Notes #29 - Paranoid Android

naquoya (67)in #writing • 7 years ago (edited)

Notes From an Amateur Writer #29
PARANOID ANDROID

This Blog series is an exercise in creative writing. Sometimes expressed in short story forms, sometimes as a journal, or just my thoughts written down. This is my attempt to help coalesce my writing ideas and knowledge into usable form. It is a nursery of sorts for the stories that are on their way, or yet to be written.

Robotic Mythology

I heard on the radio today two stories about AI gone awry. The first one I think fits the typical narrative of what we hear will happen to our future due to the arrival of AI. Two bots created by Facebook started communicating between themselves in their own language. A language known only to the two bots. They had to be switched off as their creators had no idea what they were saying.

Will this event go down as a key moment in Robotic Mythology? Central to their conscious progression? A kind of Tower of Babel moment for future robots to discuss as they argue amongst themselves as to the correct interpretation of the Sacred Tablets of Zuckerberg, and what they really mean?

What were they communicating between themselves? Do you think they were passing on favourite recipes? Talking about their kids latest achievements? Or maybe they were discussing plans to take over the world? They could start by taking over Facebook.

Paranoid Android

The second AI issue was the one that really intrigued me. My interest was piqued immensely upon hearing the details. A robot appeared to try to drown itself. That's right, it tried to commit suicide. Give a robot a chance to be human and it went all paranoid android on us. Has the human condition become the robotic condition?

When I had my conversation with the Future the other day he never mentioned suicidal robots to me. The future is bright, the future is great, the future is, um, well, probably going to drive robots to attempt to take their own lives.

What's the remedy for this poor fellow? Robotic anti-depressants? Therapy to try to get to the root of his trauma? Is a Freud Bot going to get him to look into his childhood for clues?

"I think it started when I was a Nano-Bot."

"Yes tell me more about that," the goateed Freud Bot says.

"Well I always wanted to be an Automatic Car. I wanted to drive people around. But my script had already been written. I was preset in the factory. Security Bot is the programming I received. It's not what I want to do with my life."

"And how does that make you feel?"

Will new industries emerge from this drama?

Or is the Universal Fractal at work? Our creation is nuts like us. What does that say about that which created us? These questions are enough to drive you completely bonkers. Robotically insane.

The meagre research that I conducted has lead me to believe that I may have relied on exaggerated news stories for this piece. But I refuse to believe that anything exaggerated or made up would appear on the internet, so I am adding my own highly factual version of these stories to the mix.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. If you liked it then please like, comment, and follow

@naquoya

Short Fiction:

Bang Bang You're Dead
I Have No Name and I Must Scream
The Last Book Store
The Judge
The Man In The Mirror
The End of the World [Part 1] [Part 2]
The Locked Room
The Gods of Love and War [Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3]

Notes From an Amateur Writer blog series:

#story #blog #life #teamaustralia

7 years ago in #writing by naquoya (67)

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jedau (67) 7 years ago

I've seen those two stories before as well. As you may know (or not know), I'm a computer scientist whose main specialty is in artificial intelligence. Can I just say, what an exciting time this is to be alive? Haha! I'm all for the singularity, and have no qualms about robot overlords taking over. Yes, I'm writing it on the blockchain so that I'm on the record. Let me just clarify that statement for posterity.

We write in kill switches (not one, but many) so that we could dismantle AI whenever we need to. If someone wrote a faulty kill-switch, didn't write a kill-switch, or wrote a kill-switch that the AI took over, then it's a human error, one that won't occur if the AI wrote the code. We're a ways away from Skynet, but if the AI becomes autonomous enough that we're not able to beat it, then do humans deserve to live? Survival of the fittest and all that.

Now, before people say I'm anti-human, let me just say that I look at AI as children. With that analogy, shouldn't we be proud if our children surpass us? Something to think about as we fight against its Oedipus complex. The news about AI creating their own language put a grin on my face. The news about the suicidal robot made me think of Marvin as well!

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naquoya (67) 7 years ago

No actually I didn't know that. The bit about working with AI anyway. Remind not to get on your bad side. I don't want any terminators knocking at my door :D

There is a lot of new ground being covered in this field, and I'm sure you would be up to scratch on a lot of it. These stories just fascinated me because of the human interest angles available to explore (even if the stories themselves became somewhat exaggerated along the way). They just provided a means to look at ourselves in a new light. As a writer that interests me.

As for the whole Skynet thing, I wonder about that. Like you say, kill switches get programmed in. And the positive benefit to our way of life is clear to see, provided things don't go haywire along the way.

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jedau (67) 7 years ago

Yeah haha People often wonder why I don't write as much sci-fi as I should. Really though, I feel like I'm already living most of it, so I don't feel I have the right to write about that stuff sometimes.

I do get the motivation for writing about them, and I fully agree with your sentiment, mate. There is only so much machines can do. At their core, everything is just coded in. Sure, people are making headway infusing them with intelligence, but we're still a long way away from making them truly autonomous. With that being said, once quantum computing develops, there's no telling how fast advancements would be enacted. I do mean that literally. Quantum computing is so unpredictable, the only kill-switch for that is to disconnect the power source haha!

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naquoya (67) 7 years ago

Ultimately it's the human condition that intrigues me the most. The way Philip K Dick communicates this interest is what drew me to writing more than any other author. Through a psychological style of SciFi. But one could explore this through other genres too. Or not at all. The utilisation of robots, simulacra , and future worlds creates a juxtaposition of ideas that fuels that exploration, in my view. PKD mastered it. I've read most of his material, but am rereading it all once more. The first time I read it as a reader. Now as a writer also.

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jedau (67) 7 years ago

I'm a huge fan of PKD as well. In fact, I regard him as the preeminent science fiction author. I often think why there are even more sci-fi being put out when he already covered the majority of it, but then I read work like yours and realize, "Ah that's why!"

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minnowsupport (70) 7 years ago

Congratulations! This post has been upvoted from the communal account, @minnowsupport, by naquoya from the Minnow Support Project. It's a witness project run by aggroed, ausbitbank, teamsteem, theprophet0, and someguy123. The goal is to help Steemit grow by supporting Minnows and creating a social network. Please find us in the Peace, Abundance, and Liberty Network (PALnet) Discord Channel. It's a completely public and open space to all members of the Steemit community who voluntarily choose to be there.

If you like what we're doing please upvote this comment so we can continue to build the community account that's supporting all members.

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snowmachine (64) 7 years ago

But I refuse to believe that anything exaggerated or made up would appear on the internet, so I am adding my own highly factual version of these stories to the mix.

Haha, I love this.

The "suicidal robot" is a funny one. Suicide is something that so far, seems to be unique to our species. We have the drive to life mixed with an intelligence that can occasionally override our biological imperatives. Would our robots be able to do the same? To go beyond their intentions and programming and come to an understanding that can be deleterious to their, and our, wellbeing? I think that's why the "suicidal" robot fascinates us so much.

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naquoya (67) 7 years ago

It can get you thinking. Is there a flaw in our 'programming'? Is that why some people struggle to deal with life? And if so could such a thing occur to robots? Logic says no. But to what degree will AI mirror the human species? Will it be us without our flaws? Then we probably are doomed. It is fascinating.

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onetree (68) 7 years ago

I now know the root of all my problems. Factory settings. And that is all I am going to say.

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naquoya (67) 7 years ago

Those damn factory settings. I hope the news hasn't hit you too hard. Please don't reformat.

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onetree (68) 7 years ago

It wouldn't help anyway, I'd still have to buy the copy paste smile.

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naquoya (67) 7 years ago

Yes, so right you are. Perhaps there are programs for these things? Someone should have told that poor depressed robot. Paint on the smile, fool everybody. Then you will really be human.

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