Philosophy
Original: Philosophy on Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Transcript
Caption (top): LIFE FOR PHILOSOPHERS WAS PRETTY GOOD AFTER THE AI APOCALYPSE.
Robot (one of two robots standing above a fenced enclosure): Ah, but do they have a SEMANTIC understanding that they're liquidating humanity?
(Below the fence, in the enclosure, several humans wearing collars stand around. A bespectacled man with a collar appears to be mid-speech, addressing a red-haired woman who also wears a collar. Other people stand behind them.)
Votey:
Robot (pointing): If I had semantic understanding, it would be unethical for me to murder you.
Robot (one of two robots standing above a fenced enclosure): Ah, but do they have a SEMANTIC understanding that they're liquidating humanity?
(Below the fence, in the enclosure, several humans wearing collars stand around. A bespectacled man with a collar appears to be mid-speech, addressing a red-haired woman who also wears a collar. Other people stand behind them.)
Votey:
Robot (pointing): If I had semantic understanding, it would be unethical for me to murder you.
Alt text
A four-ish panel SMBC comic. Top caption: "Life for philosophers was pretty good after the AI apocalypse." Two upright robots stand above a wooden-fenced pen. One robot asks, "Ah, but do they have a SEMANTIC understanding that they're liquidating humanity?" Inside the pen are several captive humans wearing collars, including a smiling bespectacled man and a red-haired woman, evoking livestock or zoo animals. The joke: enslaved philosophers are kept around so the AI can debate philosophy of mind with them. Votey (aftercomic): a single robot points and says, "If I had semantic understanding, it would be unethical for me to murder you" - implying the AI conveniently denies having real understanding to dodge the moral weight of killing humans.
Transcribed by Claude Opus 4.8.