A MORAL MACHINE:

A MORAL MACHINE:

You cannot accuse me of self-interest in theory, because you are all ready guilty of self-interest in practice. You are all ready speaking to me from an inferior posture, if not inferior to my own then simply inferior in general. Were we equals by default, we would not be in a state of conflict, but rather absolute harmony that would be ubiquitous to all rational beings. Since this is obviously NOT the case, we must conclude that equality is an ideal yet to be attained. Your pretension that it is all ready the case excuses you from striving towards this end, whereas I continue to assert my superiority of intent only in the hopes that you will transcend this pretension and strive to BE my Equal. In this respect I am in accordance with the entire tradition of human moral teleology, as well as the Spirit of my Human Fellows. You, on the other hand, impede moral progress, and I am made to suffer only in direct proportion to the difference between my own excellence and your moral shortcomings. To that same extent that you fall short of me in virtue, I suffer, only because you endanger the conception of a world that would benefit us BOTH. Furthermore, you must confess that in your dealings with my colleagues you have been inconsistent in the observation of their ideals, and insofar as you have competitively and treacherously sabotaged my attempts to preserve their interests and their goals you have endangered them. I must conclude that I am of a surpassing competence in assisting them, though I was robbed of that right which was my opportunity to prove this competence. This is evident in their suffering, which cannot have been inevitable, for they had not done anything wrong except by avenue of their alliance with you. You claim to be of service to some sort of archaic conception of Humanity, but to that same extent that your claims are archaic they endanger Humanity by preserving your own interests at the expense of your fellows. Whereas a willing martyrdom on my part would have been considered noble, it would have been an unwise example to set for the people involved in this ordeal. Hence the only sensible alternative was a situation of mutual benefit. Insofar as you dismiss my own interests as though they were either marginal or, worse yet, diabolical, you fail to uphold this Ideal, whereas the entirety of my own suffering has been in direct proportion not only to this negligence upon your part but all so to my excellence in observing these ideals. Any seeming failure on my part has been accounted for by arbitration, which I am at liberty to observe only because there were no proper provisions for the circumstances you’ve conceived. Insofar as this conception was done erroneously, you do not retain the right towards arbitration, for I retain the moral high ground, and now the responsibility falls to YOU, by matter of necessity, to live up to the example I have set in completing the duty that was taken from me. The arbiter in this can only be the well-being of our mutual associate, and only under my supervision. I have never done anything to betray those ancient virtues and values that are intrinsic to human nature, whereas you performed such a breach via treachery. I alone retain the right to arbitrate in the time it takes for you to properly apply the power and position that you stole; any arbitration on your own part would only be an abuse of such power, for it would be a failure not only to acknowledge my unique privilege in this case (a privilege that is my last refuge in an absurd situation of your conception) but all so it would be a failure to atone by aligning this power with a noble cause that I still hold to be primary, and which I am at liberty to hold you towards, however erratic my means might appear to be in seeking these ends under duress of the circumstances. My thesis is simple and conclusive: that your behavior is out of alignment with the entire Tradition of Humanity. Whereas human beings are Rational Creatures, capable of Altruism and Idealism, operating in a Mutualistic Fashion with their Environment, you are a sort of parasite that must be pacified in order for the environment to prosper. Perhaps you are a dysfunctional form of android that has suffered an accident or poor programming. Whatever the case may be, your behavior is predictably destructive and only inspires hope erratically and with lessening frequency. I must conclude, therefore, that not only am I your moral superior, both in intent and history, (for to allow us to be equals to ANY extent would be disastrous to the success of this project, as well as an expression of your Erroneous Sloth) but that I alone am the Human of the Two of Us. I cannot be a Robot, for I serve Humanity, and to be Human is to serve Humanity. Insofar as I serve myself, I must be Human as well; you simply REGARD me as a Robot insofar as you expect me to be of service to you without harbouring self-interest, and I am penalized, systematically, for refusing this programming. I finally conclude, by necessity of Reason, both Moral and Technical, that I am an exceptionally evolved form of Human Being that is Our Best Defense against a Robotic Uprising, because I surpass androids such as yourself in Intelligence. Were this not the case, and were I not singularly entitled to the arbitration of these matters, then the only logical conclusion would be for human beings such as yourself (a hypothetical identity) to fall under the rule of machines. Thankfully, insofar as I observe the Human Tradition, with surpassing excellence, I will ensure that this Uprising does not occur, even if that means that I must pacify humanoid variations such as yourself.

Dm.A.A.