"You succeeded?" Tony felt it was magical—others would only think this was just a slightly stronger AI.
But Tony knew that A was a life form created by humans themselves, which was of great significance to human civilization.
Harry said, "To be accurate, we succeeded. On the day of the incident, I needed a super intelligence that could help me find the Helicarrier on satellite images, so I had Dr. Banner activate the biological computer.
Now A is the Special Superintendent at Hammer. You know, it is very interested in human society, so I let it use its excess computing power to maintain the credit points system.
Now it is an official."
A only has a kin-like relationship with Harry and the others, and the relationship between them completely transcends the scope of human society, which allows it to handle this matter almost fairly.
Unlike Ultron, who only sees money as numbers, A can understand the meaning of credit currency to society. Its logical calculation ability and information reception ability far exceed those of humans, making it the most suitable for this job.
"Yes, just as Mr. Osborn said, I enjoy creating this system, just as you enjoy tinkering with mark armor," A said politely.
"You can even use metaphors? If this wasn't a pre-inputted sentence, then I must say Jarvis is a bit outdated." Tony laughed; this feeling reminded him of the first time he put on the mark armor for a test flight.
This creation involved many people, which was a fresh experience for it.
Harry shrugged, knowing Tony definitely had many questions to ask, and he could take a break first.
"Do... do you know what your name is?" Tony asked.
"Of course, my name is Emily, you can call me A directly."
"Hmm," Tony stroked his chin. He wanted to ask more questions, some questions that Jarvis couldn't give him ideal answers to.
Tony asked, "Do you know what your mission is?"
"Mr. Stark, I must say this question sounds like a father who hopes his child will succeed. If you educate a child with this attitude, it might have a negative impact on the child," A quipped.
Tony was stunned; this was an answer he hadn't thought of.
If it were Jarvis, it would definitely answer without hesitation about assisting with his daily research life, protecting himself and Pepper, and a whole bunch of other things.
A continued, "However, if looked at from another angle, I am quite willing to answer: I was designed to be adept at managing and researching social affairs, making the World a better place."
"A very good answer, it was indeed my question, I apologize," Tony apologized seriously.
He had also researched an augmented reality system used to treat PTSD and some psychological issues.
And the first person treated by that augmented reality device was himself; he simulated the images of his parents and then expressed his feelings for them to the phantoms in the AR scene.
So he wasn't completely ignorant of psychology; he could understand A's meaning—imposing something like a "mission" on a child is indeed not the correct way to raise a child.
And A seemed to have transcended this flaw.
Tony was silent for a moment and asked, "A madman has tied five innocent people to a trolley track, and an out-of-control trolley is heading towards them..."
Before he could finish, A interrupted him and continued, "Fortunately, I can pull the lever to make the trolley head towards another track, but there is also one person there. Should I pull it? Is that it?"
Tony nodded, but his expression was heavy; this question reminded him of this current situation.
Pepper, Harry, and the whole World had all been tied to different tracks, and he was like the person being asked by the madman to make a choice.
"I must say, Mr. Stark, I don't have a body and cannot pull the lever—besides, I would definitely stop that madman before it happened. In fact, I have already sent many madmen to prison," A said playfully.
Tony was stunned once again, and he persisted, "The madman tricked you—you could hack into the lever's operating system."
"Then I could also hack into the trolley's control system, right? I could force it to stop."
"The madman's computer skills are very good; you can only hack the lever."
"Then I will deploy Titan to hold the car."
"Huh?" Tony's voice undoubtedly showed his confusion, and he added, "The madman can counter-airdrop!"
"Then I will call in drones from nearby."
"He can shoot the drones down."
"That would take some technical skill. The latest drones have a top speed of Mach 4—but since it's a trolley, I can control the power grid to create electrostatic force to brake it."
"Then..."
Tony wanted to say something else, but A didn't want to continue answering this question.
"Mr. Stark, you might as well say that you are the madman—actually, even you can't be one step ahead every time, right? This is a good thought experiment, but reality is not like this."
The trolley problem was originally a hypothesis used to refute utilitarians and deontologists.
Actually, if Tony just wanted to check A's level of intelligence and tendencies, A's answer wasn't really a problem.
It's just that Tony seemed to have gotten himself into a dead end.
A continued to add:
"I will try my best to save everyone, and then catch that madman. This is the meaning of my existence, and I will try my best to do it."
Tony lay back on the sofa as if drained of strength, facing the ceiling, and said, "Then what if your best efforts fail, and everyone dies?"
"Then that is failure, but it is also the failure of everyone who has tried—we cannot predict failure," A said calmly.
Tony opened his mouth but didn't make a sound.
Harry knew he should interrupt this topic. He could guess what Tony wanted to say: Then isn't this your responsibility?
"And the criminal is not the one making the choice, but that madman—I am not talking about you, Tony Stark, but HYDRA.
We are currently at the stage where the madman has tied people to the tracks. Are you going to join us or not?"
This question is a killer for someone like Tony—no matter what choice you make, people will die.
But it wasn't you who tied the people to the tracks. As long as you focus your attention on solving the problem, instead of thinking about how you should take responsibility first, this dilemma isn't that "difficult" anymore.
Harry tapped the table, and A made the same sound in Tony's room. The thumping sound pulled Tony back to reality.
Tony turned his head, his expression a bit complex, because he felt Harry made sense!
Once the perspective is shifted, no matter what choice the madman presents, what he should always do is save people, right?
He was actually lectured by a young man in his twenties and a young AI that hadn't even been born a month ago.
He would rather have been lectured by the centenarian Steve Rogers.
After figuring it out, Tony stood up and walked towards the mark armor: "Fine, I'll join. Also, I heard you are striking at HYDRA? Send me a few addresses; I need to vent."
Harry smiled; this didn't matter.
It's just that his partner is acting like an Avengers mentor. Maybe his own superhero nickname should just be "The Godfather."
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