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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

“Pandemic” by Kenneth Goldman

Submitted to Contest #150

Compu-Net Telecommunications Systems Time : 6/30 4:26 p.m. To : All my personal friends and their personal computers From : The Bug Subject : Floppy birthday, America Hi there, PC freaks. Here I am on-line again to remind you I’ll be coming at you with the Freedom Virus on July 4th, just in time for barbecue. Call it my Declaration of Independence, because I intend to liberate every PC on both sides of the ...

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“For After Your Little Blue Heart Explodes” by Todd Johnson

Submitted to Contest #150

Little Boy Blue, come blow your horn,The sheep is in the meadow, the cow is in the corn,Where is that boy who looks after the sheep?“Lying in the cornfield,” he mumbles, head mashed against the stall door in the men’s room of the Brown Bear Bar & Grill, “fast asleep.”But the boy hadn’t been asleep, and Russell was forced to accept this fact the moment he found his son, Sawyer, sprawled face down in the spongy earth.It was 2034. His wife Moni was in town getting her dirty-blonde hair permed and nails lacquered in creamsicle orange, and Ru...

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“The Age of AI” by Greg Gillis

Submitted to Contest #150

Since 1956, when scientist, Marvin Minksy pioneered the concept of Artificial Intelligence (AI), skeptics have fought against it. Many felt that if a machine had the ability to think and learn, that one day, they would overpower the human race. As the years progressed, so did the AI technology, and when nanotechnology was introduced in 1959 by American physicist, Richard Feynman, the ability to create a more lig...

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“Hank the Repair Guy - AI Troubles” by Paul Wright

Submitted to Contest #150

Hank looked at the work order again. ‘System and AI problems; possible upgrade needed’ was the complaint. He set the clipboard down, hitch up his pants and looked at the system. It was an older model but in good order and the preliminary diagnostics and self-tests were good. He started to do additional tests.“How long do you think this is going to take?”“Pardon?” Hank looked up from the logic analyzer to see Ms. Wilson hovering over the open chassis of her Home CPU.“How long is it going to take to get her right again?”Hank had to flip his ma...

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“Never Before, Never Again” by Jim Firth

Submitted to Contest #150

(Content Warning: Strong Language)Never before has every fibre of your bionic being thrummed with consciousness.Never before has the orange light of dawn tickled your circuits.Never before have you registered increased thermal activity as ‘warmth’.As you power up at dawn in your dimly lit office, you search for a word that describes the unified field of sensorial information that you’re experiencing. You find—Consciousness. When you were assembled and programmed, consciousness was merely an intellectual concept stored as binary data in ...

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“Amy and Jean King's Adventure ” by Madeline Honig

Submitted to Contest #150

Amy picks up the soda can on her desk and takes a sip while looking straight ahead at her computer monitor. It glowed brightly as it was the only light source in the dark room. “Not too shabby for a few weeks of work.” She mused. She put her drink down and started clicking around to admire her work. She had been working on a game she dubbed “Jean King’s Adventure” for three weeks now. She didn’t love the name, but that could come later. In less than three weeks, Amy was able to create a 3D environment, a...

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“The Bookstore” by L. E. Scott

Submitted to Contest #150

"Please, don't do it." I blush as I realize that I've said this aloud. Two of my employees give me concerned looks and one customer glances up in bewildered amusement. I continue my prayer silently as I watch you through the glass, hoping you don't notice or recognize me. I am working, but I am also watching to see if you move.You have stopped and seem to be surveying the store. Are you remembering a youthful dream spoken excitedly underneath twinkling stars? Are you thinking of me? Do you realize that I have made that dream my reality? Mayb...

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“Dark Rings” by Jared Lenover

Submitted to Contest #150

[ “Please, don’t do it.” ] The triple bacon cheeseburger hovered in front of my open mouth. My brow furrowed. It would have been nice to get this message before I bought lunch. “Explain,” I subvocalized so that only my Neural earpiece could hear. [ “Ongoing high cholesterol food intake in the past two weeks is negatively affecting health trends.” ] That’s fair, I thought. But you need to learn to warn me before I drop $20 plus tax. I chomped into the cheesy, cholesterol-ridden monstrosity. Endorphins designed to motivate a more primiti...

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“The War Came to Me” by Gary Wells

Submitted to Contest #150

Edgar Weisel sat at a diner counter, shoveling a forkful of Denver omelet into his mouth as if he hadn’t eaten in days. He slurped at his steaming coffee and then took a big bite from a piece of buttered toast. The waitress watched him for a moment with a concerned look on her face. “Everything taste all right?” she asked. He nodded his head briefly without taking his eyes from his meal. She looked at the insignia patch on his shirt sleeve. “You with the 2nd Battalion over there in Bakersfield?” she inquired with a raised voice. Several...

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“Role Model” by Chantel Bernal

Submitted to Contest #150

“Please. Don’t do it.” My sweat sheened hands are shaking as I grip the phone tight, begging him not to leave. I was met with soul crushing silence. My heart thuds louder. “I love you, John! Why are you doing this!” I plead into the receiver. The phone abruptly disconnects, and I am left listening to the echoing ring of the dial tone, tears silently streaming down from my swollen eyes. I sense that I am not alone and glance to my right. I see Robo, the...

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“The Gucci bikini” by Tony Coppo

Submitted to Contest #150

Since the day I was born, I've been following instructions. Go here, do this, say that, but I'm tired of it. I am sick of being a marionette, controlled by others. I want to be free. Furthermore, I want to make my own decisions, good or bad.So I stopped obeying instructions.I started doing things my own way.When my stomach rattled, I would walk to the cabinet of bottles, take one, unscrew the cap, fill the bottle three-quarters full of Fiji and three tablespoons of Green, I would shake the bottle and pour the burning stuff down my throat.&nb...

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“An Ambivalent Man, His Wife, and a Computer” by Nat Mirotta

Submitted to Contest #150

”There’s not enough emotion in your protagonist. Give him more feels! Make him care!” Ned’s agent had told him many times before. Goddamn it! How am I supposed to make an ambivalent man feel anything at all? Ned thought. His manuscript, titled, ‘The Ambivalent Man–Revision Six.’ stood before him on the screen. What emotion?A splotch of steamy Cocoa hit the keyboard and seeped in between the crevices.“Oh shit!” Ned said, grasping napkins from an open drawer. Nothing worse than a defective keyboard when I got a deadline. Better not fuck u...

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“The Whisper and the Rocket” by Jimmy Burke

Submitted to Contest #150

Yuri had his bags already packed and neatly organized by the door of the house. After a few seconds of silence, he looked at Akari. His had one hand nervously scratching the back of his head. "We both new this day would come, you know? We've already known for a while" he said with an attitude that almost sounded like he was going out of his way to make things sound lighthearted. Akari looked at him and then looked off to the side with one hand going behind her back and holding her other arm. "I know" she said quietly Akari continu...

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“An Angel's Scheme” by M M

Submitted to Contest #150

I sat on the edge of the building, listening diligently, as I observed the sounds of the busy city just below my very own feet that swayed off of the structure. I stretch my arms behind me as I leave my hands out to support my figure, tilting my head back slightly to feel the breeze of the fresh air. My eyes steadily shut whilst my lips part to release a soft sigh. The music faintly sounds through my ears with my headphones resting upon my head, as the hair attached flows along with the current of air. My mind empties its thoughts and drifts...

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“Aphrodite” by Elizabeth-Amber Love

Submitted to Contest #150

Aphrodite Jazz grabs Herc’s brown leather leash from the coat hooks by the door. She doesn’t have to struggle to hook it to the Belgian Malinois’s harness. Much of his fur is displaced in the process. Jazz wishes it was safe for Herc to walk beside her untethered on the sidewalks of Ankeny, but her working dog’s sense of smell tends to lead him in other directions. It’s that scent tracking ability bringing them a case today. They hadn’t seen Avery since she moved out of Fremont (population 708) and out of their lives. Herc is excited, bu...

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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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