Francine walked across the development floor to Martha’s cubicle. “Martha, can I see you in my office for a moment?”
“Sure, be with you in a second.” Martha placed her folder of Gabriella’s socialization data on her desk and logged off the computer. She followed Francine to her office. Francine seldom talks to me anymore. What’s this about?
Francine’s office was not luxurious but very modern and comfortable. Light from the ceiling to knee-height windows flooded across the entire office. White sheer drapes filtered the sun and blocked prying eyes from the area buildings. The polished mahogany desk with a black-and-gray slate work area sat alone in the middle of the office. Her white leather chair tucked neatly underneath. Blue-gray carpeting covered the entire floor. The walls were devoid of any decoration.
“Have a seat, Martha. Let me get right to the point. Look, you and I are very different people, and we surely have different views about Gabriella. You seem to see her as a friend. I see her as the android we built. Do you see where I’m going with this?”
“No, I don’t, Francine. I don’t have a clue. We have different views on what defines or differentiates a human from a machine, so I guess I see her more as a friend than an android.”
“Martha, what do you think about the attacks on Gabriella? How would you classify her emotional response? Did she react appropriately?”
“You and I know she handled the situations efficiently. She took care of business. Why do you ask?’
“Frankly, I have a concern, Martha. No matter how human Gabriella appears to be, she is still a machine. A clever thinking one, but still a machine. You and Jim seem to have lost sight of it, but that’s not why we are talking.”
“So, what’s your point, Francine?”
“My point is this; she has no remorse about hurting humans. You’re the expert on human behavior. Do you see any problem with this? I assuredly do. What would you call a person who can hurt other humans and feel no remorse? Perhaps a sociopath, correct?”
“It’s a bit of an extreme term in Gabriella’s case, Francine. She didn’t show any remorse, but he attacked without provocation in the first incident, and she was alone and attacked by three men in the second.”
“That’s beside the point, Martha. She still had no feelings about hurting humans. In similar situations, people who hurt others show some regret, even if there are no alternative actions possible. So far, she’s only hurt her attackers, but what’s limiting her triggers? More importantly, what are the legal ramifications if she hurts someone? What are our individual liabilities if we know there is the potential for harm and do nothing to prevent someone from getting hurt by Gabriella?”
Martha shrugs. “I don’t have any answers, Francine, but I know she wouldn’t deliberately hurt anyone outside of self-defense. Besides, doesn’t the programming prevent her from hurting humans, like under Asimov’s three rules of robotics?”
“What? Martha, you do know those rules only exist in science fiction, right? We’re talking about real-life here. The real question is, what training or experiments can we do with Gabriella to legally cover our asses in case something takes a left turn and we all end up as defendants?”
“Francine, do you honestly believe Gabriella could suddenly go nuts and start hurting innocent people?”
“No, I don’t. I’m not worried about her going nuts and hurting people. I’m worried about her hurting people when she is calm and sane.”
“I can’t see it ever happening,” said Martha, throwing her hands into the air, “but I’ll begin working on exercises to cover us in court if something gets out of hand.” Martha folded her hands across her chest. “I have to ask a nagging question to clear my mind as a professional. Does any of this have to do with Jim sleeping with Gabriella?”
The electric silence was followed by a venomous, “That doesn’t matter, and is none of your damn business anyhow. Regardless, the threat is real, and we need to address the real threat! Now show me something we can do!”
Martha glared at Francine, turned, and walked out of the office.
Francine slammed her mahogany desktop with her palm. Her eyes narrowed, “I’ll fix that damn sexbot!”