Comment:

Uh oh, a Plot is happening.

I guess I should clarify, here, that Zoa is using the same distinction between "moral" and "ethical" that I usually do, i.e., that "morality" requires a religion or similar specific worldview, while "ethical" does not and can (in theory) be derived purely from enlightened self-interest or somesuch, agnostic about whether or not God or souls or metaphysical "evil" exists. That's not to say that what's about to happen is unethical - Zoa, technically, can't behave in a way that it believes to be unethical - but it wouldn't be able to happen if it wasn't moral, and that's about to become very, very important.

Transcript:

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0422– 2167/07/07/12:27 - Lee Caldavera's apartment, bedroom
Doc: I suppose the scenario you’re proposing is similar to Jaxxon’s soul-link to the Lyre’s magitech navigator golem.
LC: When they were trapped in the Reflection Realm, yeah. They were still able to-
Zoa (suddenly reacting to something): Oh, shit.
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LC: Oh shit what?
Zoa: Lee, are you still authorizing me to make purchases on your behalf, and do you still want to gift me one kilocred or the rough equivalent thereof?
LC: Uh… yeah, I guess so.
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Zoa: And are you serious, really serious about having a sincere religious belief that AIs of my level of self-awareness or greater are in possession of souls that are morally equivalent to human life, such that shutting one down permanently is morally equivalent to a human death?
LC: I’m… I’m going to say yes to that, actually. Yeah. That’s gonna be my whole thing n-
Zoa (getting up, pulling LC by the wrist): Kitchen. Kitchen right now.
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[passing across the living room from Lee’s bedroom to the kitchen]
LC: What? Why the hurry? And why are we going to the kitchen?
Zoa: Because the eighteen hour window for adding onto that next-minute neck gimbal shipping offer is closing in sixty-two seconds, and the kitchen’s where your mouth is.
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