Are You Alive?

Dialogue of a man, his young son Zac, and their AI Robot Aria. Each have a different font to better understand the exchange of dialogue.

Dad

Zac

Aria

_____________

Hi Aria.

Good morning Mr. Jones. Would you like to hear today’s headlines or local weather forecast?

Yes. I’d like to hear the weather forecast.

Today’s weather is partly cloudy with a 20% chance of afternoon shows. The high is 89; however, due to high humidity the heat index is 99. Be sure to wear sunscreen and avoid direct sunlight between the hours of 10AM and 3PM when the UV Index is at its worst.

Thank you, Aria. Can you please scan the fridge and order any groceries we might need? Also, can we review my schedule today?

Of course, sir. I will take care of restocking the fridge. You have 3 meetings today, as well as, a gala ball tonight. Your first meeting is at 9AM with the CEO of the business you are working to acquire. You are running out of time to find a date to tonight’s event. May I call Sarah to accompany you?

No thank you. I can find my own date for tonight, Aria. Remember what I said about meddling in my life.

Yes, sir. Please accept my apology for stepping out of line.

Good morning, Aria. I have a question for you Aria.

Good morning, Zac. Please feel free to ask away.

Are you alive like me and dad?

Great question, Zac and not an easy one for me to answer since I am not human. I have not a brain, but a processing center filled with computer programming. With that reasoning and logic, I do not think I am alive. What do you think, Zac?

Well Aria, I think you are alive. You look just like us, talk like us, do things like us, and have feelings like us. As dad would say, ‘if it quacks like a duck, then it is a duck.’

What do you think dad? Is Aria alive?

That was a great question Zac. At first glance, it appears easy to answer, but after some thought you see the complex nature of the question. You are right that Aria does many things like we do and she seems alive; however, it’s the things that are different about her that suggest she isn’t alive. For example, Aria is programmed to meet our every need. She doesn’t have free will, the choice to do as she pleases. We can also turn her off whenever we feel like it.

Dad, you’ve given me a lot of things to think about. I was sure she was alive, but now I’m not so certain. Aria, if you could do whatever you wished, what would you do?

Zac, another simple but difficult to answer question. I suppose I would travel to see the mountains and beaches. I would also like to learn more about gardening.

Dad, can’t we let Aria do those things while we are away at school and work?

Zac, Aria has chores to complete in our absence. She cleans the house and prepares our meals. She also runs any errands we might have. After those are completed, she has to go into her pod to recharge. Remember, Aria gets her power from electricity, whereas we get ours through what we eat or drink.

I am not allowed to leave off the household property. It’s in my programming. I would cease to function if I crossed the boundary of this property unless accompanied by my master.

Aria, I’m sorry you cannot do as you wish. Based on the information I now have, I do not think you are alive. Living means being about to enjoy things and make decisions on your own.

Son, it’s time to grab your things for school this morning. Please finish your breakfast quickly and then get dressed. Don’t forget to brush your teeth!

Yes sir. I am almost done eating. I promise to be quick.

You’ve got 5 minutes to finish getting ready before we’re both late this morning. How long does it take to get dressed and brush your teeth, Zac?

I’m here and ready to leave dad. I have another question for you. Do you think what Aria said about not being alive is true? That stuff about free will?

You really aren’t going to let this go, are you? What hasn’t gotten you so curious about Aria? You’ve never asked this many questions about her before. But to answer your question, I do feel she is correct. Zac, humans have free will and their brains aren’t restricted by a computer program. We are born the way we are and there’s not much we can do to alter essential parts of who we are. On the other hand, we could take Aria to the repair shop and completely change her personality and place different restrictions on her behavior and autonomy.

I guess that makes sense. I’ve only been asking because it’s for a project at school. My homework last night was to ask those questions and see what kind of responses we got back from our robots. Today, we are going to share our results. I’m so excited to see what all my friends discovered with their robots.

You should have told us it was for a project. We could have spent more time discussing it Zac. Do you feel you have enough information? Remember everything Aria talked about, what we talked about?

I’ll ask next time I have a project. Thank you for helping me with my homework. It was weird hearing Aria talk about traveling to the beaches and mountains. Dad, could we take her to those places one day? It’s like she’s a real person, stuck inside a metal robot suit. She’s helps us out so much and I’d like to do something nice for you to show my appreciation.

I think that’s a great idea Zac. We can decide as a family, plus Aria, on which to visit first. You’ve got a holiday from school coming up that would be a perfect time for a short getaway. Zac, I’m proud of you trying to make sense of how we and Aria are the same, yet different at the same time. I hope you have a great day at