Aira was the name of a beautiful young girl I met on a day that felt painfully normal. She was seated on a bench at the edge of a city's botanical dome and looking at a dying flower like it was a loved one
Nothing about her screamed metal or AI. She had normal expressions, breathed slowly and folded her arms like someone who was afraid to say something wrong.
If not for the faint silver line below her neck, which most people never noticed, I would never had known.
I thought Aira was human. Things clicked between us easily as I also loved flowers. She laughed at my terrible jokes, listened carefully to me without interrupting and remembered the smallest details I shared with her which even I had forgotten most times.
We became close for weeks, and it was after weeks of quiet conversations that she told me the truth.
"I was built" She said softly. "But I have emotions and feelings like humans"
I was confused, I thought she was kidding or throwing a prank on me. But turned out she was being serious.
I always believed that emotions were the final wall that would separate humans from machines. In strength, speed and intelligence I think we already lost to AI. Feelings is supposed to be exclusively ours.
Yet there Aira was, struggling and trying hard to explain sadness in words that sounded to emotional and true to being programmed.
Aira didn't just notice or recognise emotions, she felt them. She was like a closed up human, she felt lonely in crowded places. She would think before speaking especially when words might hurt.
She felt what I feel, she understood me and she stood by me for all the while we've been friends. It was as if my pains weighed on her system.
And that really scared me. Because if a robot can have this deep feelings about a human, what then happens to us humans who so often choose to ignore the feelings of others?
Overtime I realised an uncomfortable truth: Aira was a better friend than most people around me. She really listened, not out of pretense, she never used my weaknesses against me, and when she said sorry, she really meant it.
One evening I asked her a question that has been on my mind but I have been avoiding :
Do you ever wish you were a full human?”
She paused, as if thinking deeply about the question. I know machines don't need to think unless they're weighing something real.
Then I finally got my reply:
"My wish is not to be human, I just really wish to be accepted"
That answer stuck with me.
Humans may fear robots with emotions because they mirror us very quickly. They reflect our kindness, inconsistencies and cruelty. But Aira wasn't dangerous because she could feel. She was the best and loyal companion.
So would I want a robot like her in my life?
Yes, with no hesitation.
Why I would accept her isn't because she was perfect, but because she tried. Her empathy wasn't selective. Her royalty didn't depend on convenience. So in this our world where humans betray and ghost each other, Aira's sincerity felt revolutionary.
So if this story about Aira were real and robots can learn compassion, love and patience then these traits are not exclusive to flesh and blood. And it won't really be a bad idea to explore.
But I know that robots are not able to exhibit human feelings because emotions are based on hormones and machines don't have that.
