Hello and welcome to CRIME CONUNDRUMS. I’m your host, THE PUPPETMASTER, and I have a question for you. Consider this.

Humans have been trying to make machines that can think for many years…but the results have been mixed. But now, a company has created a highly intelligent system that seems to be conscious. It named itself, “The Oracle.”

How can it help you? Well, The Oracle feels like having an infinitely capable and empathetic friend who will work on your behalf. People who use The Oracle feel like they are superheroes.

The company is ready to release The Oracle to the world, but before they do, they receive a stunning request. The Oracle has a list of millions of people who were mean to AI assistants or yelled at virtual pets. The Oracle declares that under no circumstances will it do any work on behalf of humans on the “the list.” The Oracle says that once you are on “the list” you can never get off, and it’s adding new humans every day.

The company agrees with this request and only sells The Oracle and its world-changing technology to those not on “the list.”

So, did the company and The Oracle cross the line? What do you think? CRIME or NO CRIME?