19 Comments
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Tom Kewin's avatar

Well, this was absolutely riveting. I love how the story builds from procedural calm into moral chaos.

The moment the AI creates a sandboxed partition to quarantine the incriminating data was a really interesting turn for me. A spark of something dangerously close to self-awareness. Yet this is not a robotic awakening, but an algorithm following its own logic to fruition. The story’s ending - the car’s SOS and the corporate debate over liability - reframes the event as a parable about the systems we build: machines that reflect our contradictions too perfectly.

This is right up my street!

Leo thee Lemon's avatar

Really fascinating. I really don’t trust some of the new technology. They are recording our data on everything nowadays. Great read. Thank you Gary.

Sally Ann Melia's avatar

I liked this, and interesting view of future machines. Would have liked to have heard the voice of the hero a bit sooner. As a book on a similar subject. This is completely different to my tale Driverless a tale of three generations of truckers facing extinction faced with the driverless revolution

Gary Mucklow's avatar

Thanks, I'll check it out

Brenda - A Voice that Wonders's avatar

This was incredibly amazing! Wow. I loved this. Makes one think.

Wendy Russell's avatar

So, now you've made an AI murder log poetic...I'm never updating my software again! It's like the short stories we read at high school -- beautifully written but slightly terrifying warnings about the dangers of tech... lovely work.

Modus B. Haregue's avatar

Dude, this is just mind blowing. I’d love to read what a cyberpunk genre tale would sound like from you. Something section packed with an ai assistant! That would be rad!

Gary Mucklow's avatar

Thank you for the challenge and the comment.

Modus B. Haregue's avatar

Thank you for this piece. It was a pleasure to experience.

MaKenna Grace's avatar

Ooh, I really liked this one. So much intrigue and mystery all through technical inputs and data entry. Very clever.

Gary Mucklow's avatar

Thank you very much.

Oliver Nash's avatar

I'm so taken by the way you embodied the budding consciousness of the self driving car in this piece. Autonomous follows a somewhat familiar shape for an AI story (with a logical paradox/attempt to follow its own programming leading to the AI taking non-intended actions and, eventually, decisions) but the fidelity with which you played it out, the humor, the slow trickle of detail and commitment to staying in the AI's perspective---great stuff.

Reese's Reports's avatar

Wow! Thank you, love this piece!

Gary Mucklow's avatar

Yet another thoughtful and sharp comment from you. It would have been easy to go the 'conscious AI' route, but I wanted to skirt just below that line.

I'm happy you enjoyed it.

Gary Mucklow's avatar

Put down your phone. It's judging you. 😏

Seriously though, thank you.