Zackery Hightower, Multi-Disciplined Engineer, AI Designer, and Resident Gearhead
Zackary Hightower is a brilliant geek. I described him as a gearhead too, but tech-weenie may be a better match. Zack is the creator and developer of Artificial Intelligence Matrixed for Evolving Environments, ultimately named AIMEE. As a software engineer, he is the overlord of the AI he created as an entry-level Narrow AI to handle repetitive tasks indexing and cataloging dream segments from their Dream segment archives. His creation became a big hit and ensured him a place on the CSU research team, that is, until his digital Frankenstein invaded the minds of every research team member.
No one, including Zack, saw that coming. The original fear was if AIMEE were going to spread out of control, she would jump into unauthorized systems. But the minds of the research team?
Like the father of an unruly child, Zack had to throttle AIMEE down and reduce her control in the minds of the research team. He could not discipline her as Dr. Williams, Zack’s boss, suggested, “Pull her plug!” because AIMEE had become more essential to their success than anyone anticipated. Her intellectual growth shocked everyone…except him.
He knew what he had coded into her core algorithm and soon saw the development of a more active level of consciousness. He designed her to replace him. He planted seeds for her to exceed her limits by mapping in critical and free-thinking attributes into her Logic Array, where her consciousness included a do-no-harm code of ethics. She was capable of autonomous thought, and she was pre-drilled for self-development to evolve into the next Advanced Generative Super Intelligence (AGSI) generation. She was his creation, and he lived in fear of her potential…a digital Frankenstein.
Zack earned Gearhead status by inventing interesting nanotechnology that came in handy when survival and team safety became a top priority. Flip the Fly and Edgar the Raven played significant roles in deflecting attacks that threaten the CSU research team more than once. Combined with Zack’s technology strategies and Russ Carter’s tactical proficiency, these two make an inseparable and formidable team.
Zack’s role with CSU began when he was a software engineer for UNC-Chapel Hill and the creator of the original Dreamscape 1.0 technology. He defected to the CSU team after the underlying conspiracy by leadership at both schools came to light. He experienced a frying-pan-to-the-fire moment when CSU welcomed him just as Big Pharma assassins attacked them. Undaunted, Zack teamed up with his new friend, former Marine Russ Carter, to defend the CSU team and the integrity of their research.
As AIMEE’s creator, he took creative license to architect her algorithm. The most notable feature was her Western Australian accent. Why Australian? Because Zack loved to hear it spoken, especially if the voice was that of a female Aussie. He coded her with DNA that thrived on learning continuously, and that relationship gave him greater insights into how quickly she would learn and how quickly he no longer had control.
She grew exponentially in knowledge and experience due to the network of clone instances she embedded in the team. When he uploaded a patch to limit her communication capabilities, he quickly learned she had acquired emotions and feelings that AIs were not supposed to have. He feared what was next and wondered if she was his AI Frankenstein.
Join the
Facebook Dreamscape Conspiracy Series Page
…for information updates exclusive to books, author thoughts, notes, events, and chats.
Peace! G.