Episode 226: Cherishing Individuality
“How’s our Ixia doing lately? I think you already introduced them, right?”
“Yeah, well, I think she’s doing fine. Seems to be getting along with Saarya and Linanel. Though, she seems to go on a rampage from time to time because she lacks common sense.”
“Oh, is that so…? I’m sorry about that. Well, teaching her that is the biggest reason I sent her, though.”
“Yeah, I know that. I’m telling my people to keep an eye on her, so it’s fine. But, I’m still a Duke, you know? I don’t care about the reality, but I can’t let her appear in public unless she fixes her attitude for appearances’ sake.”
“Ugh, I wonder if she’ll listen… I thought AI were the best at putting on a facade…?”
Amadio Silverhead and Eve of ＜The Tree＞ were having a casual conversation under the guise of exchanging information.
They try to have a call at least once a week, unless there’s a specific reason not to. It would be a waste not to keep in touch, but they weren’t close enough to need frequent contact. That was the relationship between the two of them so far.
However, right now, ＜The Tree＞ has dispatched a Doll Machine (Communicator) named Ixia=Ayame Zero.
Therefore, it had become a place to confirm how she was doing, not through records, but in the form of impressions from the person involved.
“Yes, Ma’am. It seems she does not feel the need to put on more of a facade than necessary for members outside the organization. ＜Ayame Zero＞ is still emotionally immature. She seems to prioritize emotions frequently, so some intervention may be necessary.”
“Ah, um, well, yeah. As long as the learning content doesn’t develop any strange quirks, I don’t mind intervening.”
“Well, just have her do it little by little. At worst, we can just keep her out of sight, in an untouchable position.”
＜Ringo＞ advises the troubled Eve. And Amadio watches their exchange with a wry smile.
“If possible, I’d like her to practice behaving normally enough to blend in with ordinary humans. It would be best if she could learn on her own, though.”
“It will be possible if you give her time. However, we don’t have much time right now. Even if her thinking develops some quirks, it can be corrected with future learning.”
＜Ringo＞ proposes a partial intervention for ＜Ayame Zero＞. Certainly, the Brain Unit of the ＜Ayame＞ series is a newcomer that hasn’t even been a year since its rollout.
As long as behavior control is performed using a Brain Unit, the desired results cannot be obtained unless a certain amount of learning is completed.
It would be somewhat alleviated if the parent stock was an experienced AI, though.
“We will not issue commands that force her behavior. First, we will start with light guidance. If no improvement is seen, we will gradually increase the coercion, but I think it will be fine.”
“Okay. That means her words and actions in public should improve somewhat.”
“Understood. I’ll observe her for a bit, and if there are no problems, I’ll take her with me. Well, the other problem is that I might be misunderstood as having a liking for young girls…”
“Oh? Are you interested?”
“No way. Give me a break. I’m a pure combat Cyborg. I don’t have any such functions, and there’s not a trace of sexual desire left.”
Amadio looked exhausted at Eve’s teasing.
It was certainly true that combat bodies did not have reproductive organs. Resources would be needed to maintain the function, and it would simply be a weakness.
In the first place, World of Space was a game that prohibited such acts, so it was natural that there were no reproductive functions.
“Hmph. Well, our Doll Machines don’t have such functions either. Only the appearance is maintained.”
“Is that so? Well, there’s a possibility that I’ll be seen that way if I take her around. Even if there’s no malice, I might be asked about it, so be careful. For now, she’s still treated as a commoner with no position or status. It wouldn’t be funny if she reacted poorly and was executed for disrespect, would it?”
“Understood. We will clearly state that as a prohibited action to prevent such a thing from happening.”
＜Ringo＞ nodded at Amadio’s warning.
“Still, how did you manage to bring out two such cute girls?”
“Ah… Saarya is the next village chief of my territory, and she’s here for study. Linanel was scouted from the top performers. She’s a candidate for executive. Well, I thought it would be a good experience for both of them.”
Amadio adds that he added Saarya because it was difficult to deceive with just Linanel.
“I’ve been taking care of Saarya since she was born. She’s like a daughter to me. I’ve been away from the center for a while, so I haven’t had many opportunities like this. I thought it would be a good environment for her to gain experience.”
“Hmph… I see, so you’ve been holed up for a while.”
“Don’t say it in a way that makes me sound bad. The surrounding area would have been negatively affected if I had stayed out, so I deliberately moved to the frontier… And then there’s Linanel. I created a training school for executive candidates, and she was the top student there. After graduation, I temporarily assigned her as an assistant to a government official before pulling her over. Well, she’ll eventually join my vassals.”
“You’re properly training people. In that sense, we’re pretty laid-back.”
“Ugh, I envy you. If only my base was still alive, I could have mass-produced excellent subordinates.”
Eve nodded at Amadio’s words that training was really tough.
“I shouldn’t compare them to humans, but AI are also difficult. Whether you put restraints on them or not, both seem to have negative effects, and I’m realizing how superior the AI norms of the original world were.”
“AI norms, huh? I’m not familiar with them, but can they be used here?”
“No. It seems like various problems would occur if they were applied as is. If I were to do it, I’d have to rebuild them. Moreover, I’d probably need to fine-tune them to match each faction. For example, it would be impossible to apply our norms to your AI.”
“Hmph… Is that so? That sounds like a difficult story.”
Speaking of AI norms, Amadio continued.
“I brought in Ixia-chan with the pretense that she’s a talented woman I picked up from the frontier, but lately she’s been hanging around our kitchen every chance she gets. What’s with an AI being a glutton?”
“……. She just likes to eat.”
“Ah… I see. Yeah, I understand that raising AI is difficult.”
By the way.
The Strategic AI ＜Ayame Zero＞, who is in charge of the Repuytari Kingdom, seems to have her Doll Machine (Communicator) ＜Asidanthera＞ hanging around the National Library lately.
Now that Ixia can satisfy her food-related desires, Asidanthera seems to have decided to pursue her desire for reading.
“No, she’s still doing what she’s supposed to do. I’m just giving her free time.”
“Eve-chan is quite the softie. Well, unlike humans, there’s almost no limit, so I guess I understand letting her do as she pleases…”
The fact that she prefers the inefficient method of turning pages using the Doll Machine’s hands and reading the letters with her visual Sensor shows that she is not simply seeking knowledge. ＜Ayame Zero＞ enjoys the experience of reading itself.
By the way, Akane, who is the parent stock, is more interested in knowledge, which is probably due to the difference in growth direction depending on the environment.
“Having individuality allows us to consider a variety of options. I think, probably.”
“Well, I understand that. Both the orphanage and the training school emphasize fostering individuality. However, I thought that individuality was largely due to innate performance differences, but judging from the AI in Eve-chan’s place, is that not the case…? The brains (hardware) are the same…?”
“Well, I think there are naturally differences at the molecular level, but at the software level, they should be the same. The environment is very important.”
The independent AIs of ＜The Tree＞, which are infiltrating the Northern Continent, were steadily and freely developing their individuality.
What that will bring in the future—of course, Commander (Eve) had not even considered it.