Hi again! Yes, I wrote another Science Bros fic, because they're extremely fun to write. :) This time, Tony and Bruce talk about artificial intelligence—specifically, the robots Tony has in his garage. Thanks for your reviews, and I'll see you again soon!

Disclaimer: I own no part of the Marvel Universe, but I do own a copy of "Ultimate Human," a graphic novel about Bruce and Tony that's basically very well done Science Bros fic. :)

Science Projects 3

"So, you were bored," Bruce said slowly.

"And drunk," Tony said. "Don't you dare forget drunk."

"You were bored, and drunk, so you started to design an artificial intelligence that's as smart as you?"

"Yeah, basically," Tony said with a shrug, and Bruce shook his head. They were sitting in the garage after another Hulkbuster test, looking at the data they'd just collected on the monitors, and Bruce, in a new set of clothes, was fiddling with a bottle of water and probing for details on one of his favorite subjects: Tony's mechanical friends.

"JARVIS?" Bruce said hesitantly, and Tony grinned—other than him, Pepper and Rhodey were the only other people who talked to JARVIS. Bruce was apparently enough of a friend now to start talking to him too.

"Yes, Dr. Banner?"

"Are you…as far as you can tell, are you really as smart as Tony?"

"Yes and no," JARVIS said. "While I was designed to have roughly the same IQ, I was also programmed with knowledge that Mr. Stark has deemed of lower priority than the contents of his own brain. Additionally, I do not possess Mr. Stark's level of creativity or ingenuity when it comes to managing problems of my own volition, but I am also immune to his famous weaknesses for certain substances and the company of women."

Bruce laughed. "So in some ways, he's smarter, but in other ways, your intelligence exceeds his."

"Correct, Dr. Banner," JARVIS said. "My judgment when it comes to the potential consequences of certain actions certainly appears to be superior."

"Hey, I rarely do things without considering the potential consequences," Tony argued. "I just don't care."

"Yes, sir," JARVIS said drily. "It's one of your more endearing qualities."

"So why haven't you done more with artificial intelligence?" Bruce wondered. "I mean, the robots down here alone seem like something you'd want to pursue."

"Yeah, except the fact is, most people like the idea of robots way more than they like actual robots," Tony said. "And something like JARVIS—people hear about him, and all they can think of is "2001: A Space Odyssey." JARVIS, what do you think? Is the world ready for me to start building more systems that can think for themselves?"

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that, sir," JARVIS said, mimicking Hal. Tony and Bruce both laughed.

"See, that would scare the hell out of most people," Tony said, smiling appreciatively at Bruce. "Thank you for being able to tell that he's kidding."

"You know your audience, JARVIS," Bruce said. "Why would I of all people be unnerved by sentient machines?"

"I just find that in general, people are unnerved," Tony said. "They hear the words "robot" or "artificial intelligence," and every movie they've ever seen involving some killer machine flashes through their head. That whole thing with Asimov's laws of robotics—I know that they were theoretical when he invented them, but a machine's a machine, and I'm confident that I built JARVIS well enough that he's not gonna try and kill me someday."

"Sir, it bears mentioning that you are enough of a danger to yourself that you've rendered it almost entirely unnecessary to attempt to kill you."

"Duly noted," Tony said, sipping his own drink, which was Scotch and a splash of water.

"Then what about the robots?" Bruce wondered. "I guess I don't see why your company hasn't pursued developments in robotics more enthusiastically."

"When I first built these guys, sure, there was some buzz," Tony said with a shrug. "But aside from the Rumba, most people don't see it as feasible to actually have robots in your house. The whole thing still seems too sci-fi, I guess. Anyway, they do require a lot of…direction. Dummy! Hey, didn't I ask you to sweep that up? Dummy? No sleeping on the job, pal."

Dummy, who had been motionless, resumed sweeping with what seemed to Bruce to be the robotic equivalent of boredom.

"He doesn't like sweeping," Tony explained, "in as much as a machine that I built to help with chores can have preferences, I mean."

Bruce chuckled. "Okay, so they're not perfect, but machines that can learn…seems like your company would have tried to monetize that by now."

"Bruce, this may seem like business as usual to you, but to most people, the fact that I build robots and then hang out with them in my garage is what puts the 'eccentric' in 'eccentric billionaire,'" Tony said drily. "Obviously, my robotics department is thrilled whenever I mention what goes on down here, but for the first thirty-odd years of my life, every idea I brought to the table at work had to do with weapons. These guys aren't weapons, so I never really pushed to develop them into something we could sell. And again, even if the military had been interested, the PR campaign would have been an uphill battle, to say the least—anyone who's ever seen a Terminator movie would think me building battle drones was the beginning of the end of the world. And Justin Hammer's little stunt last year has just made people even more suspicious of having machines do human jobs. Self-aware machines just seem even riskier."

"See, but I don't get that," Bruce argued. "People are fine with the idea of unmanned drones being used in combat, and there are already tons of robots doing what used to be human jobs already. Why do machines get scary the instant they develop a personality?"

"It's all about perception," Tony said with a shrug. "Robots that do our work for us without any kind of independent thought are seen as tools—they're no scarier than a screwdriver. But robots that can think force people to think too, to ask questions. If something can think, how close to human is it? How should we treat a thinking being, even if its intelligence is something we've created? At what point does artificial intelligence stop being artificial and start being something that humanity has to acknowledge and learn to live alongside?"

Bruce smiled and shook his head. "I guess you've given it a lot of thought."

Tony shrugged. "The kinds of weapons I spent most of my life building should be way more frightening than, say, Stark Tower, but they're not—because people are used to the idea of weapons. Buildings that run on clean energy though—that's different, that's new, and to a lot of people, that equates to scary. People wonder what it's going to lead to, and I don't have an easy answer to that, so they…worry. Adapting to new technologies takes time. But as long as the people who matter don't worry, neither do I. Pepper's usually a good litmus test—if she thinks an idea is crazy, then it probably is. If she thinks an idea is something that will sell, then it usually does."

Bruce glanced behind them at the sweeping robot. "So, Dummy…"

"Is fine in the lab, where I can keep an eye on him," Tony said. "The average person doesn't have time to train a robot, particularly one that requires constant supervision. And JARVIS isn't the kind of thing I'd ever try and mass produce—most people wouldn't have enough for him to do. Imagine a world filled with millions of bored AIs. In a case like that, I could kind of see why people might worry about killer robots—AIs might take over the world just to have something to do. At least I make sure he has plenty of stuff to keep him occupied, right JARVIS?"

"You are nothing if not interesting, sir," JARVIS said, and Bruce smiled. JARVIS was right about that.