219 works selected for the 40 candidate questions. Selections approved by Ben Breen, 29 September 2026. Arguments are unverified. Quotations were chosen by machine and are unchecked.
2 of 219 works
1832HugoHugo,Notre-Dame de ParisFrenchFictionFull text
- Q23Does relying on written records weaken the ability to remember?
This answer is hidden while the authors build this question’s position key.
- Q23Does relying on written records weaken the ability to remember?
1886l'Isle-Adaml'Isle-Adam,Tomorrow's EveFrenchFictionFull text
- Q02Would a machine's ability to converse appropriately be sufficient evidence that it thinks?
No. Edison's android Hadaly holds convincing conversations, but her speech plays from phonograph recordings written in advance by poets and philosophers, so her conversation shows other people's thought, not her own.
- Q29Would creating an intelligent being give its maker the right to own it?
Yes. A fictional Edison builds an artificial woman, Hadaly, and gives her to Lord Ewald as a replacement for the woman he loves.
- Q39Can love for an artificial being remain genuine after its artificial nature is known?
This answer is hidden while the authors build this question’s position key.
- Q40Can an artificial companion satisfy the need for companionship if it has no feelings of its own?
Yes. Edison argues that the android Hadaly, with recorded speech and no inner life of her own, will be better company for Ewald than the shallow woman she copies.
- Q02Would a machine's ability to converse appropriately be sufficient evidence that it thinks?