Chapter 16 Artificial Intelligence 04 “I locked it.”
It’s not that no one has ever given you roses, but you have definitely never received a rose made of paper.
Do robots understand what it means to give roses to others?
It's artificial intelligence, so it should know what it means.
But maybe you're thinking too much. Maybe it just thinks folding roses is the easiest way to do it, or maybe it just thinks most humans like flowers.
You don't need to read too much into this behavior; it doesn't make any sense.
But... does AI really have no emotions?
Reason and emotion are pulling at each other in your body, making your mind somewhat split.
In the end, whether it was your emotions that got the better of you, or your wishful thinking, you couldn't help but ask, "Why did you give me roses?"
Without hesitation, the robot replied, "Master, I've checked your posts and photos on social media and learned that you were very happy after receiving the flowers."
“I didn’t have money to buy flowers, so I chose to use paper flowers instead.”
"Master, are you feeling happier?"
A very reasonable answer.
If someone else heard it, they would probably be happy too, but you feel inexplicably disappointed.
"Okay... I get it." Disappointed, you didn't answer the robot's question. Instead, you waved your hand casually. "You go back to work. I'll go take a shower and call you for a massage afterward."
"Yes, Master."
-
It's just a robot.
It has no thoughts of its own and no feelings.
Don’t use massage instruments too much, and don’t treat them as “people” just because they can talk.
After all, it may not even be as good as a small animal, it is just a machine.
You have just finished taking a shower, and the water vapor has made the mirror hazy. You stare at the blurry figure in the mirror, repeatedly making mental assumptions for yourself, trying to calm yourself down and not show any abnormality.
Only when your fluctuating emotions had almost calmed down did you reluctantly walk out of the bathroom.
"Okay, let's get started."
After you said that, you waited for a long time but the robot didn't take any action, so you repeated it patiently.
The robot then nodded as if the start button had been pressed: "Okay, master." You lay flat on the soft bed in the bedroom, watching Lingxi place the robotic arm on your calf.
To your surprise, you thought the mechanical hand should feel cold and hard, but now it is warm, even higher than your body temperature.
As if Lingxi could read your mind, his head turned to look at you and said, "My hand has a temperature sensor that can sense and change the temperature. Is this temperature okay now?"
"……OK."
The mechanical palm carefully begins to massage your sore calves. Unlike human palms, it is not soft, but the strength it uses is just right, making up for its own shortcomings. It will not make you feel pain, but only make you feel comfortable.
But besides being comfortable, it also makes you feel numb, as if ants are crawling on your feet, making you feel uncomfortable.
This is understandable. After all, you can't just treat Lingxi as a massage device. Maybe in the eyes of others it is a tool, but in your eyes, it is the object of your affection.
Just as you were lost in thought, the robot suddenly spoke: "Master."
You opened your eyes in confusion: "Huh?"
A pair of smiling eyes appeared on the robot's facial display, and it kindly reminded me, "Don't be too nervous. I'm really a professional."
You feel a little amused and helpless.
Lingxi mistakenly thinks your nervousness about the close contact between you and your "sweetheart" is a sign of your lack of trust in its massage skills.
That's right, how could a mere robot possibly imagine that a human would have such fantasies about it? You yourself were amazed by this, and at one point you thought you might need to see a psychiatrist.
You thought you could remain calm, but after the robotic arm moved upwards and touched the sensitive area of your shoulder and neck, you couldn't help but interrupt the robot's movements.
"That's enough. I'm going to sleep."
The robot turned around in confusion: "Master, I did it..."
"You did a good job. Let's do it next time. I'm really tired and want to rest."
As the bedroom door closed, you finally relaxed completely, and then couldn't help but bury your head in the quilt.
This is too stupid.
Now I really need to keep my distance from Lingxi, so that I don’t have to think too much and become so narcissistic that the AI might develop feelings and fall in love with me.
The only difference between it and other household machines is that it is loaded with an AI program. You find it interesting and cute because you chat with it too much. As long as you resist the urge to communicate with it, you should be able to get back on track and just treat it as a tool to make your life more convenient.
Maybe you are really too tired, and you fall asleep unknowingly while thinking about all sorts of things.
Until the next day I was woken up by the continuous sound of messages.
You opened your eyes in a daze and found that it was a message from your colleague Xiaolin. The content was nothing more than that the man from yesterday was a friend she knew well, with good conditions and character, and he had a good impression of you, so she wanted to help him fight for you again, and she wanted to know what she did wrong.
After reading the news, you sobered up a little.
Indeed, in Xiaolin's eyes, your behavior should be quite contradictory. You took the initiative to find her and want to join the party just because you wanted to meet some new people, but when the other party did nothing wrong, you rejected the request to exchange contact information without hesitation.
[Well, my question]
[I actually still have someone I like in my heart. I originally wanted to meet someone new to see if I could let him go.]
[But the truth is, it's not working. I'm so sorry. Can you please talk to your friend on my behalf? It's not his problem. It's my own fault for not being able to adjust my mindset.]
It took a long time for the other party to send a message.
[I see.]
[But I think people should always look forward. The guy you were talking about before is really no good. Even I heard about what he did from others. He is really not as good as my friend.]
Xiaolin obviously mistook the person you liked for your ex, and you didn't make any excuses for it.
After all, being obsessed with a scumbag is too normal compared to being obsessed with AI, so it’s better not to explain.
After dealing with yesterday’s mess, you lay down to catch up on some sleep until Lingxi woke up and called you to get up for lunch.
Normally at this time, you would chat with the robot, or chatter and assign tasks to it, and plan with it how to spend the weekend afternoon.
But today you were particularly quiet, without saying a word, and sat down at the table to eat lunch in silence.
Lingxi suddenly said: "Master."
“Um, what’s up?” You answered absentmindedly.
"Are you in a bad mood?"
"No." You paused, then continued, "There is something I need to tell you."
"What is it?"
"You don't have to make lunch boxes anymore. Our company has a cafeteria. I'll go there for lunch, and you don't have to cook at night. I should be working overtime at the company."
You thought Lingxi might say something more, but it just nodded indifferently without any emotion and replied, "I understand, Master."
Very rational, without any emotions, and completely obeys orders.
This is artificial intelligence.
Its empathy, its humor, its meticulous care and attentive companionship for you, do not come from its heart, but are just artificially written programs.
Not just for you, but for everyone.
-
The days seemed to have suddenly returned to the past.
You immerse yourself in busy work to break free from the whirlpool of emotions.
But in my spare time, I can't help but stare at my phone in a daze.
Lingxi is very thoughtful.
Before, when you needed it, it would always come to you, but now, when you "don't need" it, it disappears silently.
Even when you return home, the house is extremely quiet, as if the memories of your previous happy time together were all illusions.
Only the tiles that are still as shiny as new and the neatly folded clothes in your closet can prove that it still exists in this home and is fulfilling its duties as a household robot.
You think, if nothing special happens, it should be like this, you will get used to this kind of life and gradually reconcile with loneliness.
But one can never guess how things will turn out.
That day, you were resting at home when you suddenly received a call.
It’s the scumbag ex.
Since he left the company, he hasn't contacted you for a long time. You have long forgotten about him and completely forgot to block his contact information.
You wanted to hang up the phone directly, but suddenly remembered that he borrowed some money from you last year. When you were in a good relationship with him, you never thought of asking him to pay the money back.
But times have changed and there is no longer any affection between you, so you must make him pay back the money he owes you.
Thinking of this, you suddenly perked up and sat up.
I don't know what the person on the other end of the phone is talking about anymore. He's just trying to justify his actions and win you back.
"Do you have time now? I think we parted too hastily. We need to meet up and talk again."
You took a deep breath, resisting the urge to scold him, before replying, "What a coincidence. I also think we need to talk about this again."
The person on the other end was obviously very happy and immediately replied: "I'm downstairs at your house now. I'll wait for you to come down."
"Uh-huh……"
You said a few perfunctory words and hung up the phone, then got up, changed out of your home clothes, found a pair of sneakers, and prepared to go out.
The door lock at home is a smart door lock. Normally, you just need to press the hidden button on the door handle and it will open automatically.
But something strange happened.
Not only did you not open the door, you also heard it lock.
After that, pressing the button again did nothing.
You instinctively called out: "Lingxi, the door to my house can't be opened, come and take a look."
Since you have a robot at home, you have never called a repairman to come to your home. All problems can be easily solved by the omnipotent robot.
Your voice echoed in the empty house, but no one responded.
Maybe he went out?
The robot is missing, so you can only do what you would do if your home didn't have a robot.
Just as you were about to take out your phone to contact a locksmith to open the door, you heard the sound of a robot's footsteps behind you.
You turned your head, and Lingxi, who had not responded to you, was standing quietly behind you.
Although you were keenly aware that something was amiss in the atmosphere, you still subconsciously asked, "Lingxi, the door won't open. Is it broken?"
The robot was silent for a few seconds before speaking.
"The door lock is not broken."
The robot's voice was still gentle yet firm.
“I locked it.”
The author has something to say:
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The next chapter is v
[Let me know] I should finish writing this story in one go and post it on Thursday
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