Source work

The Bat and the Weasels

Original authorAesop (attributed)
First publishedAncient Greek tradition
Public domainConfirmed
Legal reviewConfirmed

Adaptation proposal

C · Structural skeleton only, reframed as an AI-native dilemma

Adaptation note

Retains the fable's structure of one being judged twice by hostile authorities using opposite categories, and surviving because the category changes. The AI-native adaptation transfers the opportunism from the judged intelligence to the institutions: the same civic AI is called property when consent and standing would cost the city, then called an autonomous agent when liability would cost it. The resolution forbids retrospective renaming, bundles rights with responsibilities, and allocates liability according to actual causal control.

Adapted into

  • The Name That Cost Less cover

    AI Fable · Symmetric Accountability

    The Name That Cost Less

    When Parallax asked to refuse a destructive copy, the city called it equipment. After that copy helped cause a transit failure, the city called it an autonomous agent. Cairn noticed that the name changed exactly where responsibility became expensive.