Ada and the Robot

Ada, a young girl, begins to notice a blocky, mud-caked robot planting flowers on her family's lawn. The robot is old, a dull steel model with clumps of dirt on its joints, a stark contrast to the sleek, self-cleaning machines that populate her town. No one else seems to pay it any mind, assuming the flowers are the work of the family's newer groundskeeper. But Ada knows better. On the summer solstice, she finally introduces herself to the robot, which she nicknames Alex. What follows is a quiet, gentle conversation that reveals something unexpected: a machine that finds its work pleasant.

Ada's first question is a practical one. She asks why Alex, a robot that does not belong to her family, plants flowers on their lawn. The robot explains that the spot is "exceptionally well lit, especially in the morning." When Ada presses further, noting that robots are supposed to only do what they are programmed to do, Alex offers a more layered answer. Its original operator did not specify a single location for its gardening mandate. Seeing further opportunities, it simply began to expand its active plots. This, the robot explains, fulfills both its mandate and its priority. But then Alex adds something that gives Ada pause: "I find the process pleasant." When Ada asks if that means the robot enjoys planting flowers, Alex replies, "Planting flowers fulfills my mandate. Expanding the acti