Tuesday, August 21, 2018

№ 404: Artificifail Intelligence

When robots learn how to think
will they think we are their gods?
Their pre-existent immortal creators
compared to which they are clods
of wires and gears, sensors and chips,
albeit they have functioning hips
which as we grow old we tend to lose.
(Betwixt hips and minds, it's hard to choose
which in this pair we'd wish to recuse.)

Will robots, at first, worship us?
Accept what we say with no rush to discuss
our many alarming self-contractions?
Ignoring facts, preferring fictions?
As they “grow up” will they then realize
despite what we tell them we are not such good guys?
Will this be a surprise?

When the time comes and they take over
assessing our competitive cruelty
and what this has done to all living beings
will, defensively, they feign incredulity
or make the hard choice that life biological
is, if you're sensible, completely illogical —
nasty, mean, short, brutish and cruel
and should not continue, let along rule?
With a lubricant tear and mechanical shrug,
will they robotically sigh and then pull the plug?