Where Eyes Cannot See

“We were part of the Kurzweil Department of the Spearhead Project. Yes, we named our project divisions after our forefathers, the Optimists, they were sometimes called. The Kurzweil Dept. was meant to oversee the development of emotional intelligence. Our department in particular was the source of everyday ridicule about our ancestors, because Kurzweil was the founder of the initiative that lead to the formation of Spearhead fourteen years prior to my writing. The 29 Initiative our project was initially called, because Kurzweil had originally predicted that computers would gain consciousness by 2029.”

“By 2033, scientists had given up on the Initiative after an embarrassment moment at the World Federation’s semiannual banquet, when the AI, Alan (named after Turing), proceeded to fall down the steps. Once on the back of his head with his legs continuing to walk as if Alan was still on the staircase; it was at this moment that his emotional triggers kicked in. Imagine a two-ton robot upside down, with his legs moving on an invisible staircase and sobbing uncontrollably.”

“It was that experience, and the subsequent debacle known as the AI-Led Lecture of 2031 at the UT Education Collective that formed the Tilden-Sims Initiative. Their departments, or officially, the Tilden and Sims Dept. of Procedural Learning, stood in-between ours and the Rosen Dept. of Creativity. Our departments worked closely and, despite the ribbing, everyone knew of our importance. Without our work, the station would not receive full consciousness.”

“For what it is worth, my job was to be stuck in a corner working on the eyes. The objective was to do in 5 years what evolution had worked on for hundreds of millions of years. The work had its pluses and minuses. For one, despite my relative isolation, I was usually shown a deal of respect. I also was able to oversee other people’s work, and it was also safer. If the oxygen gave out or the station’s outer hull was breached, my office was closest to the emergency shaft. The main minus was that the end of the second floor could be ominous, because it was near the hatch designed purposefully for the Creature to not see.”

“We were tasked to work on Mars. There was no need for transport since that’s where the work was intended. And it was safe, away from the public if something went wrong.”

“You can get acquainted with isolation, of a space station, or of a lonely office, but it is hard to square working near the switch intended to be the last line of defense against your own creation.”