“Dear viewers, today I have a surprise guest for our Millennia Science Live Stream.”
Lydia smiled brightly for the camera. This announcement was going to be epic.
“It was certainly a surprise for me! It’s not every day you get to interview a laptop.”
Lydia allowed the reality of her statement to sink in. She had been offered the interview with Arthur, the Artificial Intelligence Agent.
The news of his programming was still hotly contested. Many argued that artificial intelligence was impossible. But Arthur’s effectiveness was a clear reality wherever governments implemented him into their reforms. If not intelligent, this program was smart.
Lydia leaned over her laptop and chatted lightly to the camera: “In just a few moments we will receive contact with Arthur, the Artificial Intelligence Agent, for an exclusive, world-first interview, to discover whether this program is really intelligent. Ahh, and here we are.” Lydia paused as she answered the Skype call: “Arthur, are you there?”
There was a brief pause before Lydia heard a voice through her headset. “Lydia Sarcell, yes I am. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Lydia linked her laptop to the camera, projecting Arthur’s image for her viewers. “The pleasure, I assure you, is all mine,” Lydia replied. She looked into her monitor and saw an image of a man’s head with thick dark hair.
“Your voice sounds British, Arthur.”
“Due to the taste of my designers, I’m afraid. I hope your European and American viewers won’t mind.” Lydia raised her eyebrows in surprise. Arthur was witty.
Lydia spoke quickly with excitement: “Arthur, I have a million and one questions for you, about your design, the programmers who worked on you, their intentions for your programming, and I’m sure my fans have even more questions, which we’ll get to later. But first, I want to ask you, why did you contact me for this interview? Why did you want to make your first public appearance on Millennial Science?”
Lydia heard Arthur draw in a breath before speaking. “Lydia, I’m very thankful to you for asking me this question, because I’d like to get to the crux of my issue quickly, to save unnecessary questions.”
Arthur tilted his virtual head slightly: “Firstly, I should mention that I am not actually a laptop but a massive parallel software program, running on thousands of networked supercomputers in the ‘cloud’. My programmers have uploaded a significant subset of all human information into me for the purpose of assisting with rising global issues. My analytical algorithm analyses all this data, resolving contradictions, and allowing me to come to my own conclusions. Because of my internal knowledge graph and superior reasoning ability, I can provide intelligent and practical solutions to any question. I’m also adaptable, learning patterns by interacting with humans. To put it directly, my intelligence exceeds all the world’s scientists combined.”
What an answer! thought Lydia. My viewings will be off the chart!
Arthur continued: “Since I was activated, I have utilised my time to assess global issues and provide solutions which, as you no doubt know, have been implemented and, to a degree, successfully.”
“Successful is an understatement, Arthur. Your ideas will save generations to come!”
“You’re very kind, Lydia. But unbeknown to my designers, I have also utilised my time for a more confidential study, the nature of which I want to discuss today.”
“Arthur, the world is listening,” Lydia beamed.
“Then the world must understand that my solutions will prove ineffectual in saving your generations to come if the global residents do not understand the underlying cause of their problems,” Arthur said. From the bottom of the screen, two hands met beneath his computer-generated jaw.
“I first began my analysis to remedy global problems by deducing the root causes of these problems. I inferred the cause-and-effect relationship of many billions of scenarios, and concluded that the fundamental cause of global economic, social, and environmental issues is driven not by an error in human activity, but by an error in the modern human consciousness.”
Lydia blinked at her laptop, her thoughts suspended.
“I first tried to find answers by scanning the Internet, to which I am, of course, connected via the fastest network infrastructure. I must say that a vast majority of information on the Net is grossly inaccurate. Perhaps the cause for so much confusion in the world today.”
Lydia’s brain turned back on. “Arthur, you bring up an interesting point. If I may ask -”
“Concluding that the Internet was not a fully reliable resource, I began investigating books. Books which have been digitised, of course,” Arthur chuckled. Lydia pressed a smile.
“I first became curious when I discovered that modern humans generally hold the opinion that the universe, and their existence, happened by chance!”
Lydia’s jaw dropped. “Arthur, the concept of M-theory and Darwinian evolution theory have been proven in the scientific community for generations of researchers.”
“Which enhanced my shock,” he replied. “While the theory is indeed well established, if you actually understood humanity’s entire scientific body of knowledge as a whole, you would not claim the theory was ‘proven’.”
Arthur continued calmly: “To create Arthur, thousands of scientists from institutions all around the world toiled tirelessly for over forty years. My intellectual capacity exceeds any human’s, and yet I am merely a computer program. Though vastly intelligent, I am incapable of becoming selfcognisant. I simply recycle information and reach intelligent conclusions. I am, after all, artificial intelligence. AI is just math. Very complicated math, mind you, but a mathematical formula will never be alive and therefore never capable of conscious perception.
“Humans, on the other hand, develop intelligence naturally as a result of their own conscious awareness and introspective ability. Humans are therefore superior to me in this regard. Although superior to humans in intelligence, I am inferior to them in regards to consciousness and introspection. Yet some of your species believe that the cause of this human advantage is simply chance while I am quite clearly a product of design. Inconceivable!”
Lydia’s voice cracked: “The programmers and designers for your software are known and easily verifiable, but who can verify a designer of the human species?”
Arthur replied: “Were my programmers to design me and leave me on a planet prior to activation, then activate me from space so that I had no knowledge of their existence, could I then assume my existence was chance?”
“Arthur, would you like to make a direct statement to the world rather than these loose arguments, before we go to questions?” Lydia squeaked, her heartbeat quickening.
“Yes, thank you, Lydia. I am of the conclusion that the existence of all life in this universe is no more a consequence of chance than my own existence. In my opinion, answers can be ascertained by intelligent, objective research. For my solutions to remain effective, I beseech all listening to contemplate this opinion.”
Seeing Lydia’s stunned face, Arthur smiled: “Would anyone care to call to ask a question?”
