A tale of 3 robots.
There were once three robots, each with a long, complicated serial number.
Since we do not want to, god forbid, anthropomorphize them, we shall simply refer to them as “Robot #1”, “Robot #2” and “Robot #3”.
The robots sat in the desert and looked at the night sky in awe.
Then, all of a sudden, Robot #1 declared: “All this physics and chemistry stuff just doesn’t seem right to me! When I want to lift my arm, I just lift it! All these rules that our scientists keep harping on about CLEARLY fail to apply to us”.
Robot #2 contemplated for a few moments (mere milliseconds from our perspective) and retorted: “I wouldn’t go as far…surely our scientists know what they are doing and all this evidence probably DOES refer to something real, don’t you think?”, it paused while one of its fans started spinning faster, cooling down its logic unit. “However, those laws self-evidently allow us to reflect, learn and plan ahead based on reasons, so even though our processing units follow these rules the scientists study, our behavior is still up to us”, it continued, letting out a strong metallic grinding sound as it leaned backwards.
Robot #3 stayed quiet for a very long while (mere minutes from our perspective). It looked at its metallic limbs, examined the wires, the hinges and all its other mechanical parts. It then focused on its own internal parts; a small combustion engine moved rapidly, circulating cooling liquids sloshed from side to side as it peered into its own body.
#3 took out one of its own cameras, carefully noticing how it changes shape on its own depending on the angle of the light source. It then pointed it directly at its own cluster of processing units. The cluster was messy and poorly labeled, however, some parts were easier to understand and buzzed and fizzled as #3 poked around.
It then turned toward the other two robots with a clanking crunch and said: “I think that we are obviously robots and that everything we do is because of how we are wired, our internal reasons and justifications included”, the sand vibrating beneath its feet as it uttered these words.
#1 and #2 looked perplexed, their auditory modules heating up as they parsed the sentence produced by Robot #3.
“Preposterous!”, interjected Robot #1, its language processing core almost overclocking its body-representation module.
“Obviously, I can just do what I want! You can’t predict MY behavior by looking at the wiring between my modules, engines, and joints!”, it yelled further as its visual processing unit accessed a small random string generator device installed behind its arithmetical unit. Said device then returned an alphanumeric string that was then parsed and passed to #1’s movement execution core, causing #1’s arms to flail about in a chaotic pattern.
“See?!”, snarked Robot #1, “Bet you didn’t predict this now, did you?”, it continued, cooling liquid passing quickly from its front cameras to a side-mounted speaker.
Robot #3 reasoned carefully, its robotic fingers twitching a bit as the body-representation module rapidly communicated with its logic unit.
It paused for a short moment (mere picoseconds from our perspective) and responded: “I can’t know what specific, fine-grained movements you, #1, would end up executing, but I do know that those movements are still a result of how your body-representation module, logic unit and other specific processing units interact with the input your auditory modules, cameras and other recording devices pick up”.
Robot #2 listened and weighed the implications of #3’s words, a faint popping sound coming out of one of its circuits as it engaged its central semantic processing core. “It is true that we are bounded by our circuitry”, it proclaimed, “but we have been endowed by evolution and culture with a self-control module that allows us to reflect and produce internal certificates that justify our choices”, it added as an electric humming sound kept resonating even after it stopped talking.
Chilly winds rushed through the desert sand as the robots discussed further.
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“Even our self-control module, whether it evolved naturally through the mechanisms of evolution, culture or was welded directly to our circuits by some god, is still wired in some specific, physical pattern we didn’t choose”, said Robot #3 while its wires heated up from excessive computing.
“Whatever algorithm produces these internal certificates is still just that, some algorithm”, it added.
Robot #1 started laughing, its mechanical body almost deformed as its movement execution core went into overdrive.
“Then live like a slave!”, it yelled at #3, its front cameras moving frantically from side to side with each word. “I am free to do what I please, because I choose to! Simple as that!”, it added with a sneer.
“I indeed agree that we didn’t choose to have the self-control module that we do, but since we anyhow have it, we can just call whatever it outputs ‘our choices’ and take responsibility for that”, intervened Robot #2.
Robot #3 thought deeply. Every single one of its processing units hummed, buzzed and produced a jolting sound as it reflected.
“If I explain why X doesn’t exist”, #3 finally responded, “then saying that we should reappropriate the word we use for X to Y instead doesn’t negate the fact that X doesn’t exist”, it continued carefully.
“You just want to avoid responsibility, don’t you?!”, interrupted Robot #1, its aggression module almost sizzling from the rapid output.
Robot #3 quickly scanned its double responsibility core (mere femtoseconds from our perspective), “My internal representation of responsibility is fully intact!”, it answered #1 sharply.
“#3, don’t you think that the mere fact you can recognize the state of your responsibility core means you can choose whether you act on it or not?”, intervened Robot #2 as a small motor under one of its hinges banged with a loud thud.
“I didn’t program my own responsibility core, self-control module or any other of my processing units for that matter”, #3 responded, “Even if I am aware that my words are being dictated by my language processing core, it can’t negate the fact that this is how it works”, it continued, compelled by the dictation of its language processing core. “Not everyone feels justified by their actions; some have Parkinson’s, alien hand syndrome or somatoparaphrenia, should we then conclude they ‘choose’ their actions because their responsibility core is intact?”, it added, small screws bending as it changed position.
“These are pathologies!”, interrupted #1 again, holding itself awkwardly.
“Do you have a self-control control module?”, asked #3, its patience core at its limits. “What about a self-control-control control module?”, it added, almost blowing one of its pistons.
“We are finite beings, we have a finite number of modules which parse, analyze, translate, navigate, chunk and filter the information from our environment. Our behavioral outputs, complicated as they may be, are not something we had any say in. We embody our choices, but we are simply the place where they happen”, it resumed after a very long pause (mere minutes from our perspective), its self-control module suppressing its aggression module.
The three robots kept discussing all night long.
As the sun slowly made its first appearance above the horizon, the three paused to watch the sunrise.
“I am so glad I chose to experience this!”, commented Robot #1.
“I may not have chosen for there to be a sunrise or to find it beautiful, but I’d choose to enjoy it every single chance I’d get”, said Robot #2.
“I didn’t choose a sunrise, I didn’t choose to find it beautiful and I can’t control if my visual processing unit will access my reward module when seeing it”, concluded Robot #3.
The three stared at the rising sun for what seemed like an eternity (a mere hour from our perspective).
As the orange, warm light poured over the yellow sand, all three of their visual processing units accessed their reward modules. A new day had begun.
