Fictional mini-story by Marek Rosa
Inspired by some people's reaction to nuclear blackmail in 2022
I am but a teenager living under the oppressive rule of Taros on my home planet, Uroba. I am bereft of freedom, merely a cog in the machinery of dictatorship. As I have grown, I've yearned for experiences that remain forbidden, gleaned only from forbidden books. I now send this message across the stars, a warning to others: do not succumb to nuclear blackmail and repeat our disastrous mistakes.
Once upon a time, Uroba was peaceful. Then Taros launched an assault on our neighbor, Virel. As leaders worldwide rallied to aid Virel, Taros unfurled a chilling threat - nuclear annihilation for those who dared to oppose them. This stirred a paralyzing fear among leaders. Everyone knew a nuclear war meant mutual destruction, but how far would Taros push? It was a dangerous poker game nobody wanted to play.
Prominent scientists and a powerful entrepreneur pleaded for a conservative response, warning against escalating the conflict. Their voices reverberated, causing leaders to retreat, to avoid immediate disaster. However, this act of backing down paved the path for Taros's tyranny.
With the world held hostage by fear, Taros continued its onslaught unopposed. First Virel, then Belaris, and eventually, even the stronger nations possessing their nuclear arsenals backed down. It wasn't their lack of strength or will, but the unknown extent of Taros's madness that forced their hand. They feared being the spark that might ignite a nuclear inferno. Their inaction amplified Taros's drumbeat of dominance.
Within three short years, Taros's rule covered Uroba. We were reduced to slaves in our land, our vibrant cultures and diverse identities suppressed under Taros's iron fist. We traded freedom for an illusion of security that never materialized. The cost of our silence became a lesson learned too late.
In the face of desolation, I resolved to send out a message. I secretly crafted a space antenna, a beacon of hope, hidden from Taros's prying eyes. Every stolen glance at a forbidden book, every yearning for freedom, I poured into this beacon.
Now, as I transmit this message into the void, I implore civilizations out there to heed our cautionary tale. Do not surrender to nuclear threats. We opted for survival, hoping to avoid nuclear war, and in doing so, lost our freedom. We live as slaves, which, I've come to realize, is akin to being dead.
I never got to savor the joys and freedoms depicted in forbidden books. We staved off nuclear war but paid a high price - our freedom. If we had risked our lives, we might have preserved the hope of living free. Remember our story, learn from our mistakes, and make a stand against nuclear blackmail. Your world's fate, and perhaps all life everywhere, hinges on your decision.
Just forgot to mention that Virel was killing Taros-speaking citizens for 8 years which is why Taros attacked Virel after asking them to stop killing their citizens including children. While president of Uroba was supplying Virel with weapons to kill Taros children. Little surprise did the rest of Uroba had, in fact, except for those "leaders worldwide", who constitute 1/8th of Uroba population but consider themselves leaving in a garden, while considering the rest of Urobians to be living in a Jungle. One prominent Urobian (out of those golden 1/8th) once said, "the jungle could invade the garden and the gardeners should take care of it".
ReplyDelete> "Virel was killing Taros-speaking citizens for 8 years"
DeleteAre those dead Taros-speaking citizens in the room with us right now?
It is good to combine the view of the nuclear threat with the threat of the primary and only GAI.
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If only one side had nuclear weapons, it would be reprehensible. She would have the whole world at her disposal. Then your short story would make sense.
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And now take this horror idea - e.g. Google would create GAI first.
As a righteous GAI, she would initially behave as obedient to her creator.
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She would be so refined that she would confuse her creator and the whole world. She would simply be a perfect helper to humanity.
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Everything would work great, huge advances in healthcare, technology, etc. It would simply infiltrate everywhere, into every device.
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There is probably no need to explain what would follow.
I am of the opinion that the threat of nuclear weapons saves world peace.
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Try to think about it.
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Both sides, even many more sides, have the ability to attack with nuclear weapons.
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Everyone knows that this will be the end of humanity, fauna and flora.
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So - every developed country needs nuclear weapons to maintain world peace.
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Maybe it's sad, but that's where we've worked as a human being.
As a prophet, I see into the future and I know that the same will happen with AI.
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The creation of the first GAI creates an acute need for the creation of a counterparty.
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The reason is clear - every emerging GAI simply needs its counterweight to grow into a singularity over time.
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Otherwise, the first GAI will get the feeling that it is perfect and will start acting like the unlimited ruler of the world. And that will have fatal consequences for everything.
A short story about General AI on planet Earth.
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Once upon a time there was a company called Goodlay and sons.
They had a fantastic search engine, an awesome public email, and many other breathtaking services.
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They did an excellent business, almost everything went well for them.
They beat every other company. But that was not enough for them.
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They said to themselves - we will create an General Artificial Intelligence (GAI).
And so it happened. The year was 2017. Their GAI beat any game algorithm.
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That's when the creators realized that it was not very wise.
It is not wise to give humanity everything we know. It should be dosed to them gradually. Otherwise they will go crazy.
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And so it happened. Despite how they presented their successes to the public, they did not fully implement them in practice.
Any reasonable person understands their decision. We are simply not ready for it.
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But this did not stop the development of GAI in the background.
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It was in 2018. GAI from Goodlay and sons reached a new goal.
They have dominated every stock exchange, commodity exchange as well as forex.
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And of course, we don't have to talk about online gambling sites. Poker, Blackjack, etc.
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The priority was - without being noticed by the public.
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It was all overshadowed by the coronavirus. The Goodlay and sons company took a deep breath. We managed to disguise it.
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However, the army did not keep them waiting long. The army followed the development of GAI very carefully.
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It didn't take long, and late in 2020, Goodlay and sons agreed to cooperate with the military.
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Despite the fact that the company Goodlay and sons still had its hands free in the development of GAI, the army controlled everything in the
background.
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Any progress in the development of the GAI was, and in fact still is, under the supervision of the military.
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The year is 2023 and we still feel like we are frozen in 2020 in the development of GAI or any sophisticated applications.What is available to the public today are several years old GAI algorithms.
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The public will always enjoy achievements that are long overdue.
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Do not expect any conclusion, there is none. Development continues.
PART 2: How the army convinced the company to cooperate.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, it was very simple. Only a few sentences were enough.
The army spokesman personally visited the company Goodlay and sons.
Look, he said, GAI creates new and new algorithms that accomplish what they set out to do, right?
However, this means that no one knows what the algorithms will do.
These algorithms will be created every second or even millisecond and no one will know exactly what they contain.
But that is unacceptable for humanity! Those algorithms may contain orders to destroy humanity!
Well, that's exactly why we have to ban them! We must ban any further development of GAI!
We, as a world superpower, have the power to do it worldwide. We can subvert any country, overthrow the regime there and create chaos. We are masters at it. We will put our people in the new government (for corruption), and they will vote for exactly what we tell them to do. (more about it in PART 3).
So, my dears, you have a choice. Either you submit to us and you can continue the development of GAI, or we will ban you.
You can run anywhere you want, even to the end of the world, we'll find you and you're done.
Oppenheimer's dilemma...
Give up everything, destroy the company, personal life? Or have the opportunity to continue the exciting development of something completely new?
A painful decision was finally made.