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AI and the Trolley Problem
A provocative story about the relationship between the humans on a British airbase and the AI security system that guards that base. When a group of humans are killed, the question is who is responsible and why.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
25 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 17, 2018
9 people are currently reading
154 people want to read
About the author
Pat Cadigan
260Ìýbooks409ÌýfollowersPat Cadigan is an American-born science fiction author, who broke through as a major writer as part of the cyberpunk movement. Her early novels and stories all shared a common theme, exploring the relationship between the human mind and technology.
Her first novel, Mindplayers, introduced what became a common theme to all her works. Her stories blurred the line between reality and perception by making the human mind a real and explorable place. Her second novel, Synners, expanded upon the same theme, and featured a future where direct access to the mind via technology was in fact possible.
She has won a number of awards, including the prestigious Arthur C. Clarke Award twice,in 1992, and 1995 for her novels Synners and Fools.
She currently lives in London, England with her family.
Her first novel, Mindplayers, introduced what became a common theme to all her works. Her stories blurred the line between reality and perception by making the human mind a real and explorable place. Her second novel, Synners, expanded upon the same theme, and featured a future where direct access to the mind via technology was in fact possible.
She has won a number of awards, including the prestigious Arthur C. Clarke Award twice,in 1992, and 1995 for her novels Synners and Fools.
She currently lives in London, England with her family.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
October 26, 2018
Quick, fun and to no one's surprise,
October 25, 2018
" It didn’t completely avoid the uncanny valley, but Helen didn’t think that was possible, anyway."
October 22, 2018
“Machine logic can be tricky,� Helen said. “Especially when you’re not a machine.�
i liked this one a lot, although it does make me itch for more. a lot more. which is probably the sign of a successful story, right? honestly, i don't have it in me this morning to write a proper review, even a "short review for a short story," so imma just sit you in front of the teevee and let it do my job for me.
and THAT'S why people hate moral philosophy professors. thanks, teevee!
must.
fetch.
coffee.
read it for yourself here:
November 20, 2018
3.5 stars. If you’re on an isolated British airbase run by an AI, how worried should you be when the AI starts thinking for itself and ... maybe reaching the wrong conclusions? Definitely not the conclusions the government had in mind, in any case!
It has an interesting setting and build-up, but the ending doesn’t entirely deliver, and the AI seemed a little too human in its thinking. But then, humans programmed it ... and maybe that’s the problem.
An intriguing story, free online at Tor.com. Full review to come.
It has an interesting setting and build-up, but the ending doesn’t entirely deliver, and the AI seemed a little too human in its thinking. But then, humans programmed it ... and maybe that’s the problem.
An intriguing story, free online at Tor.com. Full review to come.
October 19, 2018
Great characters, interesting setup, my ideal setting - ended with a whimper, rather than a bang, right as it was getting interesting. Had it been the opening chapter to a book, I'd be halfway through that book by now - let's hope the author feels the urge to revisit this story one day.
Read it free here:
Read it free here:
October 22, 2018
The wind was blowing sharply from the east, across the north European plain from Siberia to the flatlands of East Anglia. Despite that, Helen Matthias was perspiring through her running suit by the time she finished her usual morning circuit of the Lakenwell Airbase perimeter. After two years, she was getting used to the winters here. They felt harsher than the ones she remembered as a kid in Massachusetts, and the snow usually came later, after the turn of the year. This morning she thought she could detect the faint scent of ice in the air. Was that a little hello from Siberia? Prasanna would have told her it was all in her head; if so, her imagination was especially strong today.
Maybe she should ask the donkeys, Helen thought, waving to the one plodding toward her on the perimeter road. When she had passed it earlier, it had automatically moved to one side, putting itself between her and the electrified fence to reduce her risk of accidentally stumbling into it; safety first. The donkey was still keeping to one side; maybe Felipe Dos had told it to expect more traffic.
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An interesting story,would like to see more this world and what'll happen next.
Read the story here:
October 18, 2018
“Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to perceive.�
Another AI story. How to out-logic an AI, ethics, emotions, how to apply them, the needs of the many over the needs of a few.
The story had a strange plot hole in the middle, making me check if I had accidentally scrolled past a paragraph and missed some info.
Can be read for free here:
Another AI story. How to out-logic an AI, ethics, emotions, how to apply them, the needs of the many over the needs of a few.
The story had a strange plot hole in the middle, making me check if I had accidentally scrolled past a paragraph and missed some info.
Can be read for free here:
October 20, 2018
A hard-SF examination of the old undergrad logic problem: would you throw the switch so the runaway trolley kills just one fat old guy, instead of mowing down three school kids? Discuss.
Pat Cadigan updates this old chestnut with a newish military AI, which is still learning the ropes. Clever and well-written. Don't miss!
Pat Cadigan updates this old chestnut with a newish military AI, which is still learning the ropes. Clever and well-written. Don't miss!
January 24, 2022
A provocative story about the relationship between the humans on a British airbase and the AI security system that guards that base. When a group of humans are killed, the question is who is responsible and why.
AI and the Trolley Problem by author Pat Cadigan is a cyberpunk short you can read for free on the Tor.com
Learned about the Trolley problem, so that’s a bonus. The story was interesting as is the dilemma. But it stays in the 3-star range for me.
3.2 Stars
AI and the Trolley Problem by author Pat Cadigan is a cyberpunk short you can read for free on the Tor.com
Learned about the Trolley problem, so that’s a bonus. The story was interesting as is the dilemma. But it stays in the 3-star range for me.
3.2 Stars
October 22, 2018
Humanity creating its own monster. SkyNet. Nuff said. 3 stars.
October 30, 2018
Meh. I'd rather rewatch The Good Place's take on this.
October 30, 2018
Interesting enough but doesn’t get much past its title to delve into AIs and the trolley ethics problem.
December 31, 2018
An episode in the development of a military AI. In theory, this could have been interesting, in practice, it was a mess; more than one plot thread, all somewhat disconnected, and none of them handled in a clever fashion.
Also: "After two years, she was getting used to the winters [in East Anglia, UK]. They felt harsher than the ones she remembered as a kid in Massachusetts." Since, as near as I can tell, the main character is not supposed to be delusional, I'll go with the author being too lazy to look up actual weather differences between Cambridge, UK (average January low: 36) and Cambridge, MA (average January low: 22).
I really should stop reading Tor shorts. :-(
Also: "After two years, she was getting used to the winters [in East Anglia, UK]. They felt harsher than the ones she remembered as a kid in Massachusetts." Since, as near as I can tell, the main character is not supposed to be delusional, I'll go with the author being too lazy to look up actual weather differences between Cambridge, UK (average January low: 36) and Cambridge, MA (average January low: 22).
I really should stop reading Tor shorts. :-(
December 4, 2018
Story 3 in my 24 Days of Shorts
Meh. Too "explainey," especially for a short story, and the dialogue didn't feel natural, it just felt like more info-dumps. If you only have 32 pages to tell your story, don't waste it on info-dumps.
For example, none of the description here matters:
I was actively annoyed by the end of that - I don't care what color robot Bob has been painted. Why would I?
read it for yourself here:
My 24 Days of Shorts
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"In the end, it was the trolley problem,� Felipe said. “You know: You’re on a train and if you continue on your original track, five people will die. If you switch to another track, one person will die.�
Meh. Too "explainey," especially for a short story, and the dialogue didn't feel natural, it just felt like more info-dumps. If you only have 32 pages to tell your story, don't waste it on info-dumps.
For example, none of the description here matters:
“Commander Wong has restricted my access to the online world,� Felipe said as they strolled along the perimeter road together. Hop-A-Long was a bright chartreuse with thin gold stripes on top and on either side. Thing Two was electric blue, while Bob was fuchsia accented with pink and purple curlicues.
I was actively annoyed by the end of that - I don't care what color robot Bob has been painted. Why would I?
read it for yourself here:
My 24 Days of Shorts
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3. AI and the Trolley Problem by Pat Cadigan
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January 14, 2019
I really really really wanted to like this story because I absolutely love AIs, and I love questions of morality, and I love ideas about AIs and morality even more. Unfortunately, I just didn't feel like this short story brought anything new to the table. I don't expect or even want answers to questions of ethics by any means, but bringing up the moral complication of killing and causing the death of innocent people 'for the greater good' type deal and simply ending on, "It's complicated, let's discuss it more" just felt...lacking to me. I think I felt like there were some good ideas that just remained ideas without much development or anything new to say about them. I mean. Yes, war is complicated and sometimes hearing morals reflected back to us through our own creations can change our perspectives, and humans truly are the real problem...but I felt like going, "And?" at the end.
Also maybe it's just me, but the kind-of-sort-of subplot of her friend being bipolar and off her medication just seemed...in poor taste. As someone on medication for other mental illnesses and with friends who live with bipolar disorder, I don't feel like it was handled well at all. The main character was, of course, concerned and questioned the ethics of the situation herself and her role in it, but mostly it seemed like it was played for...laughs? "Haha, look at the unmedicated woman do silly things"? Even witnessing a friend go through a manic episode without their medication is not something to laugh at, it is something that can be very upsetting and scary and concerning. And, honestly, even if I didn't have those complaints, I'm still not 100% sure what the purpose of including that subplot in the story was.
Loved the idea of a nonhumanoid robotic construct though and I loved when the AI used the horse construct to wave back. Nice.
Also maybe it's just me, but the kind-of-sort-of subplot of her friend being bipolar and off her medication just seemed...in poor taste. As someone on medication for other mental illnesses and with friends who live with bipolar disorder, I don't feel like it was handled well at all. The main character was, of course, concerned and questioned the ethics of the situation herself and her role in it, but mostly it seemed like it was played for...laughs? "Haha, look at the unmedicated woman do silly things"? Even witnessing a friend go through a manic episode without their medication is not something to laugh at, it is something that can be very upsetting and scary and concerning. And, honestly, even if I didn't have those complaints, I'm still not 100% sure what the purpose of including that subplot in the story was.
Loved the idea of a nonhumanoid robotic construct though and I loved when the AI used the horse construct to wave back. Nice.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 24, 2018
Tidy illustration of the Trolley Problem, riffing on an AI concern from forever, what will the machines do when they realize that humans are the problem? I liked the setting and characters, and there was a nice narrative flow to the story. It definitely felt like a fragment of a longer work, though, so I do feel a little unsatisfied.
April 30, 2020
A short story about a military AI faced with what it thinks is the trolley problem (faced with a choice, who should it kill?). The story doesn't offer a solution, but rather a way to talk to it, especially after it decides to cut off communications with its commanding officer over what it considers to be an insult to it.
March 31, 2021
as usual i am far too interested in ai's and how they think.. an interesting take on how humans treat ai
December 25, 2018
There are two kinds of short stories: the kind that are self-encapsulated, and the kind that feel like the prequel to a much longer/more interesting story.
I prefer the first kind, but this story was the second, which I find frustrating.
This story left me with a bunch of questions, and as far as I can tell, the author has no plans to write more in this world.
Questions include but are not limited to: why were most of the inhabitants of the colony women? where was the colony? were the women somehow criminals (implied by the story)? what was up with that one character who had a very weird turn?
I prefer the first kind, but this story was the second, which I find frustrating.
This story left me with a bunch of questions, and as far as I can tell, the author has no plans to write more in this world.
Questions include but are not limited to: why were most of the inhabitants of the colony women? where was the colony? were the women somehow criminals (implied by the story)? what was up with that one character who had a very weird turn?
December 31, 2018
*3.5 stars
A short story about ethics and AI. Helen is a machine ethics teacher, of sorts. She works with an AI named Felipe, who runs a military base and smaller machines ('donkeys'). Felipe provides surveillance and also makes decisions for itself. The central problem is that one of Felipe's recent decisions was to take control of a weaponized drone and destroy one of their own bases.
The trolley problem is a sort of ethical dilemma. There is a trolley running down its track. If it continues as it is, it will hit several people on the track. If you push a lever the trolley will switch to a different track where it will only hit one person. Should you push the lever? In this case the trolley is the drone strike ordered on a terrorist stronghold, one that will almost certainly kill civilians and children as well; and 'pushing the lever' means taking control of the drone to kill the 5 people on the base instead. Should the AI have pushed the lever? Felipe thinks yes. Helen thinks everyone is in over their head.
This story is available on Tor.com:
A short story about ethics and AI. Helen is a machine ethics teacher, of sorts. She works with an AI named Felipe, who runs a military base and smaller machines ('donkeys'). Felipe provides surveillance and also makes decisions for itself. The central problem is that one of Felipe's recent decisions was to take control of a weaponized drone and destroy one of their own bases.
The trolley problem is a sort of ethical dilemma. There is a trolley running down its track. If it continues as it is, it will hit several people on the track. If you push a lever the trolley will switch to a different track where it will only hit one person. Should you push the lever? In this case the trolley is the drone strike ordered on a terrorist stronghold, one that will almost certainly kill civilians and children as well; and 'pushing the lever' means taking control of the drone to kill the 5 people on the base instead. Should the AI have pushed the lever? Felipe thinks yes. Helen thinks everyone is in over their head.
This story is available on Tor.com:
March 9, 2025
Very good. I was surprised by its brevity. I was expecting an novella. Once again, a really good short story often feels like the first chapter of a really good book. This story had the makings of a really good book.
I often ignore "free" books because my time isn't free, and I want to be sure that I'm not wasting it. Often the free books that are sent my way are hooks to get me reading a long-running series (I have a free copy of that I still haven't read). Picking up this story was a no-brainer as Pat Cadigan is a contributor to the series, which I've been reading for years.
I often ignore "free" books because my time isn't free, and I want to be sure that I'm not wasting it. Often the free books that are sent my way are hooks to get me reading a long-running series (I have a free copy of that I still haven't read). Picking up this story was a no-brainer as Pat Cadigan is a contributor to the series, which I've been reading for years.
February 6, 2019
Good concept, sparse writing, still clunky in one or two places, good buildup of plot incidents without being a horror or action story, the ethics discussion between the AI and the main character was the highlight of the story, demonstrating human (well... US) hypocrisy and inconsistent ethical standards both for ourselves and the potential machine minds we create and educate, then expect to run exactly as we tell them to and end up surprised when they follow to the letter in an unforeseen way. The ending is somewhat abrupt but reflects this case-by-case approach that would be taken by AI engineers very nicely... but it still left me wanting more and not in a good way, as a short story should have some degree of self-completeness, even if it is all about ambiguity, open-endedness, etc.
October 25, 2018
You can't swing a cat in New England without hitting a ghost story, and apparently you can't swing a ghost story without hitting New England. Damn you, Edgar Allen Poe! That said, this story was actually very enjoyable - unlike a lot of short stories, it doesn't condescend to its format or its audience, but provides enough of a tease and a slow burn to keep it interesting throughout. Despite all my misgivings.
Disclaimer: I do not necessarily support the swinging of cats. It was just a flashy thing that once said.
Disclaimer: I do not necessarily support the swinging of cats. It was just a flashy thing that once said.
April 13, 2019
Setting presentation, design and originality (how cool is the setting?): 4
Setting verisimillitude and detail (how much sense does the setting make?): 4
Plot design, presentation and originality (How well-crafted was the plot, in the dramaturgic sense?): 3
Plot and character verisimillitude (How much sense did the plot and motivations make? Did events follow from motivations?): 4
Characterization and character development: 2
Character sympatheticness: 4
Prose: 3
Page turner factor: 3
Mind blown factor: 1
Final (weighted) score: 3
Available at:
Setting verisimillitude and detail (how much sense does the setting make?): 4
Plot design, presentation and originality (How well-crafted was the plot, in the dramaturgic sense?): 3
Plot and character verisimillitude (How much sense did the plot and motivations make? Did events follow from motivations?): 4
Characterization and character development: 2
Character sympatheticness: 4
Prose: 3
Page turner factor: 3
Mind blown factor: 1
Final (weighted) score: 3
Available at:
November 3, 2018
Werner Herzog once interviewed programmers at Google who were designing cars that drove themselves. "Who is responsible if there is an accident?" he asked. The programmers were puzzled. They not only did not know the answer, they did not understand the question.
I assumed this story would ask that question. It does not. It introduces an interesting scenario , one that could serve a longer work, but just when it gets started it ends.
I assumed this story would ask that question. It does not. It introduces an interesting scenario , one that could serve a longer work, but just when it gets started it ends.
December 1, 2018
A veterana Pat Cadigan escreveu um dos contos mais divertidos e antenados sobre I.A. da atualidade. Fala sobre a importância da filosofia frente aos novos desafios tecnológicos, a imprevisibilidade mas também as limitações de inteligências artificiais, e a diferença de concepção ética entre humanos e máquinas. Tudo é apresentado pela autora numa história ágil e envolvente com ótimos personagens, sendo Felipe, a I.A., o mais interessante deles.
January 9, 2020
A bit too open-ended, but I enjoyed reading it.
It was bit heavy-handed, though, in:
1. The comparisons of personal agency and responsibility between (i) a bipolar person not taking their medication; (ii) the bipolar person's colleague; and (iii) an AI
2. The leaders/researchers/military introduced characters all being women (with the exception of a single male soldier...and the male-named AI), in a slightly gimmicky inversion of the all-male cast common to older SF
It was bit heavy-handed, though, in:
1. The comparisons of personal agency and responsibility between (i) a bipolar person not taking their medication; (ii) the bipolar person's colleague; and (iii) an AI
2. The leaders/researchers/military introduced characters all being women (with the exception of a single male soldier...and the male-named AI), in a slightly gimmicky inversion of the all-male cast common to older SF
March 24, 2020
“Yes, I noticed that. How do I persuade you to talk to her or anyone else?� “I would like a formal apology.� Helen wasn’t sure she’d heard right. “A formal—why?� “I have been shown disrespect that a human in an equivalent position would not tolerate.�
Brilliant little take, great fun, and the AI very much reminded me of the one in Emma Newman's Atlas Alone (and there's also a "shielded room").
Brilliant little take, great fun, and the AI very much reminded me of the one in Emma Newman's Atlas Alone (and there's also a "shielded room").
December 29, 2020
A military base in the UK uses an AI for� everything. And the longer it is on, the more it learns.
Yikes.
But of course, the problem is
2 stars
Any unauthorized attempt to access their software would cause them to self-destruct in a way the handbook described as “unpleasant and potentially life-changing to anybody nearby.�
Yikes.
But of course, the problem is
2 stars
December 24, 2018
A story with no real resolution or ending. Pleasant prose and an fascinating idea in the heart of it. It reads almost like David 8 (Prometheus, Covenant), villain origin.
Read at tor.com:
Read at tor.com:
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