What Would You Do? (You & Robots In The REAL World)

[DollSpace]

I don't know if I'm quite awake enough to write this coherently, but I'm going to try!

There's currently another topic up, "When did you first know (you liked bots)?", and Outsider's newer topic "How would you feel?". Both of them started me thinking. I honestly believe I'm actually a robot (or some variant of). People will snicker here, and giggle and point, thinking I'm just playing a game or having a laugh. No. I don't mind, mostly, since I know very few people will believe me. And I know how ridiculous it sounds, especially since it's not like I have direct access to something in me that would "prove" it to anyone, like detaching an arm or showing a panel. That is probably a very good thing (for me, anyway). People can read this confession here and giggle a bit and use their imaginations, and think I'm roleplaying or something like that; if I could actually show people "proof" like circuits and panels, I wouldn't last a week before I'd be dealing with tons of companies and governments taking me for research... But that got me thinking. In the real world, how would you react if someone clearly showed to you that she was a robot, and there was no way it was anything else? What would you do?

1. What would you do if you bump into a girl on a crowded street and knock her into a fountain, and she starts malfunctioning?
2. What would you do if a girl you've been going out with for a little bit told you she wanted to tell you a secret, and opened up a service panel right in front of you?
3. What would you do if you're walking alone and come across a badly damaged girl you think is drunk at first, or high, but then see sparks coming from sections of her body?
4. What if a good friend of yours wakes you up at night with a frantic sounding plea to help her before she shuts down, and you realise by the way she's acting that she's not exactly human?
5. What if a random girl tells you (and proves) she's a robot, and asks you to help her get away from whoever owns her because they're hurting her or keep her prisoner?
6. What if you find a girl from school (younger than uni age) wandering the hallway or stuck somewhere and she reveals herself (intentionally or unintentionally) as a robot?

I know there are thousands of other scenarios I could write, and obviously skewing more towards the "built" side of things, but the main question is still generally the same. If this happened to you in reality, as it is today, what would you do? Be honest! Write down "freak out and run away" if you really would do that! And I know each scenario would probably make you react very differently. Feel free to elaborate, or add in scenarios. Obviously people here have a very varied belief in the possibility of a sentient robot, so that will obviously colour your responses, even if the robot in question tried terribly to convince you that she's just as much alive as you are, at least as far as sentience is concerned.

What it boils down to is that I'm curious about reality. We have a great "bubble-verse" here where conversions to bots happen, or we are bots, or the girl of our dreams can end-up being a robot, or malfunctions can be sexy without worrying about real-world consequences, and more. But the real world is different, and sex may also not be the first thing on your minds (I imagine surprise or disbelief would be first in most of the situations here, but perhaps hope and happiness would sneak in there, too). So tell me what you would do in the real world, because in our world here, we often get the robot and help her or help ourselves to her, because that's what we'd honestly like to do, and your answer can include that, but I want to know what you would actually do, truth be told!

I look forward to reading your responses to my poorly worded question! XD
~Catie

[Stephaniebot]

I will get to this tomorrow Catie, because its evening over here, and someone has been out for a meal and had alcohol, so...

I'd rather answer it when sober tomorrow morning as its a bank holiday.

Me personally, I think its a very good question to ask

[PsychoKirby]

That's a very good question.

First and most obviously, I would attempt to befriend her (and probably try to become more than friends as well ). Let's face it, this is what I've been dreaming about for a long time.

Also, depending on her circumstances, I'd try to help her if she was, say, in the hands of an abusive owner. Mistreating robots simply isn't right.

There's also the great opportunity for study here. An artificial intelligence completely indistinguishable from a human is practically the Holy Grail for roboticists. This, coupled with the fact that she'd have a body that looks completely human from the outside, would make me feel obligated to study her and find out how it was accomplished. Hopefully it would be possible to create even more.

Yes.

[1001011001]

1. What would you do if you bump into a girl on a crowded street and knock her into a fountain, and she starts malfunctioning?
2. What would you do if a girl you've been going out with for a little bit told you she wanted to tell you a secret, and opened up a service panel right in front of you?
3. What would you do if you're walking alone and come across a badly damaged girl you think is drunk at first, or high, but then see sparks coming from sections of her body?
4. What if a good friend of yours wakes you up at night with a frantic sounding plea to help her before she shuts down, and you realise by the way she's acting that she's not exactly human?
5. What if a random girl tells you (and proves) she's a robot, and asks you to help her get away from whoever owns her because they're hurting her or keep her prisoner?
6. What if you find a girl from school (younger than uni age) wandering the hallway or stuck somewhere and she reveals herself (intentionally or unintentionally) as a robot?

1. Run. I don't stick around when I break an expensive vase, and I'm not going to stick around when I break an expensive robot.
2. Run, but I'm sure she'd hunt me down to protect her secret.
3. Run. I don't whatever zapped her to zap me too.
4. I'd become incredibly grouchy at this friend for waking me up with one of her practical jokes (ha, you thought I'd run didn't you? Who runs at 2 a.m.?)
5. Run, and if she wants to run with me, well then that's fine too.
6. Run. I don't want to get blamed for whatever happened to her.

[Outsider]

1. What would you do if you bump into a girl on a crowded street and knock her into a fountain, and she starts malfunctioning?

Panic and freeze. Reach for her and try to help her out of the fountain. If she is coherent, I'd ask for advice on how to help her. If she is not, I don't know.

2. What would you do if a girl you've been going out with for a little bit told you she wanted to tell you a secret, and opened up a service panel right in front of you?

It depends how much we had already told each other. I would assure her it wouldn't come between us; I would always see her as another girl. I might explain about my birth defect and my own transformation fantasies. I would ask her if it bothered her. I would ask how to be supportive.

In addition, I would ask about safety risks for both of us, and repair procedures. I do not want her to malfunction!

I would want to know when her body was built. I would want to know whether her mind was programmed or transformed, or some combination. I would even want to know about any possibilities, costs, and risks of transformation.

3. What would you do if you're walking alone and come across a badly damaged girl you think is drunk at first, or high, but then see sparks coming from sections of her body?

Panic and freeze, same as in #1. If she is coherent, I'd ask for advice on how to help her. If she is not, I don't know.

4. What if a good friend of yours wakes you up at night with a frantic sounding plea to help her before she shuts down, and you realise by the way she's acting that she's not exactly human?

I would be in more of a hurry, and ask about repairs and maintenance, but once we have time, I'd explain my feelings as in #2.

5. What if a random girl tells you (and proves) she's a robot, and asks you to help her get away from whoever owns her because they're hurting her or keep her prisoner?

I know exactly who I'd go to. I would accompany her on the way, and give her my number and email in case she wishes to contact me, but her first priority is probably to escape.

6. What if you find a girl from school (younger than uni age) wandering the hallway or stuck somewhere and she reveals herself (intentionally or unintentionally) as a robot?

At my age? I'm almost thirty, so it's not likely to happen. Not that the others are likely. It depends where she is, what she says and does, etc. But, for the most part, my answers would be the same as for the closest match above.

[Borias]

.

[Keizo]

I would help her. As much as that seems unlikely it's the truth. I would try to befriend her and hope that it works. Naturally I would hope for something for myself in return, but I wouldn't force it. I think the fact that I have cherished and repaired a realdoll for many many years gives credence to that fact. If she would end up leaving me then it would only make me more cynical, but that would be the risk. If she tried to attack me, then I would say that all spoils are mine. Period.

[jolshefsky]

I'm really quite unable to conceive a situation for which my reaction would be based on either (1) I'm being tricked (i.e. someone pretending to be a robot convincingly or a robotic construct with a telepresence personality) or (2) I am delusional (i.e. someone cut in half that I incorrectly perceive as being filled with wires and electronics because of some as-yet-uncovered mental problem).

As such, I'm willing to bet an awesome fantasy that the "android girl from another dimension who is being mailed to me part-by-part so I can help her be rebuilt here" is actually false because, to be honest, the good money is on that scenario being false.

A further problem I have is that I can't seem to manifest a shared fantasy. Like I've conceived of an elaborate set based on stage magic where I convince my partner that I have actually transferred her consciousness to a robot body, but I can't see myself believing in it enough to make it work. I've even tried a couple much simpler scenarios (i.e.: suggestions as to what to say) but that doesn't work for me either.

So sadly, I'm kind of locked into that whole "reality is that which doesn't go away when you close your eyes" kind of world.

[D.Olivaw]

Well, in a somewhat similar vein as jolshefsky, I have to say that it would be difficult to convince me that the woman in question was truly synthetic unless it was quite visually obvious (internals visible, as in being able to see deep inside her body and knowing it's not just some sort of applique), and even then the first thing that would come to my mind would be telepresence. That said, in the absence of any further data my responses to the various situations would be:

1) In the absence of good evidence one way or another, my null hypothesis will be that she is not just an automaton or telepresence and to do my best to help her, both by getting her to a non-public place and attempting to rectify the cause of the malfunctions. I justify my null hypothesis on the basis that if she is not a person, then I have done nothing but made myself look silly by going all crazy in trying to help an electronic appliance; if, on the other hand, she were a person then my actions might cause her serious injury or even death if I blithely assumed her to be naught but a construct and declined to assist her.

2) If the visual evidence was convincing and repeatable/varied (i.e. not just one panel but a couple of them or she could move around while it is open; just something to assure me that it isn't an optical or special effects trick of some sort) then, after I had manually winched my jaw back up, I would likely test her patience by deluging her with questions about her origins, her nature (I assume since she is my significant other I know her well enough to be reasonably sure she is not a pre-programmed construct of some sort), the workings of her body and what technology her mind is based on (too many people here always assume that artificial beings will be Turing machines, what about analog neural nets of some sort, kind of like our brains but rendered in different materials?). I would also assure her that I in no way thought her to be any less a person due to the fact that she happens to be constructed of different raw materials. Beyond that nothing really changes from how I would normally conduct myself in a relationship.

3) See answer to question 1. The only difference is that I didn't cause her troubles this time.

4) Once again, same as answer to question 1. This probably ends in her laughing at me for taking her prank seriously, but not worth it on the million to one chance that it is a real situation (kind of an unlikely prank to pull on someone...).

5) Going with the assumption that she has met my rather strict evidence criteria, help her. What else could a truly ethical person do? Also, the best way to help her (if those after her were truly intent on retrieving her or causing her harm) is to bring her on national television so she could prove to the world (as she supposedly did to me) that she is indeed a synthetic person. My reasons for ascribing personhood to her until proven otherwise via personal contact are the same as in my answer for question 1. I think it highly unlikely that a nonsentient android could keep up the charade for very long while in prolonged contact with an inquisitive human. This is essentially the Turing Test times 10e10 due to the personal contact. Note that I am not looking necessarily for her to be exactly like a human (chances are a synthetic consciousness would see the world differently than us), just to give clues that she is actually capable of truly independent thought and action.

6) Help her if she needs it. Same reasons as before. I'd be awfully curious why someone would make a little girl robot and probably ask (and, on my own time, look into) about her living arrangements to quell my suspicions.

[Baron]

I don't know if I'm quite awake enough to write this coherently, but I'm going to try!

There's currently another topic up, "When did you first know (you liked bots)?", and Outsider's newer topic "How would you feel?". Both of them started me thinking. I honestly believe I'm actually a robot (or some variant of). People will snicker here, and giggle and point, thinking I'm just playing a game or having a laugh. No. I don't mind, mostly, since I know very few people will believe me. And I know how ridiculous it sounds, especially since it's not like I have direct access to something in me that would "prove" it to anyone, like detaching an arm or showing a panel. That is probably a very good thing (for me, anyway). People can read this confession here and giggle a bit and use their imaginations, and think I'm roleplaying or something like that; if I could actually show people "proof" like circuits and panels, I wouldn't last a week before I'd be dealing with tons of companies and governments taking me for research... But that got me thinking. In the real world, how would you react if someone clearly showed to you that she was a robot, and there was no way it was anything else? What would you do?

1. What would you do if you bump into a girl on a crowded street and knock her into a fountain, and she starts malfunctioning?
2. What would you do if a girl you've been going out with for a little bit told you she wanted to tell you a secret, and opened up a service panel right in front of you?
3. What would you do if you're walking alone and come across a badly damaged girl you think is drunk at first, or high, but then see sparks coming from sections of her body?
4. What if a good friend of yours wakes you up at night with a frantic sounding plea to help her before she shuts down, and you realise by the way she's acting that she's not exactly human?
5. What if a random girl tells you (and proves) she's a robot, and asks you to help her get away from whoever owns her because they're hurting her or keep her prisoner?
6. What if you find a girl from school (younger than uni age) wandering the hallway or stuck somewhere and she reveals herself (intentionally or unintentionally) as a robot?

I know there are thousands of other scenarios I could write, and obviously skewing more towards the "built" side of things, but the main question is still generally the same. If this happened to you in reality, as it is today, what would you do? Be honest! Write down "freak out and run away" if you really would do that! And I know each scenario would probably make you react very differently. Feel free to elaborate, or add in scenarios. Obviously people here have a very varied belief in the possibility of a sentient robot, so that will obviously colour your responses, even if the robot in question tried terribly to convince you that she's just as much alive as you are, at least as far as sentience is concerned.

What it boils down to is that I'm curious about reality. We have a great "bubble-verse" here where conversions to bots happen, or we are bots, or the girl of our dreams can end-up being a robot, or malfunctions can be sexy without worrying about real-world consequences, and more. But the real world is different, and sex may also not be the first thing on your minds (I imagine surprise or disbelief would be first in most of the situations here, but perhaps hope and happiness would sneak in there, too). So tell me what you would do in the real world, because in our world here, we often get the robot and help her or help ourselves to her, because that's what we'd honestly like to do, and your answer can include that, but I want to know what you would actually do, truth be told!

I look forward to reading your responses to my poorly worded question! XD
~Catie

What the hell, I'll give it a go. Specifics first:

1 - Carefully pull her out of the fountain and discreetly see that she's alright; if she's able to communicate, ask her about how / where repairs can be made, also with discretion.

2 - Smile, then see where things might lead. Of course, it also depends on how well our friendship "before the expos`e" is going, too - a lukewarm one wouldn't spur my curiosity or forward progress as much as a warm or heating one.

3 - Make sure I'm wearing rubber soles {bad Beatles pun intentional}, then same as #1.

4 - If she's not out in public, break out the good ol' jumper cables and make a house call.

5 - Verify the truth before I act. If it can be verified as positive, I'd do my best to help - again with tons of discretion. No sense making a bad situation worse through reckless knee-jerk actions.

6 - Probably not get involved, unless there was an immediate and direct threat to her. Robotic nature or no, appearance {of impropriety} would still govern my actions since she's technically underage.

Now, as to your personal feelings Catie, we all have our moments when we seem "detached" from the so-called mainstream. Age has nothing to do with it - go into any given senior healthcare / living facility, and you'll be surrounded with scores of "detached" people. Simply put, life is full of instances that seem repetitive and downright robotic; the key is whether or not you have or can be around sympathetic people in your life. You might have to approach the robot aspects obliquely at first, but the rewards can be worth it if you're careful and patient. Myself, I've had the love of female robots within me for well over 30 years, and I've long ago learned how to make it work for me in a generally positive way. Yes, my interest might wane a bit, or I might have to sublimate it for a spell, but it remains part of my makeup nonetheless. It's all up to the individual, really. As for female robots as an actuality in the "real" world, again I'm a bit jaded - it wouldn't blow me out of the water as much as one might think. The "curse" of age and wisdom, you could say.

Hope this helps!

[BA2]

Really difficult to answer!

Firstly - even if you were able to 'demonstrate' your robotic nature physically it should be possible to program you to overlook that evidence and continue to believe you appear human. Perhaps a nagging suspicion is all the evidence you could expect...?

I have no real idea how I'd react to a real robot-girl, I suspect my actions would be largely the result of prejudice based on first impressions. I get around this in most of my stories by assuming that android technology is reasonably familiar and therefore attitudes are well established, perhaps that's a cop out... The possibilities break down for me like this:

1. Someone I know turns out to be a robot: I guess I'd already have got to know them as a 'person' and would attempt to rationalise their artificiality with my perception of their 'real' personality, at least at first. To move suddenly from 'person' to 'machine' seems a bit like bereavement...

2. Meeting an covert android out of the blue: I think I'd be much more clinical without having known them as a 'human' and be interested in investigating the possibilities as a gadget rather than a person.

3. Meeting a robot girl: I think I'd be more open minded to the possibility of a machine having a genuine identity if it (she) was open about her nature from the start; 'different' rather than 'fake'. If I was introduced to a girl, "this is Kate, she's a robot", if she had clear mechanical elements (still sexy...) etc then I think I'd be prepared to get to know 'her' before deciding if she was a person or not.

4. Initial reaction: I'm pretty sure I'd be inclined to bug out fast if something really happened out of the blue; the technology to do this would imply some serious high priced help which probably wouldn't welcome by interest!

BA

[Stephaniebot]

Both of them started me thinking. I honestly believe I'm actually a robot (or some variant of). People will snicker here, and giggle and point, thinking I'm just playing a game or having a laugh. No. I don't mind, mostly, since I know very few people will believe me. And I know how ridiculous it sounds, especially since it's not like I have direct access to something in me that would "prove" it to anyone, like detaching an arm or showing a panel. That is probably a very good thing (for me, anyway). People can read this confession here and giggle a bit and use their imaginations, and think I'm roleplaying or something like that; if I could actually show people "proof" like circuits and panels, I wouldn't last a week before I'd be dealing with tons of companies and governments taking me for research... But that got me thinking. In the real world, how would you react if someone

Catie,
I always thought of you more as a clockwork doll in a human body, but thats probably just your avvie that makes me think that way. And who is to say you arent a very cleverly constructed robot that gives the 'image' of being human anyway?
We know time travel will surely be feasible in the future,so who is to say you havent come back from then, and...

But yes, you're right, given the way authorities act today you might be better off that you cant actually prove it in all honesty.

In answer to your well thought out questions, I just dont know.
Knowing me, and my desire I'd probably help her all I could in all ways possible. Just because of my nature, and well...to discover more about her.
If she was a transform, then yes, I'd ask her where I had to go to get the same treatment. And then, once she was fine, go and get it done.
If she was a create, then I'd find out whether the mind was a download, or pure AI. In the case of the former, then see above. If the latter I'd probably just do my good samaritan bit, check she was OK, and then let her carry on as before.

[Teknophile]

1. What would you do if you bump into a girl on a crowded street and knock her into a fountain, and she starts malfunctioning?
2. What would you do if a girl you've been going out with for a little bit told you she wanted to tell you a secret, and opened up a service panel right in front of you?
3. What would you do if you're walking alone and come across a badly damaged girl you think is drunk at first, or high, but then see sparks coming from sections of her body?
4. What if a good friend of yours wakes you up at night with a frantic sounding plea to help her before she shuts down, and you realise by the way she's acting that she's not exactly human?
5. What if a random girl tells you (and proves) she's a robot, and asks you to help her get away from whoever owns her because they're hurting her or keep her prisoner?
6. What if you find a girl from school (younger than uni age) wandering the hallway or stuck somewhere and she reveals herself (intentionally or unintentionally) as a robot?

As a lot of folks have already pointed out, it's incredibly unlikely that any of these would happen in our present-day real world. I mean, for crying out loud, even the most humanlike robots around (Aiko and HRP-4C, for instance) are still obviously artificial, none have any real personality or AI to speak of, and none are in mass-production, so you're unlikely to run into one at school, on the street, etc.

And if any of you conspiracy theorists really think that there are covert military gynoids in the works, just remember that most of the "robots" the U.S. uses are really just big, remote-controlled vehicles. The most autonomous robot yet developed was one that managed to navigate a DARPA challenge course, and it had to be the size of a SUV to fit most of the electronics inside. Plus, the U.S. Army's Future Combat Systems program has already been scaled back, and may go as much as $100 billion over budget anyway. If they can't afford to build three-foot-tall R/C tracked 'bots, where would they get the money for android research?

All that being said, if any of these scenarios were to occur:

1. I'd make sure I was safely grounded, then get her the heck out of the fountain! From there, if she was still conscious/capable of speech, I'd ask her how best to help. Failing that, I'd try to find some kind of owner ID or manufacturer's mark and call them to come and pick her up for repairs.

2. I'm currently dating a very sweet girl, and I know for a fact that she's no robot - I've met her parents, etc. Still, if she did turn out to be some kind of super-advanced gynoid, or if I ever found myself dating someone else and this situation popped up, I'd probably just say, "Cool!" then start asking questions like "where do you come from," "what's it like," and so on. As long as she's not just some mindless automaton (unlikely since I don't date shallow women), it would probably just improve our relationship, since she wouldn't have to worry about keeping secrets and, obviously, I happen to be attracted to synthetic women!

3. Pretty much the same as #1. If she could still talk, I'd ask her what to do, otherwise I'd try to contact her owner or manufacturer. While I am studying Engineering in college, I doubt I'd be able to repair a real, live gynoid by myself!

4. Again, ask her what to do, or else figure out who would know how to fix her.

5. This one's a little different. Obviously, I'd try to help her, probably bringing her home first. The trick would be not to put her through the same experience again - my first priority would be to help her get on her feet, establish an identity, etc., then help her get out of state or out of the country, depending on how powerful or persistent her former owner might be. Not that I'd mind if she felt like sticking with me, of course.

6. I'd probably just shrug it off and point out whatever robotic activity gave her away, maybe ask where her parents/owners are, then send her home, back to class, etc..

As for you, Catie, don't worry about your robot-hood. I remember going through a phase some years ago (say, around age 8 or 9) where I found myself wondering just how human I was - if people saw colors the same way I did, whether I was really just a bony skeleton under my skin or if I was really made of metal and wires (this was probably shortly after I watched T2 with my Dad for the first time).

If you're not a robot, your angst will pass and you'll be able to lead a relatively normal life.

If you are, then kudos on managing to live amongst us smelly, greasy human slobs without developing a homicidal desire to terminate all organic life!

If you feel up to it, find out where you came from and who created you, then let the rest of us FC'ers know.

[DollSpace]

Okay, wow, did we go off-topic on this thread...*sigh* Reading over my initial question, I did find one of the scenarios I mentioned was worded ambiguously enough to potentially cause confusion, but the scenarios were only really met to be a guideline. They were supposed to be random scenarios where you may encounter a girl who, either purposely or accidentally, reveals to you she's a robot, or you discover her mechanical secret yourself. It would be interesting to know what everyone here would do if you found out a girl you knew was an android but she remained unaware of that fact.

Anyway, this scenario was worded too ambiguously:

6. What if you find a girl from school (younger than uni age) wandering the hallway or stuck somewhere and she reveals herself (intentionally or unintentionally) as a robot?

In my head, I was thinking that, if you found a girl from school (or in school) of a certain age, that you would also be in school and that age as well. For example, if you were in ninth grade and a fellow student had serious problems in physical education class and you were selected to bring her to the nurse, but on the way there she started to be in terrible distress and started to obviously malfunction, and she needed you to help her. I didn't mean that you were some adult in a park and a random school-age girl comes up to you and tells you her secret. Sorry for the misunderstanding!

But the way you guys came to my defense and stood up for me, that was really, really sweet, and even a little unexpected. It was a great birthday (anniversary-of-being-built-day?) present for me, seeing how many friends and other friendly people were here on the board, and knowing that many of you easily defended and tried to protect me. It means a lot, so thank you to everyone!

Okay, so now I can look forward to new replies on this thread, right? No reason to stick to the prescribed scenarios, either; mainly I'm curious what would happen and how you'd react if some of the more realistic incidences in stories posted here happened in the real world, the world we all live in and share, not the fantasy world in the stories. I've loved reading the responses so far, and I look forward to reading many more.

Thank you all,
Catie

[DollSpace]

I misunderstood question #6 too.... I thought you were talking about a fembot in high school, looking to be 18 years old.
In light of your above post, question #6 veers into topics that do not belong on Fembot Central.

Yeah, I fail at trying to explain myself apparently... it's ok, though, we can just ignore that question! I was mainly thinking about 18-year-olds, too, but, in attempting to clarify things, I made it worse by suddenly skewing my idea younger. So, yeah, pretend I said "if you met a girl while attending university". That should make things better. Sorry for the misunderstanding, and thanks for pointing it out.

~Catie

[Teknophile]

Whew! Nice to finally have all that stuff cleared up.

Thanks for starting this thread, Catie. I think you've given everyone a lot to think about - writing fembot fiction is fun, but you're right that there is a big difference between what often happens in our fiction and how we would really react if those situations presented themselves in the real world.

... It would be interesting to know what everyone here would do if you found out a girl you knew was an android but she remained unaware of that fact....

No reason to stick to the prescribed scenarios, either; mainly I'm curious what would happen and how you'd react if some of the more realistic incidences in stories posted here happened in the real world, the world we all live in and share, not the fantasy world in the stories. ...

First, in response to your new scenario/thought experiment, I think this sounds like one of those things you should tell the other person if you care about them at all.

And even if you don't know them personally, if you somehow learn that there's this big, important piece of self-awareness that they're missing, I really think that there's a moral obligation to at least present what you've observed, then let them make up their own minds about whether they believe it or what to do with the information.

In general, I guess my own response to any sort of "meet a fembot" scenario - or to anything out of the ordinary, really - is built on a personal philosophy of "take life and human beings as they come", coupled with what my Ethics and Values professor would call Utilitarianism, where the goal is to bring about the greatest aggregate good for myself and everyone else.

At least so far in my life, I have encountered very few things that really shock me, though I often find myself annoyed when people make bad decisions without taking time to consider consequences and their effect on everybody involved. That being said, it seems I've still retained a capacity to savor pleasant surprises.

If someone ever came out and told me that they were an android - or that there was anything of importance that I hadn't known before - I'm sure my response would be something like, "Okay. So, how does this affect your feelings and your life? Our relationship (if any)? Is there anything you want me to do differently now that you've told me this?" If it were a major problem like an addiction or bad debt, I'd probably try to offer some kind of help, but since we're specifically talking about the android/robot issue, that really doesn't matter here.

On another note, Happy (belated) Birthday! Or, if you prefer, Happy (belated) Inception Date! And may you have many more!

[WinterRose]

1. What would you do if you bump into a girl on a crowded street and knock her into a fountain, and she starts malfunctioning?

If she visibly sparked and malfunctioned in a way that others around me could tell she was not human, I'd call the cops, then while waiting, go through her purse for a home address or phone number so I could let her creator know what's going on. If she just looked like a human having a grand mal seizure, then I'd call her an ambulance, then do the same thing.

2. What would you do if a girl you've been going out with for a little bit told you she wanted to tell you a secret, and opened up a service panel right in front of you?

Ask her if she was human once. If so, how did this happen, and could it be done to me as well? If not, thank her very much for being honest with me, and continue the relationship.

3. What would you do if you're walking alone and come across a badly damaged girl you think is drunk at first, or high, but then see sparks coming from sections of her body?

Take her home, see if she has contact info to get in touch with someone that can repair her.

4. What if a good friend of yours wakes you up at night with a frantic sounding plea to help her before she shuts down, and you realise by the way she's acting that she's not exactly human?

Ask her what she needs me to do for her. Then do it.

5. What if a random girl tells you (and proves) she's a robot, and asks you to help her get away from whoever owns her because they're hurting her or keep her prisoner?

Let her know she can come with me. We need to go right now. We'll figure out the following steps after that.

6. What if you find a girl from school (younger than uni age) wandering the hallway or stuck somewhere and she reveals herself (intentionally or unintentionally) as a robot?

Intentionally, ask her what I can do to help her. Unintentionally, watch her for a bit to make sure she's not a threat. If so, call the cops.

[keraptis]

Ask her if she was human once. If so, how did this happen, and could it be done to me as well?

I love it.

[Grendizer]

I honestly believe I'm actually a robot (or some variant of).

"Or some variant" says everything. What do you deem to be a robot? If you mean that you are a machine, then you are correct. "Machine" covers a lot. Some people think we live in a simulation, because given the possibility of any civilization in cosmic history achieving sufficient computational capability, the majority of "life" would not exist in "wetware" but in some computational substrate (effectively, we could all be algorithms running in a metaverse). Even if we are not simulations, we are still machines. In fact, we are existence-proof that molecular manufacturing (advanced nanotechnology) is possible. Our cells are essentially nanites, machines whose functional components are smaller than the width of a human hair by orders of magnitude. It is the gestalt of these trillions of machines running in concert that produces the contrast with the crude tools which are usually labeled "machines." Even if one posits the existence of a soul, that feature of our reality still must interface with our machine-self, and thus becomes part of the machine. In short, the reason you have no access panels to show is that they are all too small to see.

You (and everyone else around here) should watch this, and marvel at the true beauty of the mechanical you.

1. What would you do if you bump into a girl on a crowded street and knock her into a fountain, and she starts malfunctioning?

Point and laugh, because Allen Funt won't get his pound of flesh out of me! I've been waiting, Funt. I knew you'd come after me! I knew it!

2. What would you do if a girl you've been going out with for a little bit told you she wanted to tell you a secret, and opened up a service panel right in front of you?

What have you been putting in my Kool-Aid, Allen Funt?! And exactly what kind of mushrooms do they use at Pizza Hut anyway? Come to that, the pizza boy did look suspicious. And old. And Funty.

3. What would you do if you're walking alone and come across a badly damaged girl you think is drunk at first, or high, but then see sparks coming from sections of her body?

Why are you stalking me, Allen Funt? Aren't you satisfied with the most unique last name in human history? Can't you be sated with the comical ruination of lives you've ridden on your road to fame and fortune?! Curses!

4. What if a good friend of yours wakes you up at night with a frantic sounding plea to help her before she shuts down, and you realise by the way she's acting that she's not exactly human?

Damn you, Funt. You've meddled in my affairs for the last time! Even I gave you a pass on that Dan Quayle silly string stunt when I was a boy (I mean, even evil genius is still genius), but now you've gone too far.

5. What if a random girl tells you (and proves) she's a robot, and asks you to help her get away from whoever owns her because they're hurting her or keep her prisoner?

I have many weapons. But there is only one Allen Funt. You do the math.

6. What if you find a girl from school (younger than uni age) wandering the hallway or stuck somewhere and she reveals herself (intentionally or unintentionally) as a robot?[/i]

The problem with being on Candid Camera while under the influence of exotic hallucinogens is that you have to take drastic measures right from the start. I mean, I'm talking wormholes and other associated phantasmagoria here. Only a fool would stop at talking rainbow-striped ponies, not when the robots have come for us all, and through no fault of our own have proven to be delectable femme fatales in the bargain! I'll have the last laugh, Funt, I promise you. When they find me curled up in a ball crying to myself in the bathtub, they'll have to conclude the obvious: here lies a man of vision. Or "visions." Whatever. I'm not picky.

[Deep Blue]

1.It's no way to go, I damaged her, I should pay for it.

2,4. I will ask can I own her not. Or I will find the manufacturer to ask them to provide a bot in same looking.

3,6. Just like a lost wallet, call the owner to take her back.

5. I will find more information first, it seems not wise to judge the right and wrong too early.

The technology improving fast, that is not strange if those become reality!

[iesstpdr]

1. What would you do if you bump into a girl on a crowded street and knock her into a fountain, and she starts malfunctioning?
Create a distraction, call a taxi, toss her in, and get to a safehouse.

2. What would you do if a girl you've been going out with for a little bit told you she wanted to tell you a secret, and opened up a service panel right in front of you?
Get out my pocket toolkit and offer a tune up.

3. What would you do if you're walking alone and come across a badly damaged girl you think is drunk at first, or high, but then see sparks coming from sections of her body?
My first answer, then my second answer, only with more tools.

4. What if a good friend of yours wakes you up at night with a frantic sounding plea to help her before she shuts down, and you realise by the way she's acting that she's not exactly human?
Diagnose the problem, come up with a list of possible solutions, and act depending on the severity of the situation. Oh, and make sure she's plugged in first.

5. What if a random girl tells you (and proves) she's a robot, and asks you to help her get away from whoever owns her because they're hurting her or keep her prisoner?
Gather a crack team of commandoes and electrical engineers and get a theme song.

6. What if you find a girl from school (younger than uni age) wandering the hallway or stuck somewhere and she reveals herself (intentionally or unintentionally) as a robot?
Combine all of my previous answers.