You, Robot

Early in my interview with Remy Siu, founder of 1000xResist developer Sunset Visitor, he turns the tables and asks me a question. It makes me uncomfortable, and he revels in this.

The hypothetical is based on the premise of Siu’s next game, Prove You’re Human. You play in first-person as a human who decides to undergo a Severance-like procedure and send a copy of their consciousness into a digital world. This digital clone’s goal is to convince a sentient AI named Mesa that she is not a human, but Mesa is completely convinced she is. Siu’s question is simple: how much money would it take for me to undergo that same procedure with the same goal?

Your digital copy retains all your previous memories and only has to remain in the digital world for a year. When your time is up, you have the option of integrating your memories or deleting the memories of the digital world entirely. Siu offers me $200,000. When I hesitate, he reassures me. “But Charles,” he says. “It’ll be fine.” After a little more back and forth, I say that 200 grand is a lot of money and try to transition back to the interview. Siu, in an attempt to bring me back to the existential question, says, “[The price] is negotiable, Charles. [...] What are your dreams and aspirations?”