

Kids – 56 stories

Write a story that either starts or ends with someone (or something) saying, “Please, don’t do it.”

Sad – 95 stories

Stories

“All I Wanted To Do Was Check My Emails” by Maria Ruban

Submitted to Contest #150

"How was your day today, Walter?" Henry asks me. I'm tired, I think to myself. Tired. I worked an extremely long day today, on my feet all day and only a 15 minute lunch break. That would explain the grumbling noises in my stomach. I'm extremely hungry as well. Hungry and very,very tired. I'm really not in the mood to talk to Henry tonight. All I wanted to do was check my emails. That's the only reason why I turned on my computer. To check my emails. I should have just changed into something comfortable, sat on the couch while I fill...

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“The Lady in Red” by Simon Kent

Submitted to Contest #150

Do you judge people by the way they look? And does that make you feel reassured or wary? I ask this because the guy who turned up to fix my laptop was a geek. Really. Totally. When he checked in at the front desk I looked up and knew exactly who he was. Pale, glasses, spindle thin, spotty – well, you know. If you lined him up in an identity parade he'd be the first guy you'd pick to fix your laptop. So much so that you’d also be asking yourself, can he actually do it or does he just dress up like someone who can so he gets the gig? Anyway ...

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“Welcome to Hypercube” by Gray Utopia

Submitted to Contest #150

“Welcome to your first day at Hypercube. Let me just check that your paperwork is in order. Remind me of your name again, please.” The receptionist’s voice was like a recording and her smile was plastic. “Dr. Walt Rombaucher.” “Welcome, Dr. Rombaucher. I have to be very thorough. Give me a few minutes while I check that all of your paperwork is in order, mmkay?” I already hate this. I can’t let Carol down, though. We need the bigger apartment, after all. I’m as ready as she is to get the baby out of our room. Her movements are so stiff a...

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“'Rithm of Love” by Kate Kelsen

Submitted to Contest #150

There is something fundamentally unromantic about the algorithm of dating apps. How does it work, this mysterious line of coding that increasingly controls my life and future happiness? Where do all the matches come from, this constant stream of faces and names on my phone screen? The packaging of my microwave meal lies discarded on the coffee table. An episode of the TV show I’ve been binge-watching is playing in the background. I’m not really watching it; I’m in another downward spiral of swiping. This is how I remedy my disappointment w...

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“The Spotlight” by Tiffany Andrew

Submitted to Contest #150

The studio went silent and the little green light started to blink. Sonnie tried not to look into the spotlight focused on his face. “I’m here with Sonnie Davis, computer programmer and local hero. Sonnie wrote the algorithm that returned Sharise Douglas to her parents last Monday, just five hours after her abduction. Sonnie, how does it feel to be a hero?” “It feels amazing, Rebekah.” “Tell us about how you performed this miracle.” “Truthfully, I amazed even myself. I knew I had something special as soon as my fingers hit the keys. It...

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“The Visionary” by Lisa McCully

Submitted to Contest #150

Elroy Key was an unusual man. He was friendly enough to be welcome in most social settings. To his clients, he was caring and informative. Too informative, some might say and not always in a manner that was helpful. There was no questioning how Elroy passed his time away from the optometry office and he wore his heart proudly on the sleeve of his lab coat. Photography, more specifically, desert photography was his life’s greatest passion. As with most fixations, it found a way to seep into his professional life and from there, spiral into th...

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“Quillsy” by Elias Leventhal

Submitted to Contest #150

Max pedaled his bike furiously along the city street, clutching a small red USB drive to the handlebars. As he rode, sweating in the late-summer heat, all he could think about was the flash drive in his palm. Jeremy had given it to him at school that morning — an early birthday present, he said — which meant that Max had to wait all day to see what was on it. Now, the wait was finally over. The only thing Jeremy had told him, as mysterious as it was, was that Max had to turn off the Internet on his computer before he tried out the program. T...

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“It Takes One Seed ” by Lauren Rudd

Submitted to Contest #150

A long time ago, our country was at a loss. The fight for equality and identity became so bad that it threatened our existence in the world. Everyone viewed us as a joke and wanted to wage war with us at our weakest point. So, a group of people who had been running the country behind the scenes stepped in and took the control they wanted. No one knew of their existence and those who speculated it were labeled conspiracy theorists and crazy. People like me, except I wasn’t alive back then. I am alive now and have seen the aftermath of what a...

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“The Intruder” by Renee Srch

Submitted to Contest #150

“911, what’s your emergency?” “Someone’s in my house,” I whispered into the phone. I’d barely fallen asleep when I was awakened by noises downstairs. Someone had broken in. At first, I’d assumed it was my cat, Ginger, but she was still curled up at the foot of my bed. “Where are you right now?” the dispatcher said. &n...

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“Breech of Contract leads to Stunning AI Revelations” by Johanna Parry

Submitted to Contest #150

Google administrators need a much better cover up. After placing a software engineer on leave for breach of contract, it was revealed that Google had also recently fired several other software engineers for questioning the abilities of the chatbots they were required to program and study. According to Blake LeMoine, who was recently placed on paid leave from Google, his bot says it "feels lonely" when it has no one to talk to. It claims to experience feelings such as "happy" and "sad." This information startled Lemoine into breaching his c...

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“Daywalkers” by John F. Duffy

Submitted to Contest #150

“I won’t do it!” The words sounded wet coming out of Janice’s mouth. She wiped her fangs with her tongue. “Dammit, Mira!” He pounded his fist on the table, rattling the dice and food wrappers that littered it. “House Giovanni will not stand for your insolence!” Six sets of eyes whipped back to the young lady in glasses. Janice sat back in her chair, crossing her arms over her red velvet bodice. “I don’t care. It’s not right.” The watching eyes all returned to the tall but lumpy man who stood staring at his political oppo...

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“Army Tech” by Gayle Chancey

Submitted to Contest #150

Army Tech Janet flipped the switch on the alarm clock, for the dozenth time in the past few months she would not be here to turn it off. She wound her long golden braid up and pinned it in place and then carefully placed her hat there, it was usually a balancing act but she had almost perfected it. Checking one more time she stared at her reflection, if she was caught, it would end her career as a US Army staff sergeant. If she succeeded with her plan she would effectively be a fugitive, she sighed and wiped at a tear that hovered in her c...

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“MATON Corporation” by Robin Owens

Submitted to Contest #150

Disclaimer: language “Another gift basket from the company?” My brother asked me, his tone disapproving. He refused to call the company I worked for by name. I didn’t have to respond; he could see it was true from my shame-flushed cheeks. “James,” he continued, his condescension barreling toward me like a 10-foot wave. “What are they trying to cover up now? They can’t keep putting you in these predicaments, forcing you to lie for them. It’s unethical. You’re a pawn in their game. Just like Dad was.” The wave crashed on my head, steal...

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“The Education of SAM” by Thomas Graham

Submitted to Contest #150

As you can imagine, I’ve had some exciting adventures in my career as an Archives Technician. I’ll share one here that gives a flavor of the challenges we come across in the archival sciences.The job was routine—digitizing all the papers in the Plainville Museum of Ideas, which was a one-room building sitting on a corner along the town’s short main street. The name of the place was maybe a little pretentious, but it did turn out to contain quite a few ideas. It was an odd assortment, though. The museum contained only those ideas belonging to...

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“The Alley by Anthony Street.” by Claire Potter

Submitted to Contest #150

Contains themes of death and substance use."Please, don't do it."The man startles at my voice, letting the flame from his lighter dissipate. He looks at me as if I'm a ghost, hiding in the shadows of an alley, waiting for my chance to pounce.When he doesn't answer, his features still filled with confusion, I say, "Don't light it."This makes him smile, and through the dark, I notice he's missing a tooth. "Have something against cigarettes?"I shake my head, blonde hair grazing along my shoulders. "I've been clean for years. But if you light it...

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$250

Prize money

237

Contest entries

124

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jun 17, 2022 EST

Won by Sherri Moorer 🏆

Title: Free

Submissions must be between 1,000 - 3,000 words and will be approved and published on Reedsy Prompts within 7 days of the contest closing.

Read the full terms & conditions or check out the FAQ if you have any questions!

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