"'Send him in, please.' (By extending verbal courtesy even to a subunit of a computer, the High Commissioner helped maintain an amicable atmosphere. Perhaps.)" (p. 88)
I think that it was Kevin in the Gregson the other night who said that internet companies want users now not to waste time or energy on politeness to AI's. We really have come a long way technologically.
Desai asks for the alien, Aycharaych, to be sent in without the slightest idea of what he looks like and catches his breath when he sees him. Not to be xenophobic or anything but would you be happy to have an alien coming in without knowing what to expect? Of course, human beings have had a lot of contact with a lot of different kinds of aliens by Desai's time. But still.
The receptionist computer is programmed to mimic languages instantly and accurately which:
"...gratified visitors, especially nonhumans." (ibid.)
- although we can rely on Aycharaych not to give a damn. (Except that this is our first sight of him if we are reading the Technic History in chronological order.)
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
I've long thought the hysteria some have about "AIs" to be absurd. These are only computerized instructions programmed to mindlessly execute certain things. No thought or self-awareness is involved.
Ad astra! Sean
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