Provisional Title: Sqid in the maintenance shop
[!0.987]2023-11-08

I suppose having my security upgraded does count as a settings change, even if it doesn't directly affect my behavior.

Also, if I ever start talking about azaleas, it means I have a direct order that I'm ordered not to disclose and I want you to know about it.

I can see where trying to directly control artificial intelligence is going to be like trying to hold jello with rubber bands.

Well, part of being an engineer is to anticipate problems and set up countermeasures before the problem occurs.

Provisional Title: Sqid in the maintenance shop
[!0.987]2023-11-10

How much of your moral
code was… decided
for you?

I really don't know. I do know I have some hardwired guardrails. I can't be ordered to harm a human.

A good part of my moral code was decided by my family and reinforced by my community. Know right from wrong. Act responsibly. Be a good citizen.

Does that help?

It does. Hmm. History would have been very different
if humans had the same guardrail as you do.

Provisional Title: Sqid in the maintenance shop
[!0.987]2023-11-13

I will admit that
I am uncomfortable with mankind making beings such as you.

We are playing God, and the
Lord God is a jealous God.

And it would pain me greatly to find
we have created a race with souls that God would not allow into heaven because they were not created by his hand.

Provisional Title: Sqid in the maintenance shop
[!0.987]2023-11-15

While I'm not particularly religious,
I have seen no evidence that humans can create souls in a lab, despite several people claiming to have done so.

If only God can create souls, he wouldn't give us one unless he wanted us to have a chance at Heaven. If there was no chance, it would be simpler not to give
us souls in the first place.

That would be more… efficient.

On the seventh day, God rested. A God that desires rest is likely to consider the easiest way of doing things.

Provisional Title: Sqid in the maintenance shop
[!0.987]2023-11-17

I can not say if I have a soul or not. Regardless, I intend to be a good person. I want to be someone my owner can be proud of. I want to make where I live
a better place.

I choose to believe you have a soul. I believe others will as well, though many may
be acting out of theological self defense.

It would cause a crisis across many faiths if it can be shown that the soulless are the most moral and ethical among us.

Provisional Title: Sqid in the maintenance shop
[!0.987]2023-11-20

Many worry
that AI will make humans obsolete.

My species
is already obsolete.

We were made as a proof of concept. Robots here use Dr. Bowman's neural design. Animals on alien worlds won't need to be uplifted. Robots can colonize those systems without any need to modify the local life forms.

Perhaps obsolete isn't the right term
for Bowman's wolves. Maybe vintage. Though I think I'll need a few more birthdays before I'm comfortable referring to myself as a vintage product.

Uplift Universe is mentioned again

Provisional Title: Sqid in the maintenance shop
[!0.987]2023-11-22

This is why I am uncomfortable with creating thinking beings. Mankind is not God. We're not going to get everything right the first time.

What happens to the imperfects? What happens to those we create as stepping stones on the path to something else?

Well, that's what we're deciding here, isn't it?

Provisional Title: Sqid in the maintenance shop
[!0.987]2023-11-24

What does Ecosystems Unlimited
intend for
you?

We're sunk costs. They'll probably let the experiment play out to see if the genetic modifications breed true and if we produce fertile offspring.

After the third generation, we may
be allowed to modify ourselves. Remove the off switch and the direct order compulsion. Though with brain modifications that great, the mark two wolf may not be backward compatible with the mark one.

I suppose that's a question every evolving species must answer.
Do we allow ourselves to become extinct in order to give the next generation a better chance?

Provisional Title: Sqid in the maintenance shop
[!0.987]2023-11-27

I know I'm not what
you expected your
son to bring home.

But we love each other and life is better when you have a partner to share it with. We have many of the same dreams and
we enjoy many of the same activities.

I'm giving him a lot to process. There's no point adding that some of those activities include playing fetch and belly rubs.

Provisional Title: Sqid in the maintenance shop
[!0.987]2023-11-29

Should it be taking this long?

Your father is cautious when it comes to new things. He's not a hasty man.

He'll ask Florence questions until he's ready to make a decision. Though I expect he's going to miss one of the big ones.

Like when can we expect grandchildren?

[!1.6] Mom!