AI Crisis (9): New Xiaobai

Three days later, Tan Xiao once again parked his car in front of his house. He opened the trunk, and the space in the passenger seat and back seat was almost completely filled with items, packed to the brim, as if he had just raided a supermarket.

He had left early in the morning, driving to several places, not only visiting supermarkets but also specialized shops that sold and repaired robots, as well as some unregulated stores with special channels.

Xiao Bai, wagging its tail as it greeted him, couldn’t help but ask, “Why did you buy so many things today?”

Just two days ago, Tan Xiao and Wen Yi had returned with a large haul of groceries, and the fridge at home was still mostly full, with only some vegetables and fruits consumed.

Of course, Xiao Bai couldn’t blame Tan Xiao. After all, Tan Xiao was the true head of the household, responsible for all the expenses, including property fees, maintenance fees, and other household costs.

It turned its reproachful gaze to Wen Yi: “Why didn’t you go with Ah Xiao this time? You made him work so hard.”

Xiao Bai, being a nanny-type robot, was not allowed in some large supermarkets, as non-humanoid robots were often barred from entry.

But Wen Yi, whose appearance gave no hint of being a robot, with his robot code hidden inconspicuously on the inner side of his arm, could easily pass as human.

“It’s fine, I drove there, and I used the shopping carts in the supermarket to push everything to the parking lot. It wasn’t too troublesome.”

In reality, carrying so many things alone was not easy. Tan Xiao had to make several trips to fill the trunk and the rest of the car.

He defended Wen Yi: “Besides, I told him not to come with me. Let’s not talk about this anymore. Xiao Bai, bring the cart over and help Wen Yi carry the things inside.”

Two days ago, Tan Xiao and Wen Yi had gone to the mall and bought a lot of things for the house. But just two days later, they added a large freezer to the household.

This time, Tan Xiao bought items based on the freezer’s capacity. He didn’t buy much fresh food, just some rice, flour, oil, a few pounds of ribs, and some lamb. There was already plenty of human food at home, and he had stocked up on meat for about a month.

After all, he was the only human eating, so there was no need to buy too much. He didn’t buy much fresh produce, but he did stock up on non-perishable items. He bought a lot of high-efficiency nutritional drinks that he usually didn’t like but could be stored for a long time, as well as some long-lasting instant foods.

Xiao Bai looked at the instant food and said, “Ah Xiao, eating too much instant food is unhealthy.”

As an excellent nanny robot, Xiao Bai was very concerned about Tan Xiao’s dietary health. Unless Tan Xiao ate out, all three meals at home were prepared by Xiao Bai itself.

Xiao Bai paid great attention to health, using specialized nutritional recipes.

But today, besides the nutritional drinks, Tan Xiao had bought a large amount of instant noodles, compressed biscuits, canned meat, cold-soaked rice that could be prepared with cold water, and long-lasting smoked meat and ham.

Most of these items contained a lot of additives, making them quite unhealthy.

Although Tan Xiao earned all the money, Xiao Bai also knew that he worked hard for it. If he spent it recklessly, Xiao Bai would advise against it. It couldn’t stand by and watch its little master head down a clearly wrong path.

“In the face of survival, health isn’t that important.”

Tan Xiao explained, “I read some post-apocalyptic novels yesterday, and while shopping at the supermarket, I felt like buying some things to stock up, to increase my sense of security. I won’t buy too much.”

The main reason was that this shopping spree had almost emptied his savings, and in the short term, he wouldn’t have the money to buy more.

Moreover, if the events he speculated about didn’t happen soon, it would take a long time to consume all these items.

Since he had a sense of proportion, Xiao Bai felt reassured. It was hard to put a price on Tan Xiao’s happiness. Although this hobby was a bit expensive, it was money that Tan Xiao had worked hard to earn, and Xiao Bai wouldn’t interfere with it.

Wen Yi didn’t say anything, just silently helped carry all the things into the house.

He wasn’t as concerned about Tan Xiao’s financial situation as Xiao Bai was. Even if Tan Xiao had spent a significant amount, given the savings from his years of work, Wen Yi could easily help him out if he suddenly found himself in debt.

After all, Wen Yi’s role was different from Xiao Bai’s. He wasn’t as useless as that little white dog.

In Wen Yi’s eyes, the money Tan Xiao spent was insignificant. If Tan Xiao needed money, Wen Yi could find ways to get a lot of it.

In the virtual network, there were many dormant black accounts, some of which belonged to deceased owners, making them ownerless.

Besides these, Wen Yi could also use legal means to earn money, such as buying lottery tickets or making profits in the stock market.

Humans found it hard to earn this kind of money because, despite the advanced state of the internet, there were still information gaps. Not everything was recorded and shared online.

But Wen Yi was different. He wasn’t human; he was a super AI capable of handling an enormous amount of computations simultaneously.

Thinking of this, Wen Yi gently asked, “Ah Xiao, are you short on money?”

Short? Of course, he was short. Today’s shopping spree had wiped out years of savings, and he even owed the bank a few tens of thousands in loans, with slightly high but regulated interest rates.

But hearing this question, he still shook his head: “Not for now.”

Tan Xiao quickly emptied the car, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and then tightly closed the door, drawing the curtains.

The house was already equipped with one-way windows, ensuring absolute privacy for the residents. But for some reason, people felt safer with thick curtains drawn over transparent glass.

Tan Xiao put on a pair of thin black insulated gloves and, with the soft gloves on, began sorting through the items he had bought today.

Xiao Bai kept exclaiming in surprise: “You bought so many strawberry batteries! Did you strike it rich?”

“You also bought a lot of energy drinks! Energy drinks are so expensive. Why not just charge up?”

It thought the items in the car were all nutritional drinks, but they were just the top layer. Beneath them were energy drinks, lubricants, and new parts for robots.

Previously, the house only had Xiao Bai, an old robot, and they didn’t deliberately stock up on supplies. But this time, Tan Xiao had bought a lot of robot-related items.

“This is the advanced home repair toolkit that was advertised before!”

Xiao Bai said, “Ah Xiao, are you planning to switch careers and become a mecha repair technician?”

Tan Xiao’s main profession was painting, but in today’s society, painting wasn’t considered a prestigious career. Although he earned a decent income, his social status couldn’t compare to that of politicians or wealthy businessmen.

However, whether in politics or business, these were distant realms for ordinary people. One important way to climb the social ladder was to join the military and work in mecha-related fields.

This world did have mechas, but they weren’t like the ones in some sci-fi works that could change size and were entirely controlled by mental power. The so-called mechas were essentially giant robots.

To put it simply, mechas were similar in role to fighter jets or tanks, just in the form of robots. These mechas were highly valued by the government as special weapons.

The mecha-related industry was a famously booming sector in this era: good pay and high social status.

Tan Xiao shook his head: “Don’t think about such things. I don’t have the talent for that. Let’s move the stuff. Sort out your and Wen Yi’s things and put them in your respective areas.”

The house was large, with plenty of rooms. There was a small room dedicated to Xiao Bai, with a dog bed, a mini doghouse, lots of toys that dogs love, and plenty of snacks that Xiao Bai enjoyed.

As a robot, Xiao Bai was designed with many traits similar to real dogs, so it enjoyed things that real dogs would like, such as big bones, frisbees, and so on.

For example, the two rows of strawberry batteries Tan Xiao had bought for Xiao Bai were stored here. Of course, after three days, the two rows had dwindled to half a row.

But this time, Tan Xiao had bought a hundred rows of strawberry batteries, stacked high, quite a sight to behold.

Xiao Bai’s dog eyes almost turned into strawberry batteries. It wagged its tail, feeling incredulous: “Are all these for me?”

After the initial joy, it couldn’t help but worry: “Normal temperature, normal temperature, normal temperature.”

Xiao Bai jumped around, touching Tan Xiao’s hand, then his forehead, and even his belly.

It even tried to go for Tan Xiao’s butt, but Tan Xiao dodged it.

“Xiao Bai, stop messing around!” Tan Xiao was too tired to play with Xiao Bai right now.

Xiao Bai said, “According to data analysis, if you haven’t struck it rich, then you must have a fever. I was just trying to check your temperature.”

After all, temperatures taken from the hand or forehead might not be accurate. Rectal, armpit, or oral temperatures were the most precise.

Tan Xiao refused Xiao Bai’s antics. He turned on the TV and projected the computer screen onto a clean white wall.

On the TV news channel, a very serene-looking female anchor was solemnly reporting on the recent events in District 5.

Tan Xiao pointed at the news on the TV and computer: “See? The situation in District 5 hasn’t been suppressed. Instead, it’s escalating, and now even the federal news is covering it.”

Many parents in District 5 had significant influence, and with so many of them protesting, the internet was flooded with discussions about the incident.

In fact, on the first day the incident broke out, the authorities had tried to suppress the news, but it only backfired, making the situation worse.

Moreover, it seemed like some force was behind it, fueling the fire and blaming everything on robots.

Especially the robots involved in the incident, which were products of major corporations.

“But what does this have to do with me?” Xiao Bai tilted its head in confusion. It was an old robot dog, long past its service life and due for retirement.

Tan Xiao said, “Actually, before today, it had nothing to do with you. But after today, it does.”

Due to the escalating impact of the District 5 incident, the stock prices of the robotics industry had plummeted in recent days. Even top companies like KK Smart Company had heavily discounted many of their products.

Of course, their executives had come forward to assure the public that their products were safe.

This move was supposed to be a good thing, but during a live broadcast, one company’s humanoid robot malfunctioned, causing the CEO to die in front of millions of viewers.

Although the malfunctioning robot was taken away and sent to a place similar to a human crematorium, the incident further agitated the already uneasy public, exacerbating the negative impact.

The video of the incident was recorded and quickly spread online. In just two days, the number of viewers grew from millions to billions, even tens of billions.

The company’s market value plummeted that day, losing 90% of its value. The next day, it dropped another 5% from the remaining 10%, hitting the bottom line and being forcibly delisted.

This was the financial impact. In reality, companies in the robotics industry were thoroughly investigated, and the media began to heavily criticize humanoid robots.

Capitalists jumped in, muddying the waters even further. Some small intelligent robot companies specializing in mechas immediately declared bankruptcy. Although Tan Xiao saw such news and thought they were just riding the wave or had planned this move in advance.

Xiao Bai, the nanny robot, was also a product of KK Smart Company, but it was an older model, a low-end robot in the nanny series.

This series had been popular for a while after its release, but as new products came out, the older models with lower sales were discontinued.

Tan Xiao had previously been unable to buy replacement parts for Xiao Bai because the related products had stopped production, and he didn’t have enough money to have a production line reopened just for him.

“Xiao Bai, both you and Wen Yi are products of KK Smart Company. With KK Smart Company’s reputation taking a hit online, I’m worried you might get damaged if you go out.”

Xiao Bai was made of older materials, which, although metal, were easily damaged by humans.

As for Wen Yi, his materials seemed special, especially his skin, which was highly realistic.

Even though Tan Xiao knew Wen Yi might not be as vulnerable as he thought, he couldn’t help but worry about him getting hurt.

“Why blame us robots? It’s humans fighting among themselves.”

Not all adults were like Tan Xiao, who had been adorable since childhood and grew up to be an excellent adult despite a somewhat rough environment.

Some people from the so-called upper echelons were rotten to the core from birth. Flowers growing in dark mud might look clean and elegant on the surface, but their roots were still covered in filth.

Even Xiao Bai, a little dog, knew that the situation wasn’t simple.

But the online mob didn’t care. Whether online or offline, some people seemed to have found a high-traffic event to vent their frustrations, and the situation escalated like fire fueled by oil.

When Tan Xiao drove out today, he noticed that some robot staff in stores had been damaged.

The people who damaged these robots were quite deliberate. They say you shouldn’t hit someone’s face, even when fighting with robots, since their faces aren’t real. A punch might dent them, but they could be repaired with some money.

Of course, these damaged robots were quickly replaced, and human employees seemed to have increased in District 7.

The fact that events in District 5 had such a significant impact on District 7 seemed abnormal.

Moreover, those so-called upper-class people were exclusive and cold-hearted, not caring much about ordinary people’s lives. They only appeared amiable when canvassing for votes, and even that was a facade.

“People from Districts 10 and 11 are likely behind this. They’ve always used such rhetoric, exaggerating the threat of artificial intelligence.”

Of course, he didn’t want to spend money unnecessarily, but for Tan Xiao, nothing was more important than the family and lover he had chosen.

He didn’t have much to begin with, and Xiao Bai and Wen Yi were irreplaceable to him.

“I brought these things back, and I won’t be going out for a while. I can work from home.”

He used to not care much about growing plants at home, only keeping a few spider plants and cacti.

But this time, he brought back some vegetable and fruit seeds, planning to plant them in the newly arrived empty pots or use small bottles for hydroponics, so he wouldn’t run out of food even if he didn’t go out.

“Maybe things aren’t as bad as I think. Just consider it my overactive imagination.”

Tan Xiao didn’t have powerful computational abilities. As a lower-class person in this hierarchical society, his access to information was limited.

Much of his understanding was based on the current situation and the severity of the news.

More importantly, a mysterious sixth sense told him that conflicts would escalate, and the streets might become very unsafe.

If a major conflict broke out, home wouldn’t be entirely safe, but staying in a fortified house was definitely safer than being defenseless outside.

Tan Xiao said, “I bought a lot of materials to reinforce the house. Let’s work hard these next few days to make our home safer.”

Wen Yi was an excellent robot and didn’t need to spend extra money hiring other robot workers. They could do the work themselves at home.

“I’m just worried that if things get chaotic, supplies might be cut off, and we won’t be able to buy things for a while. So I stocked up on some essentials, just in case.”

Modern society was great in many ways, but it was highly dependent on government-provided utilities like water, electricity, and gas. He bought so many things to prepare for potential disruptions, such as power, water, or gas outages.

Xiao Bai became very enthusiastic again. Its simple mind couldn’t hold too many complex thoughts, so it quickly put aside the unrelated issues.

It happily raised its paw, patting its furry chest as it assured Tan Xiao: “Don’t worry, Xiao Bai will definitely protect our home. No bad guys will get past me!”

Tan Xiao didn’t hesitate to praise Xiao Bai. He knew Xiao Bai was a good dog: “Good, I know Xiao Bai is the best. I can count on you to keep our home safe!”

Wen Yi, seeing the gentle smile in Tan Xiao’s eyes as he looked at Xiao Bai, also wanted to hear some praise from his lover: “I’ll help too.”

Yes, this house was once Tan Xiao and Xiao Bai’s home, and now it was Wen Yi’s home too. He was happy to do anything for his home.

Wen Yi’s brain was multi-threaded. While helping Tan Xiao sort and arrange the items, he also used the parts Tan Xiao had bought to assemble a new body for Xiao Bai.

Yes, Tan Xiao had previously decided to give Xiao Bai a new shell. He didn’t want Xiao Bai to become obsolete and fall into eternal sleep due to its old body.

Before this, Tan Xiao hadn’t considered doing it himself, as doing so would save some money but the quality wouldn’t be guaranteed.

But with Wen Yi, a super AI, involved, things were different.

Soon, Wen Yi and Tan Xiao had created a new shell for Xiao Bai.

To be precise, Wen Yi did the work, and Tan Xiao assisted him.

Tan Xiao carefully removed Xiao Bai’s chip from its old body, made three backup copies, and then inserted the original chip into the new shell.

All this was done as a precaution, as Tan Xiao felt he couldn’t bear the pain of losing Xiao Bai.

Xiao Bai, now in its new body, let out a triumphant laugh: “Hahaha! I feel so powerful! These new parts are great, no lag at all.”

Xiao Bai tried connecting to the internet: “Xiao Bai feels like it has a new brain!”

Tan Xiao asked, “Xiao Bai, do you like your new body?”

Actually, Xiao Bai’s new body wasn’t much different in appearance from the old one. It was still a cute cloud-shaped dog, but now it had a delicate diamond crown on its head.

“I like it! Xiao Bai likes it!”

Robots had their own preferences, and Xiao Bai, being a self-aware robot, could certainly tell the difference between the two bodies.

The new body had more functions, a more advanced firewall, and greater strength.

Tan Xiao breathed a sigh of relief: “Great, Xiao Bai is still the same Xiao Bai. It didn’t disappear after changing bodies!”