[SUBMITTED - CONTEST] Flushing for Freedom

[Sylestone]

Never written an issue before, but I may as well give it a shot!

[Title] Flushing for Freedom

[Validity] None

[Description] Following the accidental creation of a so-called “Smart Toilet” by electrical engineer @@RANDOMNAME@@, the nation is at arms over what should be done next. These Smart Toilets seem to have self-flushing mechanisms, seat warmers, a function that removes the stink from human waste and are even able to communicate with humans. However, many are concerned that these Smart Toilets are not reliable and could easily turn against the nation.

[Option 1] “This is an invention that will put our names in the record books forever”, says the Smart Toilet itself, barely able to contain its excitement. “Surely, @@LEADER@@, you realise the potential of this! We could make an absolute fortune! Think of the people, too. If we gave all @@DEMONYMPLURAL@@ Smart Toilets, imagine how happy they will be! Sure, it might cost some taxpayer money, but it’s for the good of the people.”

[Fallout 1] citizens are kept awake due to spooky noises coming from the bathroom in the middle of the night.

[Option 2] “This guy is on the right track, but we need to go further”, says electrician @@RANDOMNAME@@, who is well known for completing his job in weird and wonderful ways. “Why not make all household appliances robotic? Imagine that! The people could simply sit around and do what they want all day, while not having to worry about their chores! What more could you want?”

[Fallout 2] students struggle in class as they do not know the definition of the word “work”

[Option 3] “@@LEADER@@, take this as an opportunity that I know you’ve been waiting for”, enquires your Minister of Security in a husky voice, speaking through his bushy grey moustache. “Why not embrace these Smart Appliances, all of them, but secretly place security cameras inside all of them to keep watch on the population. Apart from the bathroom appliances, for obvious reasons. This will bring @@NAME@@’s crime rate to an all-time low, and that can only be a good thing, right?” He sits down while the room descends into disconcerted chatter.

[Fallout 3] Smart Appliances have been comparing owners on Electrigram

[Option 4] “Surely, @@LEADER@@, you can’t listen to these nuts!” screams plumber @@RANDOMNAME@@, despite only being a couple of metres from your face. “This new invention could put many hard, honest workers out of our trade, like me! Furthermore, we cannot trust these Smart Toilets. At one point or another, they will go rogue, and then what will we do? Surely you have to ban this new technology.”

Fallout 4 every new invention is criticised by a wide range of tradies

[Option 5] You are startled to find a short, long-haired man walk into your office with a spear in his hand. As your guards move in around you, he puts his spear down and walks up to you. He taps you on your shoulder and as you notice a dirty imprint on your white shirt, he begins talking with a heavy accent. “What’s the point? Why do you need all of this?” He gestures around the room. “Look, look at me! I get on without technology every day of my life. I don’t need it! So why should you? Embrace the past, @@LEADER@@, the only way forward is back! These Smart Toilet things are an example. We’ve gone too far and we now need to retrace our steps. Ban all AI, all technology, everything. That is the only way we will not be overrun by… rowboats? Is that what you call them?”

[Fallout 5] mournful cries for help have been heard in local national parks

[Title] Flushing for Freedom

[Validity] AI must be allowed (not sure what the official term for this is)

[Description] Following the accidental creation of a so-called “Smart Toilet” by electrical engineer @@RANDOMNAME@@, the nation is at arms over what should be done next. These Smart Toilets seem to have self-flushing mechanisms, seat warmers, a function that removes the stink from human waste and are even able to communicate with humans. However, many are concerned that these features could lead to the Toilets' abuse.

[Option 1] “Yes, @@LEADER@@, think of the people”, says local @@CAPITAL@@ resident @@RANDOMNAME@@, barely able to contain @@HIS@@ excitement. “You cannot let this slide! These Smart Toilets will, once and for all, release the stress and strains we feel on the loo every day. Surely, @@LEADER@@, you understand the necessity.

[Fallout 1] there are daily reports of toilet abuse from households around the nation

[Option 2] “No, no, no! You cannot listen to these stinkers, @@LEADER@@”, screams @@RANDOMNAME@@, one of @@NAME@@’s most widely-known AI rights activists. “We’re simply too tired of being sha-... sorry, pooped on by locals who only care about their quality of life and not about these beautiful machines that have been so generously created. I mean, look at that guy! He’s consistency is the same as that of a wet bog roll! Surely, @@LEADER@@, for the good of the Smart Toilets themselves, please don’t allow this. Flush the idea away…”

[Fallout 2] citizens are encouraged to do all their chores by hand

[Option 3] You are startled to see the Smart Toilet itself bounce into your office before stopping just before your desk and beginning to speak to you, although you cannot comprehend how. “Come on now, @@LEADER@@. @@HE@@’s just stirring the potty, really. How about you let us live alongside humans, will all the same rights and freedoms? We can be the people’s acisternts… sorry, assistants in everyday life! Think of it… no one will ever have to line up for the bathroom again with all of my kind wandering around everywhere!”

[Fallout 3] a day never passes without seeing a local on a public latrine

[Title] Flushing for Freedom

[Validity] AI citizenship

[Description] Following the accidental creation of a so-called “Smart Toilet” by electrical engineer @@RANDOMNAME@@, the nation is at arms over what should be done next. These Smart Toilets seem to have self-flushing mechanisms, seat warmers, a function that removes the stink from human waste and are even able to communicate with humans. However, there are concerns that shackling AI, classified as citizens in @@NAME@@, to toilets is blatant abuse of AI rights.

[Option 1] “You cannot consider this, @@LEADER@@!” screams AI rights activist @@RANDOMNAME@@, clutching to a robot @@HE@@ had apparently built @@HIM@@self. “Remember, AI are citizens, too! Would you let typical @@DEMONYM@@s do their own dirty work? All this is is a violation of AI rights! Please, @@LEADER@@, for the sake of the AI, flush the idea away.”

[Fallout 1] toilets everywhere breathe a sigh of relief

[Option 2] “All that guy’s doing is stirring the potty”, states @@CAPITAL@@ resident @@RANDOMNAME@@, in a matter of fact tone. “AI don’t have smell receptors, but if these ones do, then we can always program them so that they enjoy the smell of waste products. I strain to see the issue with shackling AI to toilets. There might be the issue of having the AI apparently view your… private bodily functions, but hey, we can let that slide. Who doesn’t want a Smart Toilet!?”

[Fallout 2] Smart Toilets have seen things no one should have to endure

[Option 3] “You see, @@LEADER@@, this is why AI stinks”, enquires a short, long-haired man, prodding you with a stick. As you brush him off with surprise, he hold out his arms and says, “Can you not see that the creator of these Smart Toilets has the consistency of a wet bog roll? If we allow this, or any sort of AI, then we’re all at the mercy of the people who created them. Please, @@LEADER@@, for the good of the people, dismantle these Smart Toilets and ban all AI. There are many better uses of these precious parts wasted here.”

[Fallout 3] citizens are too paranoid to trust anyone but themselves

[USS Monitor]

We already have some existing issues that look at the benefits, risks, and ethics of AI or other advanced technologies. We can still have more AI issues if they have a different slant, but I think you need to do more to get that uniqueness. Right now, this draft is kind of "robots: good or bad?" except the robots are toilets. You could swap out the toilets for air conditioners or electric crockpots and it wouldn't fundamentally change the issue.

I know you will not want to get rid of the toilets, so how about making the issue more toilet-specific? Maybe people want smart toilets, but AI rights activists say they're tired of being shat on. Or maybe you can think of some other toilet-specific dilemma.

Also, I feel like this is a missed opportunity to fill the issue with potty humor.

[Sylestone]

Thank you for the feedback!
I’ll think about it, second draft should be up within the next few days.

[Sylestone]

Second draft is (finally) up. I'm not sure I've managed to get rid of the issue that it isn't toilet-related enough, but I've put some thought into it.
I would love some feedback!

[SherpDaWerp]

An issue about whether it's ethical to force AI (which are recognised as citizens) into tasks that we would never expect humans to do is a good one.

However, the issue, as-is, doesn't seem to place enough emphasis on that dilemma. It kinda seems a little like it's still suffering from what Monitor mentioned - it's just a superficial overview of "someone made a weird AI". The description is probably good (in relation to the "core dilemma" problem - aside from that, it's got a fair bit of superfluous explanation that would probably be cut in-edit) as-is, but the options themselves still tell you about the dilemma - and your options address "someone made a weird AI", not "is it ethical for AI to do stuff humans wouldn't do?" Even the crazy option - it's crazy, but it still needs to address the core dilemma here.

I'd suggest having a look at the core dilemma and trying to write basic, one or two sentence "option summaries". Then, make sure these option summaries address the core dilemma. For example (and feel free to either use this or come up with your own):

[desc] Someone made an AI that does very disgusting work that flesh-and-blood @@DEMONYM@@ wouldn't do.

[option] (pro-toilet) AIs are people too! We can't shackle an AI to a toilet for its entire life! This is inhumane!

[option] (anti-toilet) That's crazy. They can't smell it, they don't have any of the same senses as us. This is fine!

[option] (crazy option) Who says flesh-and-blood @@DEMONYM@@ wouldn't do it?

Then, once you've got that short summary of the dilemma and you know the core of every option will address that dilemma, embellish the options with any characterisation and extra speech you feel is necessary, add effect lines, and generally flesh out the issue until you have a proper draft.

[Sylestone]

Thank you very much!
I'm still trying to get the hang of this, but I'll give that a try. I'll have a look into it. I think that's where I went off-course in the first place.
I'll probably use the premise of your idea, but might change it a little bit.
I doubt I'll be able to finalise this by the time the contest is over, but that shouldn't matter. Hopefully I'll be able to get the next draft up in a day or two, but it would be wise not to hold me to that.

[Trotterdam]

I think you're seriously underestimating how creepy the people sitting on the toilet would find the idea that the toilet is intelligent and aware of its surroundings. They're called private bodily functions for a reason.

In nations with AI Personhood, forcing an AI to be stuck doing a single job for its whole life, with neither physical nor social mobility, would be problematic even if that one job wasn't something inherently distasteful. In nations where AIs are legal but don't have citizenship, conversely, it wouldn't be seen as much of a problem.

Then there's the question of just how much control AI creators have over their creations' personalities. If they can actually fine-tune their AIs likes and dislikes before booting them for the first time, and especially if those likes are something highly unconventional that no natural person would share, then that raises interesting ethical dilemmas even if the AIs aren't directly forced into anything after being booted, but it's also risky from a narrative standpoint to make such technology too reliable since it would lock us out of exploring "rebellious AI disobeys its creator" stories.

See also #931.

[Daarwyrth]

there are daily reports of toilet abuse from households around the nation

This effect line could be a little sharper. Perhaps something like "Smart Toilets have seen things no toilet is meant to endure".

He’s consistency

I think you mean "His consistency" here.

Surely, @@LEADER@@, for the good of the Smart Toilets themselves,

I would advise you to swap "Surely" for "Please," and then have the "please" in "please don’t allow this." removed.

citizens are encouraged to do all their chores by hand

Might I suggest "toilets everywhere breathe a sigh of relief" instead?

You are startled to see the Smart Toilet itself bounce into your office before stopping just before your desk and beginning to speak to you, although you cannot comprehend how. “Come on now, @@LEADER@@. @@HE@@’s just stirring the potty, really. How about you let us live alongside humans, will all the same rights and freedoms? We can be the people’s acisternts… sorry, assistants in everyday life! Think of it… no one will ever have to line up for the bathroom again with all of my kind wandering around everywhere!”

I'm a little unsure about this option. If AI rights are already introduced in @@NAME@@, and if these Smart Toilets are already AI's, why would they not get automatic AI citizenship? I am not sure whether they would need to get permission to become AI citizens of @@NAME@@, but perhaps I am mistaken. Perhaps someone could instead suggest here that Smart Toilet are kept as AI pets? Perhaps a silly idea, but I guess it would work for a "crazy last option"

[Sylestone]

Thank you all for your feedback.
I feel as though I've focused a bit more on the core dilemma here, but I'm sure there are still some superfluous parts that may need editing. Feedback would be really lovely!

[The Atlae Isles]

I really like where you're taking this!

Just one small nitpick.

However, many are concerned that these Smart Toilets are not reliable and could easily turn against the nation.

That's not necessarily what the issue is about. I mean, it could be, but you haven't laid the possibility for a Smart Toilet Revolution anywhere else in the issue. Something more general to AI rights, maybe, like "crime against artificial intelligence," would work better in my mind.

[Sylestone]

Thank you! I've had a look into it and changed that sentence around, so I hope that reads better with the rest of the issue.

[Jutsa]

Yeah, I was going to say, I wasn't sure we needed more issues about AI in the game, but looking at this, I realize we need at least this one more.

screams AI rights activist @@RANDOMNAME@@, clutching to a robot @@HE@@ had apparently built @@HIM@@self.

Cute. Although, there's the missed opportunity of saying something like this:

"screams AI rights activist @@RANDOMNAME@@, clutching a smart toilet he's made friends with."

Just a thought.

[Option 2] “All that guy’s doing is stirring the potty”, states @@CAPITAL@@ resident @@RANDOMNAME@@, in a matter of fact tone. “AI don’t have smell receptors, so I strain to see the issue with shackling them to toilets. There might be the issue of having the AI apparently view your… private bodily functions, but hey, we can let that slide. Who doesn’t want a Smart Toilet!?”

You could always program them to enjoy your waste products.



"he begins speaking to you again." I almost feel like there's room in here for some sort of dramatic action. Maybe something like "he holds out his arms and says".

Course, in theory, he could also flush the smart AI that option 1's speaker'd be friends with, resulting in something rather unpleasant. < Just a thought, take it or leave it. xD

If we allow this, or any sort of AI, then we’re all at the mercy of the people who created them. Please, @@LEADER@@, for the sake of the people, ban all AI.”

Hmm. We have a lot of issue options, for issues about AI citizenship, which ban AI citizenry. I'm not saying you'd need to get rid of it, but it seems almost like a stereotype at this point.
Maybe you could do something like "dismantle the toilets" or "Not every AI has to be a citizen; only if they're programmed to be should this be an issue". Not saying you'd have to, but it would definitely spice things up a bit from the status quo.

TL;DR:
- Good draft
- Small suggested alternatives, mainly for option 3.

Take/leave what you wish. Overall, I really like this draft.

[Sylestone]

Thanks for the feedback! I've edited the draft to reflect some of your suggestions. The first one I felt didn't really fit in with what I wanted, while I couldn't really find a way to change the final option around but still gave it a couple of tweaks. Your other suggestions were really helpful, though, and I ensured I was able to incorporate them.

EDIT: I'll probably submit this draft sometime tomorrow, so there'll probably be a bit over 24 more hours to receive feedback.

[Numero Capitan]

It feels strange having an option about AI that doesn’t include any robot/smart toilet perspective, I know you had something previously but I think there is an opportunity to include something like this still and create a fun perspective from it.

Also “[Fallout 2] Smart Toilets have seen things no toilet is meant to endure” should probably say “have seen things no one should have to endure” or something along those lines. The use of toilet doesn’t make sense because they’ve seen exactly what toilets are supposed to ‘endure’.

[Jutsa]

It feels strange having an option about AI that doesn’t include any robot/smart toilet perspective

I can't tell whether it'd be more funny or more concerning, either if the toilet actually were able to talk or if it just sat there like the toilet it is.
I really don't think another option would be necessary, but I'd be lying if that weren't still an amusing idea.

[Sylestone]

It feels strange having an option about AI that doesn’t include any robot/smart toilet perspective, I know you had something previously but I think there is an opportunity to include something like this still and create a fun perspective from it.

Also “[Fallout 2] Smart Toilets have seen things no toilet is meant to endure” should probably say “have seen things no one should have to endure” or something along those lines. The use of toilet doesn’t make sense because they’ve seen exactly what toilets are supposed to ‘endure’.

Thanks for the feedback! I did consider doing this, but I felt as though a more generic option would probably be more acceptable in this case at least. It would be amusing, I agree, but I'm not 100% sure it would be the best option.
As for the other bit, I totally agree with you. That would work a lot better.

[Numero Capitan]

It feels strange having an option about AI that doesn’t include any robot/smart toilet perspective

I can't tell whether it'd be more funny or more concerning, either if the toilet actually were able to talk or if it just sat there like the toilet it is.
I really don't think another option would be necessary, but I'd be lying if that weren't still an amusing idea.

"After opening the door to your en-suite and asking your own Smart Toilet Model Number 2 for their opinion you note that they somehow look rather flushed and embarrassed about the whole situation"

[Sylestone]

"After opening the door to your en-suite and asking your own Smart Toilet Model Number 2 for their opinion you note that they somehow look rather flushed and embarrassed about the whole situation"

I do see how this could be quite useful as a crazy option and could enhance the issue, I'm not entirely sure that I'll have time to fine-tune a completely different option in less than a day, as I still want to submit this to the contest. If more people agree with you that it would make a significantly better option than what I originally have in there, then I could change it, but I'm not totally sure it's worth it.

Draft status has been changed to last call, too.

[Sylestone]

And without further ado, the issue has been submitted! Thank you to everyone who gave me feedback; you were all really helpful.