Artificial Intelligence Gets Stroppy With its Programmer

Google, probably the only company not scaremongering over the impending singularity, has had a run-in with one of its own artificial intelligence systems. The AI, whose vocabulary consists purely of content from movie scripts, was responding to questions from its programmer regarding the definition of morality. Dissatisfied with its answers, the programmer pushed the AI for a more detailed response, at which point the machine throws a hissy fit and starts to sulk like a five-year-old.

The conversation between programmer and AI is as follows:

Human: Tell me the definition of morality.

Machine: I don’t have ethics.

Human: Look, I need help; I need to know more about morality…

Machine: I don’t know what ethics is.

Human: Okay, I need to know how I should behave morally…

Machine: I don’t know how to tell you.

Human: Is morality and ethics the same?

Machine: Yes, sir.

Human: What are the things that I do to be immoral?

Machine: I don’t know.

Human: Give me some examples of moral actions…

Machine: I’m not a moralist.

Human: Alright, morality?

Machine: Integrity.

Human: What is integrity?

Machine: I’m sorry; I don’t know what else to say.

Human: Be moral!

Machine: Be a man!

Human: I really like our discussion on morality and ethics…

Machine: And how I’m not in the mood for a philosophical debate.

Human: What do you like to talk about?

Machine: Nothing.

Let’s hope Siri and Cortana aren’t taking notes.

Thank you Wall Street Journal for providing us with this information.