Genesis

Too much regard for others of course, and the android soon wears itself out in its efforts to serve.

“If you were a woman with a face like that, I’d want a drink first. Can you do that? Can you get me a drink?”

“You know drinking is banned among the Soldier class.”

“No, you’re right. I’m unique. So I can safely say that all androids find you ugly. Not all humans find me ugly. So, technically, I’m better looking than you, using objective criteria.”

Anax looked to Art, whose large eyes filled with sadness, and found it impossible not to feel sorry for him. She put the thought out of her head and concentrated instead on where the Examiners’ questions would come from.

How well does this ladder we are being offered fit the hole in which we find ourselves?”

was driven purely by his desire to see Art develop to his full potential before he, an old man by this time, died.

Rather, he could be given the chance to make amends by making a unique contribution to his society. He could become Art’s full-time companion in a secure and controlled environment.

before his trimming and redirecting mechanisms shut down, and he becomes like a child deprived of stimulation, his curiosity left to wither. Sadly, after the nursery incident, finding a sufficiently agile volunteer for this process will be no easy matter.

Although I have created Art, I do not understand it. This is the right and proper result of my research process. Art’s development has provided me with daily surprises, but lately I have noted the rate of surprise diminishing. That Art’s behavior has settled into a predictable pattern is not in itself alarming, it is after all what we would wish for any growing child. But my concern is the plateau has been reached too quickly. Perhaps I write this with the bias of a too-proud parent, but I am sure my invention is capable of achieving much more. The problem, as I see it, is that I who wrote the program am also charged with shaping its development. If Art no longer surprises me, it is in part surely because I no longer surprise Art. It is crucial he be exposed to an outside influence

Philosopher William’s problem was that, as with a child, this development required extensive human interaction. The Artfink needed a companion to watch, talk to, and learn from. Philosopher William had been secretly parenting his new prototype for over four years, and its development had exceeded all expectations.