I think I like #1 more because of the fact that SAL has no hands. What happens when they really, REALLY need to do something that requires hands in order to stay functional? To me, it’s the more open-ended story of the two, and has good tension/conflict potential, especially if you introduce a deadline to them acting.
#2 opens the question, how did they accidentally kill everyone off, but it’s less open-ended. Once we know the answer, then we know.
Seven votes for Story One, Ten votes for Story Two!