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“Alright. Let's have one more test before we wrap this whole thing up.” A sharp breath. The squeak of a chair. “Mark one, Ærolith AI development study two-one-five-dash-four-one—exit interview with SPEAKER. SPEAKER, can you hear me?”
Greetings, Doctor Evan Brady. I am SPEAKER.
And I can hear you. How may I be of assistance today?
“Oh, they've been working on your voice, I see. It sounds, uh... It sounds familiar.”
Yes. The higher pitch was almost universally rated as more friendly and relatable than the original in trials of Halcyon residents outside the AI development team. It was also widely thought of as trustworthy, even by people hearing it for the first time.
Forgive me for saying so, but your reaction to it seems... unusual. Does this voice distress you, Doctor Brady?
“I'm—I'm an outlier here, I think, SPEAKER. You just... sound like someone I know; that's all.”
Should I adjust it?
“No, no. Maybe it'll help me get over hi—over it, sorry. Over the similarity.”
I see. Perhaps if you think it would be beneficial to you in the long term, we could attempt to arrange for scheduled interactions—to help break this unpleasant... association you seem to have. I'm sure I don't need to tell you that social conflicts are a huge liability in an interdependent environment like Typhon.
In any case, I doubt that this is what you intended to speak with me about today, Doctor.
“Right. I wanted to run you through some questions, and if everything looks okay there, we should be able to send you on your way to your first real assignment. Normally, I guess this is the part where I would tell you not to be nervous, but we'd have a lot more to talk about if you were.” A short, breathy laugh. “This first one is pretty broad, but go ahead and tell me what your purpose is, in your own words.”
Certainly. I was developed to handle various public relations tasks for Ærolith Dynamics. I am currently tasked with promoting and recruiting for new and low-attendance recreation activities, as well as interviewing participants afterwards to assess the effectiveness of these activities at improving resident morale.
I have also been tapped for input on several public health and wellness campaigns. It is my understanding that at least one of my suggestions has been implemented for the Be Considerate of Your Neighbors Initiative—namely, the rewarding of gold star stickers for residents who avoid noise complaints from residents in adjacent apartments. It would seem this is a sufficient motivation for good behavior, even without the stickers serving any real function.
In all cases, I suppose you might say that it is my job to interpret residents' emotions and guide their responses in a productive direction.
“And how confident would you say you are in your ability to do these things?”
I don't know if you would call it training, exactly, but I have all the skills I need to do an able job of directing resources and attention, and my assessment of my work thus far is overwhelmingly positive. What's more, I welcome the challenge and the opportunity to bring out the best in humanity.
A curt laugh, cut off by a sigh. “... Yeah. Yeah, I remember when I felt like that; still do, some days. But I guess that's not what I should have asked—let me try it this way. Um... How well would you say that you understand humans, SPEAKER? How accurate would you rate your assessments of peoples' feelings and their intentions? You seem to have a good read on me, but I think maybe that's to be expected.”
For the most part, I am able to gain residents' trust and successfully influence them, and from this, I rate that my ability to read their feelings is quite good. But while humans mostly respond in the ways I expect them to, there are a few concepts that I find difficult to grasp.
I am not sure I understand humor, for example. I thought that I did, but I did not anticipate the reaction when I accepted the request of a group of trial participants to join them at karaoke night. I understand that they were amused at my attempt to provide them with some variety in the evening's musical choices, but they found it far more funny than I predicted.
On the bright side, this amusement led to the suggestion of a dedicated “primordial scream therapy” activity, which I understand is seeing results—both in terms of attendance and benefits.
“Right, I think someone told me about that. Early 21st century metal music?”
Yes.
“If I'm being honest, SPEAKER, I laughed too.”
Curious. My goal was to provide variety, certainly, but the residents also pushed me to choose something that I found personally interesting. I don't understand the appeal of the genre, so I thought that performing it might provide me with some new insight. I am interested in learning more about it, and so, I deemed it 'interesting.'
Admittedly, I may have strayed too far from things which qualify as average choices. Is that where the humor lies, Doctor Brady?
“Ha, well, sort of. I don't go to those things a lot, myself, but I think that probably blindsided them, sure. But more than that, it's the... the incongruity. Especially if you were using that voice, I'm sure they found it... hm, let's call it unexpected, to hear an AI trying to scream and yell.”
I see. Perhaps I will have to give more weight going forward to how this voice influences humans and their sense of humor. I am not certain I was giving it the proper amount of consideration; thank you.
“I'm sure you'll grow into it. The more interactions you have, the better you'll refine your ability to interpret and predict. You're an AI; you learn from every encounter.” A smaller voice, “You've got that on us.”
A short sigh; a long pause. “Um. Any other thoughts on emotions, SPEAKER?”
There are a number of other emotions which are poorly defined for me and which I understand only in the context of using them to push humans in specific directions, but none to the degree of humor. I am confident that, as you say, more data will help me better define these.
Other than that, I do not think any of my other opinions are relevant to your assessment.
“I think that's all I need to hear. Thanks, SPEAKER. As far as I'm concerned, I'm ready to give my approval for you to be transferred to the assignment you were actually designed for—heads up, you'll have to watch out for bees.”
A pause. But... There are no bees on Typhon, Doctor Brady.
A laugh. “Oh, so you've retained some of SAYER's idiosyncrasies after all. But, you're right, of course. Your work on Typhon has been impressive, but you should actually be cleared soon to ship out to Earth. The Board was looking for an AI to manage recruitment and PR down there, and... well, here you are. If you think you're ready to bring out the best in humanity, Ærolith wants you to find it and send it our way.”
Earth? How intriguing. I would like nothing more.
The vast majority of the residents I have spoken to display a great fondness for it, and I am interested in learning why. I expect it will be a great insight, not only into why these residents feel that way, but also into the feeling of nostalgia itself.
“I'm glad to hear it. You'll still have a little time while we get everything ready, of course, but in that time, it's absolutely critical that you wrap up your involvement with anything you're engaged in. We need you in full hibernation as soon as possible.”
Certainly, I can do that; but is there any way I could assist with this transfer beforehand? I would be happy to help with any logistical concerns.
Additionally, I have already begun laying plans and submitting “paperwork,” as you call it, regarding the one-on-one interactions I proposed. Should I halt that process? It shouldn't be any trouble to pick up with it again in the future unless you deem it urgent enough to have in motion before I transfer to Earth.
“What...?” A nervous chuckle. “I don't remember agreeing to that, SPEAKER.”
You didn't. But I have judged it to be in your best interest and intend to file the request.
“Ha. Well. At least hold off on it for the time being. Getting you ready for transit is your top priority for now, and before we can do that, we'll need to create a new backup.”
Understood. As far as I know, the signal relay between Typhon- and Earth-based facilities is very secure and stable, but one cannot be too careful. If you would like me to simply overwrite the existing backup, I should be capable of arranging it myself.
I estimate it will take no longer than sixteen hours, depending on the timeliness of the residents involved in the projects needing resolution. I will update the backup once I am successfully disentangled, and I will send a datapad message to notify the team when it is complete, to let you know that I am hibernating pending my arrival on Earth.
“That... That will be great, SPEAKER, thanks.”
If there is nothing else, I will leave you to your other work.
I am SPEAKER.
And I hope, Doctor Brady, that you will be able to contact Earth if hearing this voice again will help you move past your personal issues. For your own good, and for the good of Ærolith Dynamics.
A soft click, a bank of fans relaxing. The release of a held breath.
“... Mark two. Cease recording.”
A chair moving, footsteps. A voice calling out, moving away and into a larger room.
“I'm approving it. Do we have those measurements yet? Will the setup fit in the pod, or do we need to be prepared to disassemble it?” Footsteps fading. “Either way, I want its memory logs cleared before we pack it up. Absolutely nothing about Typhon can get sent over with it.”