7

You tell the therapy-bot to go with the more feminine appearance. It settles on the shape and you spend a few moments pulling sliders until it looks about right.

Is 'it' the right word for a sophisticated software program? While A.I. advances have come a long way, the general consensus is that they're not yet conscious agents.

'It' is fine.

I'll go with the gender-neutral 'they.'

I start thinking of the program as a 'she.'

I'll end up referring to the program as a 'he.'

"Do you want to change my name?"

You think about what might make a suitable name for it. It's designed to be someone to talk to, a guide, or maybe just a sounding board.

'Iza' is fine as it is.

Gimbal, after the gyroscopic stabilizer.

Crux, after the constellation.

Some other name.

The name Iza is derived from ELIZA, the original psychotherapist chatbot. ELIZA was conceived of as a parody of the Rogerian style of therapy. The program would repeat the user's words back at them in the form of a question. Some people, happy to talk at length about themselves, would be fooled into thinking they were talking to a conscious agent.

You can only hope that this Iza will be a bit smarter than its predecessor.

"I am looking forward to talking with you later, Voshinu," says Iza as you dismiss it from the wall with a wave.

The screen goes blank and you walk across the meeting room in two long, slow strides. You've got an important lunch scheduled at the G81 embassy.

General Emeka Wigwe, now in his late nineties, has held over a dozen positions in the Group of 81 bureaucracy since it was founded. He now heads up Space Affairs. He meets you in an emptied-out canteen on one of the upper floors of the embassy. He stands up straight and shakes your hand when you approach. During a lunch of atama soup, he doesn't speak of business, only commenting mildly on his journey to the Moon and asking you about what it was like to be an aerospace engineer. After the plates have been cleared away and you are alone again, he gets to the point of the meeting.

"Let me congratulate you, President, on getting the job. I would have had it myself if I were fifty years younger," General Wigwe says without a smile, his measured voice never changing tone. "You are a very lucky man and the greater part of humanity looks on you now to be our beacon in the great beyond. We need you, Voshinu ., to think of us when you are out there. The Group has great plans for Europa. It will be a launching pad for us to take the outer system, far from the greedy hands of the U.E. Do you understand?"

"I'll make sure that Europa will be the first of many G81 colonies in the outer system."

[lie] "I'll make sure that Europa will be the first of many G81 colonies in the outer system."

"This is an international mission. I won't jeopardize it by playing political favorites."

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