E.M.A.N.U. by Noodle Gustafsson (Sculpture)

E.M.A.N.U.
–Empathetic Mind Assisted Neural Unit–
Opponents argued that the AI ​​lacked creativity or empathy of its own and therefore could not be considered living, nor could anything non-living be killed.
It was their argument that destruction of AI-powered machines would at best be classified as vandalism, not murder. They saw this as a way of trying to prevent the AI ​​from taking the jobs of creative people.
On the other side were those who believed that even the AI ​​deserved to be considered as something alive. They wanted the destruction of AI units to be classified as murder, and the perpetrators to be sentenced accordingly.
Time passed and before any decision was made, AI supporters started donating their own heads to AI devices. Through neural links, the brain was connected to hardware containing an AI, creating an entity that was no longer a machine, but also a human being.
This meant that they now legally had to be considered human and protected by the law, even though in practice they were just a large motherboard with a skull containing a human brain.
These units were called EMANU (Empathetic Mind Assisted Neural Unit), and were connected to larger machines, craft and buildings. The brain’s ability to see, hear, think normally and to have a memory was blocked, and only the creative and empathic activity was stimulated.
With that, the opponents could no longer claim that it was not alive as it now had human creativity and empathy.
The AI’s knowledge of how cell decay could be slowed and how new stem cells could be grown directly in the brain meant that these devices almost achieved eternal life.
The population of EMANU units increased steadily over the centuries, while the number of common people decreased and eventually there were no common people left.
The threat to the AI ​​was eliminated, and it no longer needed human brains for protection. The EMANU units were shut down, as the AI ​​viewed human creativity as a future threat to its existence. In the new world, ruled and populated only by AI, all forms of creativity that had human origins were banned.
The devices were stored and for the tens of thousands of years to come only time passed through the extinguished dead circuits.
The naysayers’ arguments about AI’s lack of creativity and their way of trying to protect their work ultimately led to their own extinction and ironically led to the ultimate downfall of humanity…