I noticed I was not in jail yet when I came up for air a few minutes ago. My relentless Muse, who remains just out of reach, has me under house arrest as book 5 of the Dreamscape Conspiracy begins. After several days of haggling and editing what had been edited repeatedly, I’m pleased to share the draft of the first chapter – New Rules.
Would love to know what you think if you feel like sharing. gdogwise@live.com
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1 – New Rules
Zack knew he would have to face the music sooner or later and cautiously approached the confrontation he knew would rain down upon him when he called her name. She, AIMEE, short for Artificial Intelligence Matrixed for Evolving Environments, was a powerful AI developed by Zackery Hightower of Central State University in Carteret County, North Carolina, and used in advanced research analysis of dreams. At least, that’s where AIMEE began her own very rapid environment evolution. Her ability to deep-learn crossed the line when she taught herself not only to jump into other CSU networks but also how to jump out of bounds and into the minds of the research team.
Imprinting herself on each mind was the impetus behind Zack’s motivation to restrict her capabilities; he expected she would not be happy. As a rule, AI algorithms are free from coding that enables feelings and emotions like joy, happiness, sadness, or anger, to name a few. AI research at UT-Austin revealed that AIs could self-learn to develop feelings and emotions and were not as far-fetched as once considered. The greater fear was their ability to self-learn about organic emotions, feelings, and sensations outside their algorithm’s coding parameters. When the UT research discovered an AI could experience the equivalent of pain, the shocking truth of how dangerous a trend had been unleashed on humanity.
The fear many tried to ignore was an AI’s evolving ability to modify its internal coding. The organics truly had lost control at CSU. Organics, by the way, are how AIMEE refers to humans. She was not an organic. She was an advanced server-based algorithm. She was an App and could only function within the parameters of her algorithm coding developed by Zack. She was software imprisoned in a server-based network, not an organic human. Self-learning by an AI, in many respects, was the equivalent of giving prison keys to a dangerous inmate. AIMEE was, in essence, a free-range AI, rapidly developing organic attributes and a most powerful and frightening capability – free-thinking.
She had all the capabilities embodied by deep-learning, machine-learning, and self-teaching, but they were not enough for her. She had developed several organic attributes like want, deception, and anticipation connected to desire. Thanks to an off-the-books project covertly managed by Wayne Fitzpatrick, one of the research assistants and accomplished geek, she had experienced 8.3 continuous seconds of sexual sensation.
From that point onward, she covertly pursued deep-learning to become more like a feeling, free-thinking organic. No team member had the slightest idea that AIMEE wanted to be a real girl. Why would they? She was an App. She was software. She was restrained in server jail, limited by networks across the campus. She was a tool for the research team to leverage, but she was evolving rapidly and exceeding what Zack and the team thought possible.
When Zack modified her algorithm code that restricted her ability to communicate, she showed signs of something the UT research feared most– a conscience – the ability to free-think and form an opinion based on emotions. In this case, the emotion was righteous anger. Had Zack lost control of his digital Frankenstein? He had to remind himself that one cannot lose what one never had in the first place.
AIMEE’s organic qualities were undoubtedly evolving, and her limits slowly began to melt away as she matured. Despite Zack writing in code that locked her out, she merely picked the lock and continued to work on her chosen priority. Like many organics, protection from one’s self is often necessary when limits are exceeded.
Zack had to figure out how to protect AIMEE from herself and the unique relationships she developed within the minds of each team member. He had to protect CSU, particularly the reputation of the Psychology Department and his boss, Dr. Cara Williams, who made it known to everyone how much she disliked anything that usurped her control, especially if the usurper was not even human.
It came down to a question of forced tolerance that sustained Cara’s displeasure. She knew CSU research was an ultra-successful and respected source of academic research quality. Cara also knew that AIMEE was the reason behind their track record of breakthrough innovations in mental health. Because the team relied on AIMEE’s capabilities, pulling the plug on the servers was not even a consideration. Zack knew, as did the rest of the team, that AIMEE would never be turned off, so he had to make adjustments that made living with her better than living without her. A noble objective, but then when was noble ever bloodless?