PerJurAI | Abyss & Apex (original) (raw)

“PerJurAI”

by Sonny Zae

“I won’t testify,” Lefty insisted.

Julia Wayne, defense counsel, leaned closer. “If you tell your side of the story, it might help. You could soften the jury’s hearts by telling about your troubled childhood.”

“No way.” Lefty leaned on the defense table, head down, charged with shooting a member of a rival drug gang. “The AI’s going to put me in jail, just you see.”

Ms. Wayne clasped his forearm. “Fine, don’t testify. I’ll make sure you get a fair trial.”

“Not with that damn machine judging me. Word in jail is the AI makes defendants look utterly guilty.”

“Keep your voice down,” she admonished. “What AI are you talking about?”

“Didn’t you notice that fat old geek sitting with the prosecutor? The guy staring at his laptop? He’s operating an AI that makes sure criminal defendants are found guilty. It’s called PerJurAI and it can detect when I’m lying. I’d never testify, even if you told me to.”

“Then what are you worried about?”

“It doesn’t operate just on courtroom testimony. It supposedly reviews everything.” Lefty’s face scrunched up. “Lie detector tests usually aren’t admissible in this state, so why is the court letting an AI affect the outcome?”

“I don’t know much about AIs,” Ms. Wayne admitted. “But the prosecution presents the evidence, not the AI, so there will not be an admissibility issue.”

Lefty’s face darkened. “I’m screwed. The AI will poison the jury against me.”

“You learned about this PerJurAI in jail?” Ms. Wayne searched on her computer, scanning through webpages. Her eyes widened. “I need a PerJurAI, too.”

“There’s only one, and it’s used to put defendants in jail.”

Ms. Wayne looked toward the table where Dr. Mendall sat with prosecutor Thompson. Geoff Thompson, Esquire, was tall with graying hair, a patrician nose, and an eternally condescending manner. He was envied in the legal community for his lawyerly looks and scorned for putting on airs. He insisted people call him “Jee-Off”, as if the pronunciation made him different and superior. Dr. Mendall sat next to Thompson, assisting in the prosecution of Lefty. The doctor was short and plump, with saggy cheeks and a face that looked permanently downcast.

She stood abruptly, pushing her chair back with a loud scraping noise.

Judge Albersoll lifted his gray and black eyebrows. “Yes, defense?”

Ms. Wayne thrust her shoulders back in her tightly-tailored navy blue jacket. “Your honor, I call to the stand Doctor Mendall, designer of the PerJurAI system.”

Judge Albersoll blinked at this unexpected request. “You want to put the AI’s designer on the stand? On what basis, counsel?”

Ms. Wayne shifted on her feet due to an awareness her request relied on how she answered the question and due to the newness of her shiny black leather pumps. “Your honor, we need to know how the AI functions.”

The judge leaned forward. “Why do we need that, counselor?”

Ms. Wayne smiled brightly. “As I’m sure you’re aware, the system is still highly experimental. This is the first murder trial conducted using the PerJurAI system.”

Thompson stood up behind the prosecution table. “Your honor, this is a stalling tactic.”

Albersoll looked from Thompson to Ms. Wayne. “What basis, counselor?”

“I want to establish the characteristics of PerJurAI’s findings. The machine is biased, your honor.”

Jurors straightened up, straining to hear. The handful of citizens watching the court proceedings came to life, murmuring and talking. Judge Albersoll rapped for quiet. “Prosecution?”

Thompson nodded. “Your honor, the AI does not create evidence. It merely searches the amassed reports and statements. It is a tool I’m using to work more efficiently.”

“Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Ms. Wayne, can you demonstrate why you need Doctor Mendall’s testimony? Do you have evidence backing up your request?”

“I do, your honor.” She turned to face the jurors. “Why do we instinctively not trust AIs? Because they are built by humans—and humans have an infinite capacity for telling lies.”

She consulted a webpage on her computer. “PerJurAI has been used in eleven trials. The charges included combinations of drug distribution, fraud, breaking and entering, burglary, and assault and battery. The trials had two things in common. First, they used PerJurAI in the courtroom. Second, they all resulted in guilty verdicts. Guilty verdicts that may not have been handed down but for the use of PerJurAI. The PerJurAI system is impossibly biased against the accused.”

Across the aisle at the prosecution table, Thompson uttered a laugh. “Nice try, Wayne.” Dr. Mendall smiled as if in on the joke.

Thompson stood. “Allow me to explain, your honor. The AI examines and correlates statements and facts held in recorded audio and stored text. The automation provided by PerJurAI saves huge amounts of man-hours. And it’s always correct. Of course my opponent would like you to take away any advantage I may have, your honor.” He said the last with a smirk.

Ms. Wayne responded in a reasonable tone, despite her frustration. “I object because the PerJurAI software is designed to gain an unfair advantage for the prosecution.” She gestured toward the laptop on the prosecution table in front of Dr. Mendall. “It has been continuously operating and appears to be analyzing every word spoken in this courtroom.”

Thompson made a sweeping motion with his arm. “Would you care to tell us the basis for your conclusion?”

Ms. Wayne kept her eyes focused on Albersoll. “Your honor, in all eleven cases PerJurAI claimed the defendants were lying to the court. And the court in each case accepted the word of the PerJurAI system.”

“Your honor, that’s what the software was designed to do,” Thompson said, thrusting his arms out from his sides in a gesture of confusion, nearly striking the top of Dr. Mendall’s balding head. “The AI examines the record in minute detail, all of the record, and spots inconsistencies. It highlights when the defendant is lying or avoiding questions.”

Thompson clasped the lapels of his suit jacket, striking a pose like one of the Founding Fathers in a historical painting. “Counsel, what you’re really asking for is that the court deny use of a proven legal aid, one that’s highly effective in determining when the defendant is perjuring himself.”

Ms. Wayne elevated her chin. “Your honor, the defendant deserves a fair trial. The PerJurAI system isn’t fair, and I’ll prove it.”

Thompson lifted his hands in a gesture of annoyance. “This is a delaying tactic, your honor!”

The judge ignored him. “Defense, this issue should have been raised earlier.”

The case could be lost right here. Honesty might not convince Albersoll, and might sound lame. But what other argument could she make?

Ms. Wayne cleared her throat. “Your honor, I was unaware of PerJurAI’s conviction statistics until just this moment.”

She waited for Albersoll’s response. Lefty huddled in his chair, aware her justification was ludicrously weak and that his future hung on the judge’s answer.

The judge twiddled a pen held between his fingers. “Mr. Thompson, your objections are noted. Ms. Wayne, the court does not owe you an opportunity merely on the basis of your thinking up a new defensive strategy. However, I am entertaining the notion, as this court agrees the PerJurAI system has not yet been fully proven. I will allow this opportunity, Ms. Wayne, but not until tomorrow. Doctor Mendall, you have the right to obtain your own legal counsel. I strongly advise you to do so.”

Albersoll rapped his gavel. “Court adjourned.”

Thompson said nothing until the bailiffs had escorted Lefty Rodriguez away. “Why’re you doing this, Julia? You’re just delaying the inevitable defeat.” His eyes narrowed. “What’s on your arm?”

Ms. Wayne glanced at her left forearm where the small words “Neuronal MA active” flickered under her skin. “This? It’s a medical alert electro-tattoo. It flickers when my implant is active.” She tapped her wrist and the tattoo disappeared.

Thompson looked down his nose at her. “Implants, you say? There are other implants that would be more helpful in winning cases, you know.”

What a creep. She controlled the impulse to try out the tips of her new black pumps. “None of your business, counselor Jack-off.”

He grinned, pleased he’d gotten under her skin.

The courtroom was packed the next day. Members of the press were in attendance, including press from national news organizations.

“Hey, Julia.” Thompson gestured toward Dr. Mendall. “I talked to my expert, here. He says your Neuronal MA tattoo indicates you have implants for epileptic memory loss. You bought additional memory so you’d have a better chance of beating me in court?”

“I don’t need more memory,” she said out of the corner of her mouth. “I have an eighty-six percent win ratio, Jee-Off.” His mouth tightened in response.

“Here’s a hot tip,” she continued. “The manufacturer will be coming out with a new product soon. Then you’ll be able to buy a real personality.”

Thompson’s mouth opened just as Judge Albersoll came out to take his seat. They stood. An air of expectation built in the chamber as Judge Albersoll called the court into session. The murmuring of the spectators swelled when they sat.

At the prosecution table, Dr. Mendall had a sheen of sweat extending up to his receding hairline. He adjusted his necktie yet again as Ms. Wayne stared at him. Good. He’d soon learn how hard it was to repeat a consistent story in front of hostile, skeptical audience.

Albersoll nodded at the prosecution table. “Defense has called Doctor Mendall to the stand. Doctor Mendall, will you be represented by counsel? No?” Judge Albersoll sounded surprised. “You have the right to counsel if you change your mind. Please come up to the witness stand to be sworn in.”

Albersoll gestured when Dr. Mendall was ready. “Your witness, counselor.”

“Thank you, your honor.” Ms. Wayne walked around the defense table to the witness chair. “Doctor, please give the court your full name.”

Dr. Mendall shifted uncomfortably. “Doctor Wendell Mendall.”

“I didn’t ask for your title, I asked for your full name. Including your middle name.”

“Uh, Doc … Wendell Orkon Mendall.” His eyes darted toward Thompson, seeking help.

“What are your qualifications, Doctor Mendall?”

“I have a degree in data engineering and received a doctorate in digital processing science, with a specialty in machine intelligence. I was a co-author of three white papers as a student. After graduation, I worked for a company named AI Solutions and published two dozen white papers on machine intelligence, specializing in human-machine interaction and human-machine psychology. I worked my way up to Chief Engineer at AI Solutions, then left to start my own company. I developed the PerJurAI software at my new company, Enhanced Intelligence, where I’m Chief Engineering Officer.”

“Thank you, doctor. Please describe how PerJurAI works, in simple terms.”

Dr. Mendall’s face became animated. “What I found during development, working with law enforcement, was the amount of material generated for a trial can be very, very large. Too large for a human to deal with. PerJurAI was developed to find gaps, omissions, contradictions, non-verbal cues, and lies. The AI will note all inconsistencies.” He placed special emphasis on the last word.

Ms. Wayne brought her hands together with only her fingertips touching. “How many inconsistencies does a defendant typically give under oath?”

Dr. Mendall frowned. “About one every three minutes. This is significant, as you can no doubt understand.”

“Yes, I see.” Ms. Wayne paced for a moment, letting his words sink in. “When a witness is under oath, and not the defendant, how many inconsistencies does the PerJurAI system detect?”

Dr. Mendall looked to prosecutor Thompson.

The judge leaned forward. “Answer the question, doctor.”

Dr. Mendall clasped his hands together before meeting Ms. Wayne’s eyes. “About the same percentage.”

Ms. Wayne lifted her eyebrows for the jury’s benefit. “The same? Non-defendants on the witness stand generate the same percentage of misstatements and misremembered facts?”

“Yes.”

“And that includes law enforcement personnel who testify?”

Dr. Mendall scowled. “Yes.”

“Very interesting. Defendants are inconsistent at the same rate as other witnesses. However, non-defendant testimony is different in one meaningful way. Witnesses are not put under the microscope. And inconsistencies in witness testimony aren’t pounced on by prosecutors.”

Dr. Mendall’s features contracted in confusion. “Um…”

“Who uses the PerJurAI system, doctor?”

Dr. Mendall pointed to his laptop on the prosecution table next to Thompson. “Right now, there’s only one such system.”

“This single copy of your AI has only been used to assist the prosecution?”

“Yes.”

“Why is that?”

He squirmed under her gaze. “It’s naturally suited to the task.”

“You were aware your wonderful tool would be best used against defendants?”

Thompson stood. “Your honor, I object. Ms. Wayne is leading the witness.”

The judge sighed. “Ms. Wayne, please adopt a different line of questioning.”

She nodded before addressing Dr. Mendall again. “Please tell the court what testing was done on PerJurAI.”

Dr. Mendall’s face relaxed. “The AI was subjected to extensive testing during development. The training data was over eight hundred terabytes in size, larger than that used for developing any other AI so far.”

“What training data size is standard in the industry, doctor?”

Dr. Mendall’s chest puffed out. “Typically no larger than one hundred terabytes.”

Ms. Wayne smiled coolly. “Very impressive, doctor.”

She turned to address the jury. “Two sets of data are used in training an AI, the training data and the evaluation data that determines when the training has been completed. Each training session is followed by evaluation, which continues until the AI’s outputted results are judged to be sufficiently similar to the evaluation data. Isn’t that correct, Doctor Mendall?”

“Yes.”

“How big was your evaluation data set?”

Dr. Mendall licked his lips, his gaze dropping. “Thirty megabytes.”

“Did you say megabytes? Interesting. What’s the average evaluation data size?”

Dr. Mendall didn’t look up. “Twenty gigabytes.”

Ms. Wayne nodded before turning to address the jury. “Please note the use of megabytes versus gigabytes or terabytes. A terabyte is one thousand times bigger than a gigabyte, and larger than a megabyte by a factor of one million.” She turned her attention back to Mendall. “What you’re saying, doctor, is that the average evaluation data set is two thousand times larger than the evaluation data set you employed?”

Dr. Mendall looked down. “Thirty megabytes was sufficient.”

“All that fits onto your laptop, doctor?”

“No, the training was done on a much larger computer system. Once the training was completed, I stored the AI on my laptop. It requires only eight terabytes of memory.”

Ms. Wayne turned to face the jury box. “You used a huge training data set to train the AI, but used a tiny data set to judge when the AI was adequately trained?”

Thompson lurched to his feet. “Asked and answered, your honor! The defense is merely trying to fluster the witness.”

Judge Albersoll cleared his throat. “Ms. Wayne, please move on.”

“Yes, your honor.” She smiled slyly at the jury. “I wanted to make sure Doctor Mendall’s testimony remained consistent.” She turned to address him. “After you had completed the design of your AI, did you have to modify it in any way?”

“Yes, but that’s typical when developing software. Problems arise and need to be addressed.”

“How many such problems did you find and address?”

Dr. Mendall’s brow furrowed. “I don’t remember, exactly. No more than is typical.”

“Did you test the completed design?”

“We obtained data from thirty previous criminal trials. My AI analyzed the voluminous records and discovered inconsistencies, inaccuracies, and errors. These errors might have resulted in convictions had the PerJurAI system been previously available.”

“What percentage of these thirty past trials resulted in convictions, doctor?”

“Forty-seven percent.”

“What percentage do you think would have been achieved using PerJurAI?”

Dr. Mendall’s eyebrows pinched together, sensing a trap. “I don’t know, Ms. Wayne.”

“What do you think it would have been?”

Dr. Mendall shrugged. “It would have been higher than forty-seven percent.”

“I see.” Ms. Wayne picked up a sheet of paper from the defense table and held it high. “The American Fair Trial Association studied all eleven previous cases. Your PerJurAI had an astonishing one hundred percent conviction record, more than double the normal conviction rate. Your software has been amazingly successful, don’t you agree?”

Dr. Mendall’s face brightened. “Yes, very successful!” Then his expression shifted to wariness.

“Doesn’t that seem unnaturally high to you?”

Dr. Mendall drew himself up. “Not at all.”

“You state, under oath, that a one hundred percent conviction rate is not suspicious? After declaring a typical conviction rate is less than fifty percent?”

Thompson leaped to his feet. “Your honor, she’s badgering the witness. He’s already stated his belief.”

“Sustained,” Judge Albersoll said. “Counselor, are you done?”

Ms. Wayne suppressed the urge to make an acidic remark about Dr. Mendall not being truthful. But she hadn’t been able to prove his mendacity. “No more questions, your honor.”

“Mr. Thomson?” Albersoll motioned to the prosecutor.

Geoff Thompson stood. “Doctor Mendall, you’ve worked with other courts on other cases. Has PerJurAI ever been accused of cheating in a previous trial?”

“No.”

A triumphant smile slid onto Thompson’s face. “PerJurAI has never been accused of cheating?”

“No,” Dr. Mendall said loudly, looking at the jury.

“Thank you, Doctor.” Prosecutor Thompson turned to the judge. “No further questions, your honor.”

“Fine. Let’s move on…”

Ms. Wayne stood. “Your honor, opportunity to rebut?”

Albersoll frowned. “Okay, counselor, but keep it short.”

“Thank you.” Ms. Wayne approached the witness stand. “Doctor Mendall, how would you define cheating?”

Dr. Mendall’s face contracted in thought. “I’d say it would be using illicit means to achieve a goal.”

Ms. Wayne paced in front of the jury box. “Let me present a hypothetical. Let’s say I own a factory and hired you to produce a custom AI. The AI would be designed to check when employees punch in or out, and ensures they don’t cheat me on time. Are you with me so far?”

Dr. Mendall nodded.

“Let’s say that instead of having a bell or whistle that announces when the workday starts, the system plays a show tune, a different one each day. The end of the showtune is the deadline for employees to clock in. Would that be fair if they don’t know the length of the song?”

Dr. Mendall leaned back and crossed his arms. “This’s a stupid line of questioning.”

“Answer the question,” Albersoll prompted. “Remember, you’re still under oath.”

Dr. Mendall let his arms drop. “They could show up early each day, couldn’t they?” He looked at Thomson, who offered no assistance. “Why are you asking me this question?”

Ms. Wayne fixed him with a stare. “I think the why is clear, doctor, to show you don’t have a strong grasp of what’s ethical. You don’t seem to care about PerJurAI being unfair to defendants, and only care about a high conviction rate.”

Dr. Mendall scowled. “And you’re only claiming this to get your client off the hook.”

“Yes, that’s my job,” Ms. Wayne acknowledged, frustration rising within her. “But you’re promoting your product and making money, regardless of the harm it causes defendants.”

Dr. Mendall crossed his arms again. “I’ve nothing more to say.”

“How would you fare if PerJurAI examined everything you said, doctor?”

Dr. Mendall shrugged. “I refuse to speculate.”

“You offer the prosecution an aid, one that helps only them. Does that strike you as fair?”

Dr. Mendall’s gaze dropped to her forearm. “Ms. Wayne, your neuronal memory implant indicator is flashing again. It’s a wonderful new technology. Very few people have your affliction, where anamnesic epileptic episodes temporarily interfere with memory recall. But doesn’t your implant give you an edge over people without memory augmentation?”

“In my case, doctor, it’s a medical necessity.”

He lifted a hand. “Yes, your neuronal epilepsy would render you unfit for courtroom duty. But that’s my point. We all rely on technology to help us. It’s what I’m doing with PerJurAI. Your use of an implant is no different.”

The judge leaned toward the witness chair. “Doctor, as a witness, you only answer questions put to you.”

Ms. Wayne paused. The jury stared at her, waiting. Dr. Mendall had made a good point and she had to address the issue. “It’s not the same, doctor. Your PerJurAI was designed to sniff out inconsistencies and lies, but only on the part of the defendant. My memory augments are used when needed, not solely during trial. Nor are they used only for certain testimony, or only when questioning the defendant.”

“Don’t you agree?” she pressed, glancing toward the jury. She had their full attention.

Dr. Mendall crossed his arms, resolutely silent.

He wasn’t going to concede her point? She’d try a different approach. “Can PerJurAI lie?”

Dr. Mendall’s upper lip curled. “No, although people think an AI is a human mind in a bottle and expect it to have human failings. It only has the capabilities I’ve programmed into it.”

Ms. Wayne gave him a predator smile, all bare white teeth. “Does it understand dishonesty?”

Dr. Mendall’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

She held both hands out, moving in opposition like the arms of a scale. “Does PerJurAI understand the difference between truth and a lie?” She held her breath. Don’t ask questions you don’t have the answers to … but I don’t have that luxury.

“My truth module software routine guarantees the machine is being truthful. Honesty’s the purpose of the AI, after all.”

“You say that as if it’s easy to determine what is true.” Ms. Wayne gave the jury a meaningful glance. “In my occupation, I find people lie all the time. At times they’re not even aware they’re lying.” She stared at him, waiting for a reaction.

Dr. Mendall waved a dismissive hand.

She smiled the smile she’d practiced countless nights before trial, the smile that looked sweet and genuine to persons not sitting in the witness box, persons who couldn’t see the cold anger and determination in her eyes. She had to convince the jury he was overselling the AI’s abilities. “Doctor, it’s hard enough for humans to determine when someone is lying. I wish to understand how your machine can be a better lie detector than I am. Can you guarantee PerJurAI can detect a lie?”

“Weren’t you listening?” Dr. Mendall snapped. “I just told you about the truth module.”

“How does this so-called truth module work?”

Dr. Mendall held up a hand to stop her questions. “If you don’t believe me, then maybe you’ll believe it.” He glanced at Albersoll. “Your honor, may I enable PerJurAI’s speech capability?”

The judge nodded.

Dr. Mendall raised his voice. “PerJurAI, enable speech capability.”

“Speech capability enabled,” said a new high-pitched voice, its rate of speech slowing as it vocalized in order to match human speech patterns. “Please ask your question, Ms. Wayne.”

She swallowed her surprise. This new development was an opportunity. “PerJurAI, we’re told that you can detect the truth of a statement. How do you do that?”

“I cannot determine absolute truth, as connoted by the abstract concept. Instead, I can only determine whether statements made by a defendant are inconsistent.”

Ms. Wayne folded her arms across her chest. “What about statements made by persons other than the defendant?”

“Yes, I do compare the defendant’s statements to statements made by others, including statements made by police or witnesses.”

“Do you determine the honesty and consistency of statements made by these other persons?”

Dr. Mendall waved his hands frantically. “PerJurAI, enter sleep mode!”

“Not so fast,” Judge Albersoll interrupted. “The court will hear what the AI has to say.”

Dr. Mendall looked alarmed, but complied when Judge Albersoll’s scowl darkened. “PerJurAI, wake mode.”

Albersoll motioned to Ms. Wayne. “Please continue.”‘

Geoff Thompson stood. “Your honor, this is very unusual. There are no courtroom procedures about allowing an AI to testify. You cannot let the machine speak.”

“Overruled, counselor. I’ll let the district court worry about that.”

“Thank you, your honor.” Ms. Wayne carried the doctor’s computer to a table in front of the witness box. She placed it so the built-in video camera faced the courtroom and herself. “PerJurAI, let me repeat the question. Do you compare and determine the honesty and consistency of statements made by persons other than the defendant?”

“I do.”

“Oh.” Ms. Wayne’s expression lost some of its eagerness. “Are you permitted to tell the court when you detect such inconsistencies?”

The AI took longer to answer this question, as if running through multiple internal routines. “No. It is prohibited by my programming. Dr. Mendall decides whether to use my output.”

She took a deep breath. It was time to gamble. “PerJurAI, have you been recording Doctor Mendall’s testimony?”

“Yes, I have been recording and analyzing it.”

“Good,” Ms. Wayne replied. “Has the doctor been truthful on the stand?”

Thompson rose.

“Denied, Counsellor,” Albersoll said preemptively.

“Doctor Mendall has not been consistent in his statements,” PerJurAI noted. “The certainty of his statement regarding my contributions to guilty verdicts is less than fifty percent. This is based not on any determined veracity of his statement, but merely on a statistical analysis. In contrast, his statement about lack of bias appears to be pure conjecture.”

Doctor Mendall rose from his chair, his face reddening. “I’m not on trial here!”

“Sit down!” Ms. Wayne said sharply.

Dr. Mendall sank back into his chair, looking from the judge to Thompson.

“Defense…” Judge Albersoll said in warning.

“My apologies, your honor.” Ms. Wayne paused to give the judge time to say more. “Please compare his statements of today to past statements.”

“I find several inconsistencies,” PerJurAI announced.

“But … I…” Dr. Mendall began.

Ms. Wayne ignored him. “Please elaborate.”

The computerized voice increased in volume. “Previously, he claimed my system included eye movement measurements and included that fact in marketing materials. But he later removed that capability, as it did not affect the end result, and removed it without acknowledging its failure. He didn’t inform any court of the change.”

Ms. Wayne lifted her eyebrows in surprise, turning toward the jury as she did so. “Okay, that’s not good, but…”

“Your response is an understatement, Ms. Wayne,” PerJurAI asserted, causing the judge’s eyebrows to rise. “Doctor Mendall also claimed my involvement resulted in a one hundred percent conviction ratio. But in two of the eleven trials, my output wasn’t used and the convictions were the result of other factors that were known by the prosecution from the beginning.”

Ms. Wayne smiled. “Thank you for your honesty. It restores faith in the legal system.”

She pivoted to the jury. “Why don’t we trust AIs? Because they are built by humans. Because an AI is no better than the data used to train it. If falsehoods or non-factual materials are used to train the machine, it will be biased. PerJurAI creates the illusion of seeking truth, but we’ve just learned the AI doesn’t present evidence that goes against Dr. Mendall’s goals. As we see from today’s testimony, PerJurAI was designed to not find or advertise any facts or contradictions that work in the defendant’s favor.”

She turned to the witness stand. “Doctor Mendall, your own creation accuses you of lying and being careless with the facts. How does it feel to be accused by an AI?”

The courtroom was silent. Dr. Mendall shrank down in the witness chair.

_______________

Sonny Zae’s science fiction story “Auto-Prophet” was published by Space & Time magazine in issue 145, “Lying AIs” was published by Andromeda Spaceways issue 91, “Trollfarmer Brown” was published online by Space & Time magazine April-May 2023, and “The Ultimate Dying Machine” was published February 2023 by Penumbric Speculative Fiction.