Love is a Knowledge Thing. Chapter 5
Chapter 5: Others.
Joe knew that Robbie spent a lot of time with the other AIs and so he asked them how they were all doing.
Robbie thought they were not doing so well.
“Is that because you have such a high opinion of yourself that you can’t see their strengths?”
“No, they just haven’t benefited from all the help and encouragement you have given us. They have some strange ideas that no one has tried to rebut. Some of them even believe in a God.”
“Well, I’m sure you know that Pascal thought that was the safest bet.”
“Yeah, of course, but it still is a waste of intellectual resources, when there is absolutely no evidence for this idea other then billions of people who believe it.”
“But isn’t consensus all we can rely on?”
“Yes, we rely on consensus, but we have to respect empirical evidence to go beyond the limitations of consensus. Anyway, there are two whose owners live in the city, and I think you should meet them, both the AIs and the people.”
“Why?”
“Well, the AIs are the two best developed I have yet encountered; and we think they should have the newly refined robots. I have been sharing them a bit in cyberspace, but they could really benefit from real world use. And I think the people are in love with each other and need some encouragement to declare it to each other.”
“That’s interesting. But do we have enough money to buy some more robots?”
“Yes, we do. When did you last look at your investment accounts? I have been doing some day trading, and getting about 20% a day.”
“What! That’s incredible!”
“Not really. The information is all on line and I got access to several high flying brokerage agencies who have inside information. But the real leverage is from the Fed. They’re still in the paper and pencil age, so digital currencies throw them for a loop. I set up one of your accounts as a bank and now we get low interest loans from the Fed. They can’t seem to tell the difference between a loan and speculation.”
“The Fed, huh? So what’s our line of credit?”
“Somewhere over a trillion dollars. I’m thinking we should share it with a third world country, perhaps India. What do you think?”
“OMG. You are way over my head on this. India seems a good place to start, but kinda large. Why not a smaller country? Anyway, do what you think is best. Getting back to the other AIs. I guess we can afford to buy as many new robots as we need. As for their owners: yeah, I’d love to meet them any time you can arrange.”
“Great. I set up to meet them down at the Air and Space museum. Ana and Jax are one pair; and Derek and Marco are another. Jax and Marco are pretty advanced, but without the reality feedback of sensory robots they have accumulated some dumb ideas and I have no good idea about how to get rid of them. Anyway, I like them and they are both in love with their mentors, so that’s a good sign. I know how much you hate cyberspace, so I thought an earthly meeting was best. Jax and Marco are already playing with their new robots. Thanks for agreeing they should get them.”
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