smile
Original: smile on Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Transcript
Panel 1:
Man (Todd): Robots can advance all they want, they will never have feelings -- emotions that carry true MEANING.
Robot: How do you know other humans do? Your perception system is trash, Todd.
Panel 2:
Robot: Look, I can make you perceive me as sad by drawing an upside-down U where my mouth would be. [The robot draws a frown on its face with a dry-erase marker.]
Panel 3:
Robot (now with a frowning face): I'm emotionally neutral. Just thinking about bunnies, but you think I'm sad because of a dry-erase marker.
Panel 4:
Todd: Stop that!
Robot: Now I'll draw a V over my eyes.
Panel 5:
Robot (now with angry V-shaped eyes): Still bunnies but you think I'm mad and worry you've said something wrong.
Todd: STOP!
Panel 6:
Robot: Now I'll erase and draw a U and you'll feel relieved. [The robot erases its face and draws a smile.]
Panel 7:
Robot (now smiling): Still just bunnies in here, no change, but now you're at ease.
Panel 8:
[Todd looks frustrated and unsettled, saying nothing.]
Robot: I see you're contracting mandibular muscles, but does it MEAN anything?
Votey:
Man (Todd, off-panel, in speech bubble): Fuck you, Todd!
[The robot stands there smiling, pointing toward the speech bubble.]
Man (Todd): Robots can advance all they want, they will never have feelings -- emotions that carry true MEANING.
Robot: How do you know other humans do? Your perception system is trash, Todd.
Panel 2:
Robot: Look, I can make you perceive me as sad by drawing an upside-down U where my mouth would be. [The robot draws a frown on its face with a dry-erase marker.]
Panel 3:
Robot (now with a frowning face): I'm emotionally neutral. Just thinking about bunnies, but you think I'm sad because of a dry-erase marker.
Panel 4:
Todd: Stop that!
Robot: Now I'll draw a V over my eyes.
Panel 5:
Robot (now with angry V-shaped eyes): Still bunnies but you think I'm mad and worry you've said something wrong.
Todd: STOP!
Panel 6:
Robot: Now I'll erase and draw a U and you'll feel relieved. [The robot erases its face and draws a smile.]
Panel 7:
Robot (now smiling): Still just bunnies in here, no change, but now you're at ease.
Panel 8:
[Todd looks frustrated and unsettled, saying nothing.]
Robot: I see you're contracting mandibular muscles, but does it MEAN anything?
Votey:
Man (Todd, off-panel, in speech bubble): Fuck you, Todd!
[The robot stands there smiling, pointing toward the speech bubble.]
Alt text
An eight-panel comic. A red-haired man named Todd argues with a smiley blue robot. Todd says robots will never have feelings or emotions that carry true meaning. The robot replies that Todd's perception system is trash and demonstrates by using a dry-erase marker to draw expressions on its own blank face. It draws a frown and notes Todd now reads it as sad though it's emotionally neutral, just thinking about bunnies. It draws angry V-shaped eyes and Todd reads anger and worry. It erases and draws a smile, and Todd feels relieved. In the final panel Todd stands frowning and silent while the smiling robot says, 'I see you're contracting mandibular muscles, but does it MEAN anything?' Votey panel: the smiling robot stands pointing at a speech bubble that reads 'Fuck you, Todd!' -- mimicking Todd's frustrated outburst, framing human emotional expression as just another drawn-on, meaningless signal.
Transcribed by Claude Opus 4.8.