James Smith

Technoconvergence James Smith

Empeirikos is a new robot, naïve in the ways of the world, and dependent on his friends Trep and Link for instruction. When a floating corpse is found in a local antigravity nightclub, they are enlisted to solve the crime. Was it antigravity toxicity, drug overdose, or murder? But while Empeirikos investigates, Trep finds himself increasingly addicted to hallucinations induced by virtual reality tablets. And as if that wasn't enough of a distraction, Trep and Link begin to have doubts about their robot friend. Throughout the story, they conduct debates on the philosophical questions of the day. What is the purpose of artificial intelligence? Has mankind evolved this far only to create its own replacement? Is a Turing Test a sufficient evaluation of artificial intelligence, and would Empeirikos pass? And what does all of this have to do with Fermi's paradox? Technoconvergence explores issues at the intersection of artificial intelligence and philosophy.