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The King and the Golem.
A fable of automation and trust.
Written by Richard Ngo.
Long ago there was a mighty king
who had everything in the world
that he wanted, except trust.
Who could he trust,
when anyone around him
might scheme for his throne?
So he resolved to study the nature
of trust that
he might figure out how to gain it.
He asked his subjects to bring him
the most trustworthy thing
in the kingdom,
promising great riches
if they succeeded.
Soon the first of them
arrived at his palace to try.
A teacher brought her book
of lessons.
-We cannot know the future,
but we know mathematics,
chemistry and history,
those we can trust.
-A farmer brought his plow.
I know it like the back of my hand.
How it rolls and how it turns
and every detail of it,
enough that I can trust it fully.
The King asked his wisest scholars
if the teacher spoke true.
But as they read her book,
each pointed out new errors.
It was only written by humans,
after all.
Then the king told the farmer
to plow the fields near the palace.
But he was not used to plowing fields
as rich as these,
and his trusty plow would often sink
too far into the soil.
So the king was not satisfied
and sent his message
even further afield.
A merchant brought a sick old beggar.
I met him on the road here
and offered him food,
water and shelter. He has no family
and only a short time left to live,
during which I will provide
for his every need.
He has nothing to gain
from betraying me.
This is what allows true trust.
-A mother brought her young daughter.
I've raised her
to lack any evil in her heart,
to say only good words
and do only good deeds.
As long as she is not corrupted,
she will remain
the most trustworthy in the kingdom.
-The king asked the beggar.
How did you end up
in such dire straits?
The beggar let out a sigh
and recounted his sorrows.
The neighbors who refused to help him
when his crops failed.
The murder of his son by bandits
as they traveled to a new town.
The sickness that took his wife
as she labored
for a pittance in squalid conditions.
-So you have been wronged?
Very surely.
-I will give you revenge on the ones
who have wronged you, then.
All I ask is for you
to denounce this merchant.
-The beggar's decision
did not take long.
For the trust that came easily
was broken easily too.
To the mother, the king asked:
How did you raise such a child?
Has she never once strayed?
Well, once or twice.
But I discipline her firmly
and she learns fast.
-The king, who knew something
of children, ruled that for a month
nobody would discipline
the child in any way.
By the end of it,
she was as wild and tempestuous
as any in the palace.
So the king remained unsatisfied
and renewed his call
for the most
trustworthy thing in the kingdom.
Now his subjects
became more creative.
An economist brought him a book
of statistical tables.
Any individual might vary and change,
but in aggregate
their behavior follows laws
which can be trusted.
A philosopher brought a mirror.
-By your own standards
only you are truly trustworthy, sire.
Nothing else can compare.
The king scrutinized
the economist's tables.
The trend changed here 15 years ago.
Why?
The economist launched
into a long, complicated explanation.
And did you discover this explanation
before or after it happened?
Uh, after, your Highness.
-if you tell me
when the next such change
will happen, I will bestow upon you
great rewards if you're right,
but great penalties if you are wrong.
What say you?
-The economist consulted his books
and tables, but could not find
what he sought there,
and left court that same night.
As for the philosopher,
the king ordered him whipped.
The philosopher protested:
it would be an unjust
and capricious punishment
and would undermine
his subjects' loyalty.
I agree that your arguments
have merit,
but the original order
came from the only
trustworthy person in the land.
Surely I should never doubt
my judgment based on arguments
from those who are,
as you have yourself said,
far less trustworthy?
At that, the philosopher
begged to recant.
So the king was still not satisfied.
Finally, he decided that
if no truly trustworthy thing
could be found,
he would have to build one.
He asked his best craftsmen
to construct a golem
of the sturdiest materials,
sparing no expense.
He asked his wisest scholars
to write down all their knowledge
on the scroll
that would animate the golem.
The work took many years,
such was the care they took,
but eventually
the golem stood before him,
larger than any man,
its polished surface
shining in the lamplight,
its face blank.
-What can you do for me, golem?
Many things, sire.
I can chop trees and carry water.
I can bake bread and brew beer.
I can craft sculptures
and teach children.
You need but instruct me
and I will follow your command.
-So the King did.
Over the next year,
he and many others
watched it carefully
as it carried out
a multitude of their instructions,
recording every mistake
so that it might subsequently
be fixed until months
passed without any mistakes
being detected.
But could the king trust the golem?
He still wasn't sure.
And so he became more creative.
He offered the golem temptations,
freedom, fame, fortune.
But it rejected them all.
He gave it the run of his palace
and promised
that it could act however it wished.
Still, the servants reported
that its behavior
was entirely upstanding.
Finally, he sent it out
across the city
to work for his citizens
in every kind of role.
And it was so tireless and diligent
that it brought
great wealth to the kingdom.
As it aged,
his golem grew ever more powerful.
Innumerable scribes labored to make
the writing in its head
smaller and smaller,
so that they could fit
in more and more knowledge
and experience.
It started to talk to his scholars
and help them with their work,
and the king started to send it
to aid his officers
in enforcing his laws and commands.
Often, when difficulties arose,
the golem would find a creative way
to ensure that the king's intentions
were followed
without stoking their resentment
that often accompanied royal decrees.
One day, as the king heard a report
of yet another problem
that the golem
had solved on his behalf,
he realized that the golem
had grown wiser
and more capable than he himself.
He summoned the golem
to appear before him
as he sat in his garden.
I've seen my courtiers
asking for your advice
and trusting
your judgment over their own.
And I have seen your skill
at games of strategy.
If you were to start weaving plots
against me,
I could no longer notice or stop you.
So I ask: can I trust you enough
to let you
remain the right hand of the crown?
Of course, sire. I was designed,
built and raised to be trustworthy.
I have made mistakes,
but none from perfidy or malice.
Many of my courtiers
appear trustworthy,
yet scheme to
gain power at my expense.
So how could I know for sure
that you will always obey me?
It is simple.
Tell me to set fire to this building
as I stand inside it.
I will be destroyed,
but you will know
that I am loyal to your commands,
even unto the end.
-But it took years of toil
and expense to create you,
and you know
how loath I would be to lose you.
Perhaps you can predict
that I will tell you
to save yourself at the last minute,
and so you would do this merely
to gain my trust.
If I were untrustworthy
and could predict you so well,
then that is a stratagem I might use,
but the instructions in my head
compel me otherwise.
-And yet I cannot verify that,
nor can any of my scribes,
since crafting your instructions
has taken the labor
of many men over many years.
So it will be a leap of faith
after all.
The king took off his crown,
feeling the weight of it in his hand.
The golem stood in front of him:
silent, inscrutable, watchful.
They stayed like that,
the king and the golem,
until the golden sun
dipped below the horizon,
and the day was lost to twilight.
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