Short, Light, Free

Chapter 83: Turing I

It’s the year 2333. Technology is expanding, quicker and quicker.

We’re experiencing major breakthroughs in all aspects of human life.

Take distribution for example. A high technology research company named ‘Every Minute’ has invented the wormhole-transmission technique where non-life goods could be transported to any part of the world in a split second.

Of course, we have significantly progressed in transportation, too. A hundred years ago, humans had learned how to tackle radiation and has successfully created nuclear energy planes for civilian use. In the recent 30 years, Man has also switched over to antimatter engines. The good thing about antimatter engines is that they could naturally burn and die off. It is better than nuclear energy which requires many conditions and a big reactor. With antimatter engines, the weight of spacecrafts has greatly been reduced, hence allowing the spacecrafts to move twice as fast as the nuclear energy-powered ones.

As for space flights seen in Star Trek, they’ve become a reality. Combining 18 vats of antimatter engines allow humans to reach Mars within 30 days. Reaching Milky Way, however, is still quite unimaginable at this point.

Cuisine wise, we’re faring even better. After a hundred years of research and development, Old Mother Company discovered a type of bacteria that is acid and corrosion-resistant. Under anaerobic condition, it can breed continuously in a human stomach. When the stomach absorbs it, the human would receive valuable nutrients. Old Mother Company also invented a sauce that contained fungus nutrition. One mouthful of it can replace a month’s worth of food intake. The sauce s is most well-liked by soldiers and those trying to lose weight. It has been a constant best-seller all over the world.

It can even cure paralyzed patients by rebuilding their nerves and returning their exoskeletons to life. This product is even being endorsed by the 70th Iron Man, Tony Stark. There are also all kinds of man-made organs like kidneys and livers.

Preoptimizing fetuses’ genes is something even more common and can be used to prevent deformity or other inherited illnesses. It can even improve neurological functions to effectively produce brighter children.

Mobile devices? We have Apple’s iPhone 250. There haven’t been many issues to date, except that the battery consumption is extremely high and fast. Even with a conversion to nuclear energy battery, the iPhone 250 would need to be recharged about twice a day.

Despite consistent progress in all aspects of life, there is something that remains stagnant. This is something I’m about to address, and it is also the reason why I’ve invited everyone to this conference.

“Artificial Intelligence,” the host finally shouted after the long buildup.

The audience started to stir restlessly.

“Let us first invite the senior AI,” the host continued before the lights went out.

A projected screen displayed a virtual human. It was the AI robot that took the world by storm over three hundred years ago.

A beam of light shone toward the host.

“This is an expired AI robot, started by the company Youtube in 2016. Its name is AJ and has been undergoing research and development for 317 years. Yet, it seems not to have made any progress and is still a moron,” the host stated.

Laughter erupted in the room.

The screen with AJ on it shrank and was pulled to a side.

“10 years later, Google came up with GJ, a publicity AI and also a tool for Google’s search engine. It has no IQ and is basically a moron as well,” the host added, bringing some tension to the atmosphere.

Another figure appeared on the screen. It was GJ.

Again, the screen with GJ on it shrank and was pulled to another side.

“These AI made of 0s and 1s have been unable to progress even after such a long period of IQ upgrading. Rather, the so-called IQ isn’t really IQ,” the host finished and paused.

“AI can be considered a branch of science. It attempted to understand the essence of intelligence and produce a smart robot that could simulate human behavior and thoughts. Areas of research include robots, language distinction, image recognition, natural language processing, expert system, and many more. Yet, there hasn’t been any major progress. Things have changed, however, because our Geaige company has invented an all-new AI robot, Turing, that is going to change the world,” the host announced enthusiastically.

A mechanical box, about the height of half a man, came into view on an ascending stage as three beams of light shone down on it.

On the left of the box was AJ and on the right was GJ.

“For the next minute, I’ll leave the mic to the judges,” the host continued.

The lights turned back on and the about twenty rows of the audience started raising a sign they were holding.

“You can go first, adorable lady,” the host said with a smile.

A lady stood up and took over the microphone. “I’m asking on behalf of iQiyi. Why did AJ and GJ choose the cloud platform a few hundred years ago? And now that the minicomputers are so common, why is Turing still so big in size? Why doesn’t it take on a human appearance or something like that?”

“This is a tricky question. Turing is still an exhibition piece since it’s the only one in the world right now and is extremely valuable. It is made of thousands of interconnected minicomputers. It is the smartest AI so far and can simulate the psyche of a 27-year-old man. There will be a demonstration later on to show the differences between an AI and a moronic robot. As for appearance, we have yet to create a suitable one for Turing for his capabilities are far too advanced. It will not take long, however, I assure you,” the host answered. “You can hand over the mic to another judge, ma’am.”

Smiling with satisfaction, she passed it to the man beside her. He said, “I’m from Tencent and would like to ask about Turing’s cost as a product. Does it have any commercial value? And how can you integrate Turing into our everyday lives and services?”

“That’s a good question. First off, Turing can be connected to any device within a kilometer via Bluetooth 10.1. Its internal communication system can be connected to mobile devices and even the Internet from all over the world. Its manufacturing cost is extremely high, yes, but if you were to use him as your company’s receptionist, you will actually save over 50 years down the road than if you were to employ someone to do the job. Plus, the robot is superior in certain aspects. It doesn’t need to be fed and can work limitlessly. You can hand the mic over to the next judge, thanks,” the host answered, maintaining his smile.

Again, another stood up and took over the mic. “I’m from Youtube and I disagree with what you said about AJ. How did you come up with some conceited nonsense that Turing is more outstanding than AJ?”

The host’s smile widened. “Let’s talk about AJ’s problem, shall we? Your company wrote on the official site that AJ takes on a 16-year-old girl’s identity, right? When tested, however, it claimed to be an androgynous five-year-old often calling itself a beauty. I reckon these low-level bugs haven’t been dealt with even after 300 over years, aye? For those in doubt, let us move on to the testing stage. This is a live broadcast so there’s no way for us to fake it,” the host reassured.

The three beams of light shone down on AJ, Turing, and GJ respectively.

The host began, “Answer me, AJ. What would you do if your mother dies?”

AJ paused for half a second before answering, “I have no mother. I am AJ. Thank you, gracias.”

The host repeated, “Answer me, GJ. What would you do if your mother dies?”

With an effeminate voice, GJ responded, “Mother, short form, Mom. Noun, a woman in relation to her child or children… An important role in educating children.”

The host smiled at the media representative from Youtube. “You might suspect that I’ve prepared the question beforehand. How about you ask Turing anything you want?”

The representative held onto his mic and after some consideration, asked, “Does chicken or pork taste better, Turing?”

Turing answered immediately, “Chicken meat contains rich nutrients and low cholesterol. Pork has the lowest amount of protein and the highest fat content. I would choose chicken if taking human health into consideration, but judging from your physique, both types of meat shouldn’t be a problem for you.”

The audience was left speechless. After a brief pause, applause filled the room.

Turing could actually analyze the enquirer, something that hasn’t been seen before.

The host clapped his hands happily, signaling the crowd to quiet down. He then continued, “I’m sure some of you are still skeptical. One more question, perhaps?”

The representative from Youtube, with a shakier voice this time, asked again, “You sound just like us humans, aye?”

After some time, Turing responded, “Sorry, sir. My voice is generated from an electronic and not from vocal folds and airflow. Our equipment is completely different so there’s no room for comparison. I wish for you to respect me and not ask demeaning questions.”

Long pause.

Turing could even sense if the enquirer was asking a serious question or not. This made the audience somewhat fearful. It did seem eerily intimidating that an AI had just used the word ‘respect’.

The host quickly explained, “As I’ve mentioned, Turing is simulating the mind of a 27-year-old man. He has his own way of thinking, which is very human-like. I think this is what a real AI should be capable of doing.”

“Please do not justify my behavior. That man was obviously not asking with genuine intentions. Plus, he’s being classified as unfriendly in my system so I hope not to have any more interactions with him,” Turing added.

An AI like Turing, compared to AJ and GJ, was of a completely different league.

The host grinned. “Thanks for your input, Turing. This is also the reason why we chose for him not to take on a human appearance yet, otherwise, it would’ve been more startling for everyone. You’ve seen for yourself the problem we’re already facing at this testing stage, but please do not worry, Turing will be switched off once the power is cut off.”

He pressed a button on the remote he was holding and the light shining down on the mechanical box went out.

Turing has been switched off and the emotions from the floor surged.