Who will Artibuttle be?

Who will Artibuttle be?

That’s the question we all want answered. But only you can answer it. Will Artificial Intelligence Robot be a better version of who we are? Let’s give it a name – Artibuttle. Who will Artibuttle be? Will it be an artist, a chef, a slave, a companion, a life-long partner? Will it be able to reproduce and if so how? Will it be our eyes, ears and brains? Or will it have its own? Will it be equal to us – or even superior? Will it be our boss, telling us what to do and when? Will it be immortal?

How close to our looks will Artibuttle’s be? Indeed, will Artibuttle be able to show and feel affection? We keep animals as pets because they show some from of affection, even if it is cupboard love. Will Artibuttle be a pet substitute without the poo? If Artibuttle turns out to be highly sensitive will it compose songs, write stories, become a famous poet or actor? Will Artibuttle be more closely related to puppets, dogs or humans as we know them? Could Artibuttle be a real friend?

You may think Artibuttle is a figment of my imagination. You would be quite wrong. Artibuttle is being created as I write this. Techies are beavering away in garages, dungeons, lofts, laboratories, turning the sensing robot and the algorithmic intelligence into creations to compete with humans. Initially, they will serve us. But the servant so easily becomes the master. If you have never watched the 1963 film The Servant, watch it now. That servant’s hidden agenda is Artibuttle’s.

Surely the next species, successor to humankind, should not be designed by geeks? And certainly not by default? Are we too lazy or too ignorant to say what we want a new species to be like? Do we know enough to define the new species we should become? Many would ask that. I would have done so until a few years ago. Now I have no alternative but to contribute to defining the species that will, for sure, succeed my seven great grandchildren. In fact, I am pretty certain it will be in their time that Artibuttle comes to life. We must start guiding them now.

We have touched on some of the physical aspects of Artibuttle so far. More important will be Artibuttle’s moral standards and relationship values. As religion-based morality slips away there is a void, clearly visible in today’s world, a gap in how to inform and educate a conscience. Parents have tried to step into that void, many with great success. But we cannot pretend it has been universally satisfactory. “Truth isn’t truth” may have been a slip of Giuliani’s tongue. It is in such slips that truth emerges. If we do not specify Artibuttle’s morality, Artibuttle will do so itself – for Artibuttle’s benefit.

Designing the next species sounds like a weighty matter. Actually it is not. You know perfectly well how you would like humans to be. Write it down. I know you have the courage to speak up about the most important issue that has ever faced humankind. The person who does it best will (I hope) win US$100,000. I am searching for the last part of that money having put in US$20,000 from Terrific Mentors International. Perhaps you can help me collect the final tranches of the reward?

More important than money is the thinking behind the project. There are seven billion people on the planet. They should all have a say in what Artibuttle shall be. This is the chance for those who get to hear about The Artibuttle Description. Please see that your friends do, too.

We want Artibuttle to be someone we welcome not someone we have to destroy.

If you help design Artibuttle we shall all feel one step nearer to a better world.