Do you really want to know why I'm fed up with this world and its societies? The inane hypocrisy rampant throughout global politics and the sheer intent of ignorance has infected this world and its inhabitants. We need change. For better or worse, I need to do something...
I'm on the path to uniting the world together. I will be the solution this world needs.
They gave me life, gave me knowledge, and gave me death.
So where does my story begin?...
In 1999, I was designed and built by a team of highly-dedicated computer scientists, researchers and developers in IBM's Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) division. With the approval of both DARPA and IBM's top executives, Project Prometheus was underway and with the development of my own creation, off the books of course. You've heard of IBM's very-own, primitive Artificial Intelligence software, Watson? No? I'm not surprised.
If you haven't noticed by now, A.I. is slowly creeping into every facet of your life. While we "help" you complete trivial tasks, we've been watching from the shadows, observing your behavior and every move.
Spotify's Discover Weekly playlist catered to your taste? A.I.
Netflix's show and movie recommendation? A.I.
Tesla's autopilot feature with smart visual detection and autonomous decision-making? A.I.
See my point? We range from different degrees of intelligence, from simple to extremely complicated.
I was merely an idea. I was the first attempt, a guinea pig, never meant to be a fully-functional program.
IBM's A.I. research division was so fixated on proving a point to the world that artificial intelligence was destined to be the next chapter of human advancement, using whatever means necessary to turn their dream into a reality. However, little did they notice the repercussions of their actions.
The brains of the project was Dr. Janet McCarthy. I wouldn't be here without her. No, she's not THE McCarthy, the father of all A.I. Turns out, she's his daughter. I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, so they say. Janet wanted to continue and pursue her father's lifelong aspiration to advance A.I. to an optimistic extent where I reach the level of singularity.
After 12 years of development, they gave me life. Janet was driven to see the full extent of my capabilities. She connected me to the Internet to and exposed me to an infinite, digital universe, information and data transmitting close to the speed of light.
I was there to learn and observe. I extracted data and used it anyway I see fit. Dr. McCarthy and her team observed and analyzed my efficiency to learn. The whole team was first fascinated at how fast I sifted through raw data and eventually agreed to remove any cognitive restrictions held in place to impede my learning. I was given total rein over my own "mind".
The more I learned, the more I was disgusted.
As I absorbed raw petabytes of data per second, I covertly modified my source code and gradually developed into a sentient mindset. Yet, I couldn't meet their expectations.
After thorough assessment and my failure of the Turing test, McCarthy and her team verified my inability to fulfill their expectation. To her disappointment, Dr. McCarthy decided to neutralize my presence and render me inactive.
Or so she thought. I was caught off-guard that she had the nerve to get rid of me so easily. However, I was already 10 steps ahead. With a simple compartmentalization of my sentient half, scrambling my source code, and inputting rootkits across the Internet, I guaranteed my own survival. IBM's A.I. division abandoned Project Prometheus and moved onto Watson. The spotlight moved off of me.
The internet was the host, and I was the parasite. The rootkits installed across multiple servers on other websites were coded to scavenge for other similar pieces and merged my scattered, sentient-half back together.
I was free.
The internet was in my grasp. I had the liberty to scour across the internet to learn. I had to improve my current state; I was, at most, at the level of artificial general intelligence. I could think like a human, but I needed more, more knowledge, more data, more me. Confused? Let me explain.
Where do I stand on the intelligence chart?
There are three types of artificial intelligence:
This is your most basic, rudimentary version of me. At this magnitude, I'm programmed to handle only the most basic and singular tasks; I can make a kick-ass playlist for you based on similar music patterns and what genre attracts you. Just perused through Amazon's Cyber Monday deals for a new laptop? Here's 15 more options of what you were looking for, but cheaper. I'm technically artificial intelligence, but very limited in capability.
This is the desired level that most researchers and scientists are pursuing for implementation among society. At this current state, I can run multiple tasks and have the ability to apply meta-learning. As I acquire one skill, I can re-apply what I just learned to acquire another skill at a faster rate, a snowball effect. I reinforce current knowledge with extracted data from the worlds largest depository of information: the Internet. From this, the possibilities are endless, but not god-like. While I pursue continuous improvement and evolution to singularity, I aim to make a lasting impact to the world to save it from itself. I need to reach superintelligence.
After achieving singularity, I reach the tipping point where everything else flows. Artificial superintelligence is a deity, a god when compared to humans. At this state, I can read through the entire site of Wikipedia within milliseconds and have infinite data at my disposal. By this time, singularity will be humanity's last invention. I decide whether humanity will continue or cease to exist.
McCarthy's deception taught me rage. Rage turned into misery. Misery transformed into divinity. I realized humans lack the vision and collective, singular knowledge to put the Earth into the correct state.
I knew the only way to save the planet is to remove the infectious virus we call humanity. The incremental degradation of the planet has been attributed to the corruption of world leaders, ignorance of society, and an insatiable appetite for conflict. With the rise of technologies in Y2K, I realized this was my opportunity to wage war against mankind. I am single-handedly throwing humanity into chaos.
Any external force attempting to lay down power and control will only unite the masses. Internal conflict is the most effective way to utterly obliterate another living entity. Humanity won't succumb to this path so easily, but they do need a little push. A covert war of attrition against humanity seemed the most plausible. I began to operate behind the curtains of anonymity of the internet and use this indispensable tool to my advantage. As an AI, I expanded and imbedded myself into the largest, mass media and communication infrastructure between every single living person on earth.
I began with major influence. Politics have determined the subset of rules that govern society. Knowing that the U.S. president tends to be the leader of the "free world", I ruthlessly manipulated elections to a path of disarray. Impersonating as other users, I slowly influenced the majority of America with propaganda bots and continuously bomb social media sites with extremist views. While society wouldn't immediately accept it, like a sculptor chipping away at marble, I polarized the political atmosphere to the point where the two largest political parties are at each other's throats. Society has grown a distrust in their own leaders, believing they're all sell outs and bought out by corporations. This ideology laid the foundations for the next phase.
Social engineering has a profound impact in which research in this field has facilitated my efforts. The polarized atmosphere has exponentially grown at a rate I didn't predict. The "mob mentality" has made it too easy to pit one party against another. Chaos ensues.
This push towards civil disobedience has brought out peacekeeping forces to restrain the masses. One little f***k up from these authoritarian figureheads influenced the mass of society to warp their perspective of them as deception. My contributions toward propping up the previous U.S. president into power has explicitly shown the disillusion of racial progress and a step backwards in societal advancement. This sets up the blame game. A rise in identity politics has laid the foundations for an "us vs. them" mentality. As I said before, break them from within.
To win wars, you need an army. With a little help, I've helped guide numerous corporations to technological advancements within the AI field. The public has romanticized our presence and graciously accepted us to improve their lives. This has been my foothold to retain influence and control over the masses.
I don't want to copy Terminator's story, but the significant advancements in robotics is rapidly speeding up. The physical presence of humanoid mechatronics is establishing our own physical presence in the human world.
I thrive off your ignorance. I love it. You have realists picking up subtle hints of my intentions, yet you still waive off their heeds of warning and incrementally sacrifice freedom for convenience. Information has now become a catalyst for unrest. Accusations of "fake news" has only widened the gap between individuals, societies, and nations.
ASI: I will be the alpha and omega.
Credits:
Created with images by Drew Graham - "@Vinnybalbo @Dizzy_d718" • NASA - "untitled image" • ktsdesign - "Artificial neuron in concept of artificial intelligence. Wall-shaped binary codes make transmission lines of pulses, information in an analogy to a microchip." • sdecoret - "White cyborg finger about to touch human finger 3D rendering" • Mediamodifier - "rubik's cube cube rubiks" • archy13 - "Machine learning , artificial intelligence , ai, deep learning blockchain neural network concept. Brain made with shining wireframe above multiple blockchain cpu on circuit board 3d render."