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My head hurts, every joint aches and my stomach's churning like an acid reclamation pit.

Which means I'm feeling well enough to get back to work.

Color by George Peterson

No further chapters. Apparently, Mark got bored.

Mr. Raibert, You've Got Mail
[!0.987]2014-07-11

Let's see. Coffee first, or check messages?

Commnet, any new messages?

You have 386,224,573 new messages.

Right. Coffee it is.

Color by George Peterson

Mr. Raibert, You've Got Mail
[!0.987]2014-07-14

Commnet, read messages and sort by type. Consolidate when practical. Play messages from most important to least important. Stop after fifty messages.

From Ecosystems Unlimited Robotic Safety Department:

Should I initiate failsafe “Armageddon”?

Yeah. This sounds like one I should answer.

[!1.2]Mr. Raibert! The A.I.'s have gotten into our systems! Every one of our software failsafes have been discovered!

Color by George Peterson

Mr. Raibert, You've Got Mail
[!0.987]2014-07-16

I've already locked down the system. No software updates without my okay. So while the robots may have discovered the failsafes, they won't issue patches without my approval.

Why would they leave themselves vulnerable?

Because they trust us.

Are you sure these intelligences are ready for the human race?

Color by George Peterson

Mr. Raibert, You've Got Mail
[!0.987]2014-07-18

Commnet, how many of the messages are requests for software patches to fix security holes?

If I give the robots permission to patch themselves, we lose the ability to remotely get into their systems. My bosses are going to want those holes left open. They don't know who their friends and enemies are.

SEND:

My view? If you don't know who your friends are, you don't have any friends.

[!1.2]Patch the security holes.

Color by George Peterson

Mr. Raibert, You've Got Mail
[!0.987]2014-07-21

Mr. Raibert. We have your wolf. There's a problem. Our asset managed to acquire her. Orders?

Separate her from the asset and detain. Don't let her sleep. We may have to memory wipe.

SEND:

“Separate her from the asset and detain.” I wonder if he has any other simple orders? Maybe turn lead into gold or find the philosopher's stone?

Message 32:

From:

Color by George Peterson

Socks, Spoons and Neural Nets
[!0.987]2014-07-23

And that's everything up to when I met you.

Well, you've certainly run my brain design through the wringer.

At what point did you decide to ignore outside influences and base your decisions off your own internal ethical values?

I'm not really sure.

Look, I can handle that kind of fuzziness from humans, but from my own creations, I expect higher precision. It doesn't have to be perfect. The exact day and minute will be good enough.

Color by George Peterson

Socks, Spoons and Neural Nets
[!0.987]2014-07-25

Learning to act on my own was gradual.

You really don't know? Nuts! I knew I should have put more self monitoring in your head!

I could have done it with the neurons that give you the concept of socks! But no! The other designers thought it was more important that you understand socks than for me to have vital data needed for second generation designs!

You're not even wearing socks! All that programming, gone to waste! Next generation, no socks! What other flaws do I need to know about?

For starters, this is not even close to how I envisioned a conversation with my creator would go.

Color by George Peterson

Well, in neural learning networks it is impossible to predict in advance to the smallest detail which neuron will be responsible for which role, so I suspect that Dr. Bowman is joking nervously. Although for more general and innate functions, such as facial recognition, it is possible.(KALDYH)

Socks, Spoons and Neural Nets
[!0.987]2014-07-28

What? Oh. I suppose you have questions as well. Go ahead. Ask.

Are there other enhanced chimps still alive?

I'm the last. None of the others made it past forty. Too aggressive. I saw what was happening and neutered myself at fifteen.

We weren't allowed knives at the time because of a stabbing incident. Do you know how hard it is to get a good edge on a plastic spoon?

No, and I would be grateful if we skip the details and move on to another question.

Color by George Peterson

Socks, Spoons and Neural Nets
[!0.987]2014-07-30

Why didn't they use a bonobo chimp? They're less aggressive.

Military project. They wanted aggressive. Did you know less than five percent of a soldier's time is actually spent fighting?

When not fighting, an army still needs to be paid and fed and supplied. Imagine the cost savings of having troops you could train to peak condition and then put in suspended animation barrels until needed!

Wouldn't the soldiers still need frequent retraining as weapons and tactics evolve?

You're thinking logically. Try thinking like a corporation that's having defense contract money waved in its face.

Color by George Peterson

Bonobo – dwarf chimpanzees