The Unfinished Fable of the Sparrows
Bostrom (2014). Superintelligence.
It was nest-building season, but after days of long, hard work, the sparrows sat in the evening light, relaxing and chirping. “We’re all so small and weak. Imagine how much easier life would be if we had an owl to help us build our nests!” “Yes!” said another. “And he could help us take care of our elders and children.” “He could give us advice and watch out for the cats that prowl near here,” added a third.
Then Pastus, the wise old bird, spoke: “Let’s send out scouts in all directions and try to find a young owl abandoned somewhere, or perhaps an egg. A baby crow would also do, or a very young weasel. It might be the greatest thing that’s ever happened to us, at least since the opening of the ‘unlimited grain pavilion’ in the backyard.”
The crowd was excited, and sparrows everywhere began to sing at the top of their lungs.
Only Scronkfinkle, a one-eyed sparrow with an inquisitive temperament, was not convinced of the wisdom of the undertaking. He said, "That will surely be our downfall. Shouldn't we first think about the task of taming and controlling the owl, before bringing such a creature among us?"
Pastus replied, "Taming an owl seems a very difficult task. It will be hard enough to find an owl's egg.
So let's start with that. When we succeed in raising an owl, we'll start thinking about that other task."
"There's a flaw in the plan!" chirped Scronkfinkle; but his protests were in vain, for the crowd had already taken flight to begin executing Pastus's plan. Only two or three sparrows remained behind. Together, they began to try to figure out how an owl could be tamed and controlled. They soon realized that Pastus was right: it was an extremely difficult challenge, especially since they lacked a real owl to practice on.
Nevertheless, they continued to do their best, constantly fearing that the crowd would return with an owl's egg before they found a solution to the problem of how to control such a creature. How the story ends is unknown.