Tom got the notice by e-mail that he was being replaced by one of the new artificial intelligence workers and that his last duty as an employee of Terracon industries would be to train his replacement.
Tom knew that he wasn't the only one being replaced by a machine, but it still hurt. Ten years he had given the company and now he was being discarded for something that didn't need to pay a mortgage or feed its children.
Later in the morning, his still human supervisor brought down his replacement. The machine held out its hand "I am w-43" The voice emanating from the machine was almost human-sounding. Tom ignored the hand and wondered why they bothered to program human customs into a robot.
Tom looked closely at his replacement. "Are you supposed to be a male or a female" he asked the device. "My designer gave me an androgynous appearance so that I could function in a variety of positions." the machine answered.
Tome was not in the least surprised that w-43 understood his duties much faster than he ever did. By the end of the week, Tom's replacement had learned everything necessary to perform his job. "You are a good teacher" the machine commented. "Are you programmed to care too?" Tom asked The machines face looked puzzled. "I'm not sure what you mean." "When I go to work, I care about doing a good job so the company will do well and I can continue to support my family with my wages." The machine nodded in understanding. "Yes, a concern for doing quality work has been inserted into my central processor"
What Tom had considered to be the last human advantage had already been taken away in a lab somewhere.
Tom knew that he wasn't the only one being replaced by a machine, but it still hurt. Ten years he had given the company and now he was being discarded for something that didn't need to pay a mortgage or feed its children.
Later in the morning, his still human supervisor brought down his replacement. The machine held out its hand "I am w-43" The voice emanating from the machine was almost human-sounding. Tom ignored the hand and wondered why they bothered to program human customs into a robot.
Tom looked closely at his replacement. "Are you supposed to be a male or a female" he asked the device. "My designer gave me an androgynous appearance so that I could function in a variety of positions." the machine answered.
Tome was not in the least surprised that w-43 understood his duties much faster than he ever did. By the end of the week, Tom's replacement had learned everything necessary to perform his job. "You are a good teacher" the machine commented. "Are you programmed to care too?" Tom asked The machines face looked puzzled. "I'm not sure what you mean." "When I go to work, I care about doing a good job so the company will do well and I can continue to support my family with my wages." The machine nodded in understanding. "Yes, a concern for doing quality work has been inserted into my central processor"
What Tom had considered to be the last human advantage had already been taken away in a lab somewhere.
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