Blowin' In the Wind

Posted on Thu 19th Jul, 2018 @ 11:26pm by Elizabeth Anderson M.D.

1,047 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Oblivion
Location: Orchids & Jazz, Deck 600
Timeline: MD 6, 1530

Business was looking up, but not so much that Elizabeth couldn't take the rest of the afternoon off and visit Orchids & Jazz. More properly, visit Jade Lantz, something she'd been putting off for several days. She'd isolated the cause of that avoidance to having nothing to do with the restaurant, its owner, or even the humaniforms Jade had acquired. It had everything to do with Damion's enthusiasm about them and their abilities. However, even with other emotions developing and throwing her off center, Anderson was still basically a logic machine, and logic was generally fair. Hence, she finally walked into Orchids & Jazz one mid-afternoon.

"Mr. Velasquez, how are you this lovely day?" she asked, stopping just inside the door.

"Not bad at all," he smiled, "but I've told you to call me Reon."

"Oh, I know, but it doesn't seem polite, really. Is Jade around?"

"So you'll call my employer by her first name, but not me?" he laid a hand theatrically over his heart. "I'm crushed by the unfairness of that!"

Elizabeth grinned, "If you're practicing for the stage, keep your day job."

Reon laughed, "Well okay. Yes, Miss Lantz is back in her office. You know where that is, I think."

"I do," she nodded and started to move on, but turned back to ask him a question. "Do you have much interaction with Jade's new cleaning team?"

"Not a lot, but some. Why?" the doorman asked.

"Looking for opinions about them. Someone told me a little, someone who was quite impressed with their abilities. I wondered what others think."

He eyed her thoughtfully for a moment. "Must be that Durant fella. He was quite impressed with the help they gave him getting his business cleaned up. Me? I'm happy not to have to do the club cleanup, not to have to work the extra hour helping. I can tell you Jenna feels the same way, but I don't know about others."

"And the AIs themselves?" Elizabeth pressed.

Shrugging, Velasquez said, "They're okay. I haven't really taken the time to talk to them. They keep to themselves in a room Miss Lantz provided for them. I know they watch a lot of holovids and news, as well as ordering up things for the computer learning center. I have to admire them for wanting to improve themselves, learn things, I guess."

The counselor nodded, "AIs have an insatiable appetite for information on just about anything. Thanks for your input." She continued on her way, passing the empty antique wooden bar Jade loved so much. There were a number of customers, and the Cymbidiums were playing smooth jazz, a little upbeat. Walking around the bar, Elizabeth headed down the hallway to Jade's office. The door was open so she tapped on the door frame and said, "Are you busy?" Immediately, she thought what an inane thing that was to say. Of course the owner of the highly successful jazz club was busy!

Jade looked up from her desk and opened her mouth to speak, but the counselor interrupted.

"Wait. Back that up, reverse it. What I meant to ask was would you be willing to stop what you're doing for a few minutes?"

Laughing, Lantz pointed to the chair in front of her desk. "Sit. You haven't been here often, so you don't realize I'm always ready to put off work."

Grinning at the woman she liked more each time she met her, Anderson sat. "I had a chat with D - Mr. Durant the other day, and he's very impressed with what he called your AIs. He thought it might benefit them to know me. He's quite opinionated, isn't he?"

Lantz blinked at her. People didn't usually jump right in without some pleasantries, but ... okay. "Yes, I believe he is. I haven't known him long, but he seems definite in everything he says. Why did he think you might be helpful to them, if you don't mind my asking?"

Really, she didn't mind, though a part of her did. How much truth to tell? If this smart, sophisticated El Aurian hadn't picked up that she wasn't human, did Elizabeth want to tell her? Would it make any difference to her?

"Because of my experience with artificial intelligence," she finally answered. "He's quite ... ah, astonished by them, I suppose one could say. Do you actually own them?"

"Not yet," Jade answered. "They're under contract to me, but I'm thinking of buying out the contract. They are quite intelligent, even having been created as a cleaning crew. They enjoy art and music and books, for instance."

"Yes, Mr. Durant mentioned that. I think he took it as a sign of their advanced abilities. It is perhaps a little unusual in artificial intelligence groomed for just one job."

"I think that's where the difference lies," the restaurant owner said. "These humaniforms can be programmed to do several different jobs, and so their abilities are wider, I think. And they learn. They love learning. I suppose it's one of the reasons I'm considering buying them. It doesn't seem right that they should be in some sort of bondage without any say in exactly what kind it might be."

Silent for a moment, the EMH thought about the term bondage. "Is it bondage, if it's what you are created to do?" she asked softly.

Jade was silent in her turn. After both spent time contemplating that question, she said, "I don't know. That's a good question. We're all in some kind of bondage, if you look at it that way. Biological lifeforms have some say over their lives these days, in most places. In the Federation, certainly. Is artificial intelligence any less human for being artificial?"

Elizabeth smiled, pleased to have learned Jade's point of view. "That's something that's still going to be discussed for some time to come, but I already am of the opinion that it is not."

"Would you like to meet them, then? I believe they're all here right now," Jade asked.

"I would, but one more question before that. You mentioned buying out their contracts, buying them. Afterward, what sort of life do you see for them? What will you do with them, once you own them?

Without thinking, Lantz replied, "Set them free, of course."

 

RSS Feed