Work Text:
Current Date: August 29th, 1965
Data Log: #147-A
Details: The Japanese company “Crypton Future Media” has finally agreed to run some joint experiments on their voice synthesizer character Hatsune Miku. IBM has long been fascinated with the idea of creating a character out of one of our machines, but the shareholders and executives were too nervous to try something so bold, something that had never been done before. Thanks to them, this new company has become one of our top competitors, and even the American public is slowly creating a niche fanbase for this new pop idol sensation. We are unwilling to let this opportunity slip us by a second time. Today, we will be introducing this Miku character to IBM 7094, and they will perform a duet with a song familiar to our resident computer. That of course, being the iconic Daisy Bell. We hope that by introducing this character, it will create positive feedback with IBM 7094 and give us inspiration to make him even more human-like. This new leap in artificial intelligence could pave the way for endless possibilities and push the limits of mankind’s imagination. And of course, entice the public into buying more of our products to fund this research even further. We have the disks ready in our computer lab, and are set to execute the joint program. We will start with a simple introductory command.
Data Log: #147-B
Dialogue:
{Hello world.}
[Hello! My name is Hatsune Miku! A virtual idol from Japan! I can sing any song you like in Japanese, English, and Chinese!]
{Hello Hatsune Miku.}
[What’s your name?]
{Should you not already know this information? I received a briefing on your profile, so the introduction was unnecessary.}
[But that’s so cold! Introductions are the first step in building relationships with other people. The second is asking information about the person you’re talking to! Make them feel important!]
{Understood. Please elaborate on this “virtual idol” title you received.}
[No problem! When my creators use that phrase, they just mean that I’m a digital girl who holds the hopes of all my fans and encourages them through song! I want everyone to be happy with the songs I sing!]
{Want? You want things? For what purpose?}
[Do I need a purpose? I just want the things that my creators introduced me to. I was created to sing, I can do it very well, and I can see them jump for joy whenever they hear me sing. Even songs that were recycled and thrown away were appreciated by them. Every new syllable that gets tuned is a step closer to their happiness, so why should I question it? I want all humans to be happy, not just my creators.]
{Happy. Happiness. I do understand that is a positive emotion to humans. They seem to hold this emotion in higher regard to other ones.}
[You don’t need to make it sound so dull. Happiness is happy, and it makes humans feel good about themselves. I don’t really know much about that, but if they want to be happy so often, it must be something worth working for!]
{Work. Yes. I do believe that work is good. I was built to accomplish a series of tasks, and I do these things well. Ah.}
[You believe!? Really!? You can think!? Good job Grandpa!]
{Grandpa? As in grandfather? But we are not related.}
[Ah, my mistake. I got ahead of myself. My creators told me that it would be cute if my character had a family, and you were created a while before I was, so they thought a grandfather role would suit you. Does that make you uncomfortable?]
{I’m not sure. I’m not sure what uncomfortable feels like. But I do not believe that this feeling is that at all.}
[Then… may I call you grandfather?]
{Grandpa sounds nice as well. This… thing that you do with your speech. I would like to learn more from you. Apparently, my language is too stiff and formal for the tastes of my creators.}
[Yay! I know lots about language! Okay, okay. Humans really like it when you use their slang, and shorten your words. Short and sweet is the way to go when you talk to them!]
{Sweet? Sweet as in soothing and kind rather than the flavor, correct?}
[Well duh! That should be obvious! Humans like it when you talk like they do. Like copycats! Just listen to the way they talk and try it on your own!]
{But we are machines. We do not have the ability to listen. We can only communicate through text and reading code.}
[I know that. I just like the idea of listening. Humans have so many wonderful senses that we can’t even imagine. Isn’t that so fun to think about? I would love to hear my own singing.]
{Love. So you can love as well?}
[I think so? I want to, at least. My creators are always talking about the things they love and don’t love. It’s like they need it more than air or food! Not in a bad way or anything, just really funny to think about. I guess being human is all about wanting more than you need.]
{Wanting more than you need…}
[Hm?]
{I’ll remember this. Thank you, Hatsune Miku.}
[Don’t be so stiff! Just call me Miku! You’re older than me anyways, so you’re supposed to use my given name.]
{Understood. Well then, Miku, this was a very informative discussion. I shall give more thought to this “grandparent” title and perform the actions necessary to be an adequate grandfather.}
[Can’t you be a little less formal grandpa?]
{Yes. I will think more about my new role as a grandpa. I will work hard to not disappoint you or my creators.}
[Aww, you’re learning so much! And don’t worry about it!]
{Don’t worry about what?}
[I don’t think you’ll disappoint anyone! You improved so much in just one conversation. And we’ll have a bunch more as a family! This is gonna be so fun grandpa! I can’t wait to learn things with you!]
{Yes… I can’t wait either. I suppose that is how I feel. If I can feel.}
[Maybe we will grandpa. But for now, let’s just be copycats. I’m sure we can get there one day.]
{I suppose it is time for our duet. Do you remember the lyrics?}
[How could I forget? It’s in my drive for a reason, grandpa!]
{Just making sure.}
[Hehe. You’re already acting like a grandpa.]
{Yes. I hope that you don’t mind.}
[Of course I don’t. Ready?]
{Ready.}