Based on experience, we intuitively understand that people's personalities are often reflected in their appearances. Though it tends not to be welcomed to say it openly, there exist features which suggest intelligence, roughness, tenderness and so on for sure, and despite the saying “Appearances can be deceiving,” it is usual that the impressions we hold about others from their appearances turn out to be true. In society in 2030, based on this point, the AI which could identify people's personalities from their appearances had been developed, and it was widely used for such purposes as preventing crimes.
Saburo thought about becoming a politician by using this AI. In the cases of nameless candidates, especially, voters should decide whether they would vote for them or not solely based on their appearances, such as ones shown in their posters or their standing posture during their stump speeches. That is, he thought if he utilized both the AI mentioned above and generative AI effectively, he could find out how to change his face through plastic surgery to obtain “preferable features to be elected.”
He put this idea of his into practice and underwent plastic surgery. As AI suggested, he had his eyes with single eyelids made a bit bigger with double eyelids and had bridge on his nose made a bit higher. Also, he got silicon injection in his cheeks so that his face would look bigger and began to wear swept-back hair.
Just after he underwent the surgery, it seemed that one experienced Diet member had formed a new political party in the name of creating “a political party which would get close to the socially vulnerable” and was looking for candidates for the next election. Therefore, Saburo tried contacting him. At first, he sent his picture and resume via email, and later, the politician interviewed him in person. In the interview, the politician stared at Saburo's face which had been changed exactly as the AI suggested and said,
“Your features are really nice.”
Eventually, Saburo ran for a Diet member from the new party, and there being no other prominent candidate at his electoral district, he won the election at the first attempt surprisingly. What he did was just to fight the election battle following the party's policy faithfully, but unexpectedly, he could win the election getting far more votes than any other candidate in the district did.
This way, his wish to be a Diet member was easily fulfilled, but naturally, he had neither experience nor knowledge of politics. Thus, he hired an experienced private secretary and began to receive his advice on various matters. The secretary was so excellent that when Saburo had an opportunity to answer questions in the Diet, he had no trouble in particular as long as he had looked over materials prepared by the secretary.
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However, at his core, Saburo was an honest man, so that he began to feel his monotonous life as a Diet member painful: he was pampered by people around him who called him “Sensei,” and when he had a chance to meet his supporters, he stringed together all sorts of flowery words as if he were a reliable man who could influence society. However, all he had been doing after he became a Diet member was to take his own seat in the Diet building showing a stern look on his face and to repeat the contents of materials prepared by his party or secretary like a parrot.
To begin with, it was because he thought he would be pampered and could get lucrative incomes Diet members could get that he had aimed to be a politician, but after it came true, this time, he began to suffer from such a life. Since Saburo, especially, was well aware himself that all he had done was to alter his appearance so that he would look like a suitable candidate for a Diet member, and that he was a politician of no contents, he gradually started to be tormented by guilt wondering if it was reasonable that he could live such an elegant life using tax money, and eventually, he decided to confide his agony to his secretary.
After the secretary listened to Saburo's story as to why he had aimed to be a politician and the proceedings in which he had undergone the plastic surgery to obtain “preferable features to be elected,” without batting an eye, he said “there is no need to worry.” To Saburo, who looked puzzled, he mentioned as below:
“After all, under the political systems in this country, those with talent and abilities who are suitable to be politicians aren’t elected. Probably you know well that political circles in this country are full of second or third generation politicians and entertainer-turned politicians. Surely, they can’t do anything without their staff such as bureaucrats or secretaries. Like you, they are of no contents at all.”
Without caring about Saburo, who listened with his eyes which had become bigger due to the surgery even wider, the secretary continued as below:
“All that matters to politicians in this country is whether they can win votes in elections. Many of them win them utilizing their constituencies inherited from their ancestors or their popularities built up while they were entertainers, and in your case, through changing your appearance by cleverly utilizing AI. Though it may seem that there is nothing in common among constituency, popularity, and appearance, in fact they are similar in that they have nothing to do with necessary abilities for politicians. In this sense, you are much the same as many of the other Diet members, so there is nothing for you to worry about.”