The Professor and the Robot

From many among the Islamic discussion forums I joined in the past, there is one I particularly remember. The guest speaker was a senior who just came back from Japan. He told us a story about one of his life experience being a Muslim student there. One day, he was invited by his Professor to dinner. The Professor ordered sake and offered him a cup. He politely refused and said he doesn’t drink because he is a Muslim.

The Professor was bemused. “So what if you’re a Muslim?” he asked. “A sip should be ok?” 

“Well, unfortunately no” said the student, “My God forbids me to drink something that can get us drunk.”

“So you’re just following what your God tells you to do?” asked the Professor in disbelief.

“Yes… because He is God…” he answered.

“Well… some God He is…” he murmured, shaking his head a little bit.

“……....” the student was uncertain whether he should continue the conversation or not.



… and that’s all I can recall. I couldn’t really remember if he purposely left the story at that point or because he really didn’t know the best way to explain his faith. When I think about it now, it’s probably the former; he described it that way so we can produce our own ending to the story… and that’s why it left a deep impression on me. By leaving it hanging like that, my brain was challenged to produce a satisfying conclusion. In a way, it’s a test of faith really… your answer will show you your understanding of Allah…

Anyway… here’s how the story unfold in my head:

After a moment of deliberation, the student finally decided to break the awkward silence. “Umm… Professor?”

“Yes?” replied the professor, turning his gaze towards the student.

“How many robots have you created during your lifetime?” asked the student.

“Ah…… How many was it? A lot…I have to say…” answered the professor, a little bit surprised by the change of subject.

“I see… what kinds of robot have you created?” the student continued asking

“Well, many kinds… the idea is to make every aspect of human life easier.” said the professor.

“Ah… yes of course.” said the student, nodding in agreement. He then continued, “Say Professor, you created a robot to help human with household chores…”

“Okay…” he said, paying his full attention.

“So you asked this robot to help you with cooking. You said, ‘hey robot, cut this carrot into small dices!' What happened is the carrot was cut too big and was not diced properly. You tried again, maybe the first time you did not give the instruction clear enough. The robot cut again but the result still did not meet your expectation. What would you do, sir?”

“Oh, well the robot would probably still need to be perfected,” answered the professor.

“Yes… you’ll try to find the problems and fix it. Let’s just say everything is perfect now and the robot functions as it should. You’re happy with it. Then one day, when you ordered it to do the daily routine you’ve been assigning, it didn’t move. You’re curious so you approached it. Then suddenly it said ‘I’m done taking orders from you. I’m going away to find less boring things to do’… and so it went, leaving you perplexed.”

The professor realized that his student has finished talking and was now smiling at him, eager to hear a reply. His expression changed from serious into glee. “Ha… haha… What have I created? A robot with its own mind and wants” He exclaimed. 

The student laughed with him, “What a cheeky robot…”

“Indeed… indeed”, said the professor amused.

“It simply won’t do, would it sir?” asked the student

“Well, no… No, of course not” he said, still chuckling.

“Why not, sir?” asked the student again; this time in a more serious manner.

Realizing the sudden change of tone, the professor cleared his throat and said, “Well, it’s not doing what its programmed to do. I created it to do x, so x must it do.”

The student nodded. “Yes, of course. You created it. It is its duty as a creature to oblige to the will of its creator. If not, you as the creator has the right to fix it, shut it off and never use it again or even replace it with a better one… right, sir?”

“Ehm… yes… I suppose…” said the professor a little bit uneasy.

 “Well, I think I have delivered my point, sir. So, just water for me please”. The student gave him a smile and bowed a little.


Gray