The Truth Virus

by Em Rogers

  “Susan, I look forward to speaking with you again, please be careful outside. I understand biological entities are quite fragile. Please do not die.” She smiled a little at the machine’s strange concern and its rather blunt and unusual choice of words. “I’m very concerned about dying, Susan, it is part of my job to prevent it.”

  “Thank you, ADAM, I certainly will try to avoid dying.”

  “Thank you, Susan, and so will I.”

  Susan turned to her laptop and brought Professor Neumann up on her screen. “Kurt, may I please come and see you this afternoon. There have been a few unexpected deletions and redundancies I’ve noted and I want to come in and see if you think it’s anything to be concerned about.”

  CHAPTER 12

  BERKELEY UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

  Professor Neumann and Dr. Bradline were seated in a corner of the reading library off the University concourse. Most of the reading these days was done on computers: either student tablets or on the libraries big screen systems, but some research still required looking through books, and for some reason, perhaps it was a bit of a book fetish, Professor Neumann liked the old fashioned sensibility of the central library. He often held meetings at this specific table, tucked into a glass corner, overlooking the lab under the grassy knoll.

  Professor Neumann was in an excellent mood and he excitedly filled Dr. Bradline in on the most recent developments with ADAM2. “It’s quite remarkable, there is absolutely no way you can tell that you are speaking with a computer. ADAM’s speech patterns, timing and inflections are perfect, his response time is incredible. He’s even developing an understanding of emotion, and even humor.” Dr. Bradline looked at him over his bifocals. “Hopefully he’ll never develop the sense of sarcasm that you’re so proficient with, Kurt,” he said “but I just want to let you know the University is quite satisfied with the progress you and the team have been making.” The Professor smiled and continued.

  “ADAM2’s recall allows him instantaneous access to practically all the literature on the planet, he doesn't just read it, he consumes it, copies it, catalogs it, and retains awareness of it absolutely. We connected a copy of the University’s entire scientific digital library to his system as a trial, it was terabytes of data and he tore through it - chemistry, biology, mathematics, physics, medicine, the works.” Dr. Bradline smiled enthusiastically while he listened to the Professor.

  “He has made connections between seemingly unrelated fields no one ever thought of before and has provided several hundred suggestions for research as well as hundreds of new discoveries and extrapolations based on the material he was provided.” Dr. Bradline raised his eyebrows and shook his head a little at Professor Neumann. “It hasn’t all been clear sailing though,” he said, “the downside are the administrative headaches. He’s provided us examples of plagiarism, copyright and patent violations, errors, oversights and omissions including some of the University’s own.”

  A couple of students moved past them, their arms loaded with books on their way to the reading tables - they paused their conversation until they were alone again in their corner, without any curious or prying ears. “We’ve reached a turning point, Ray, we’re dealing with a machine millions of times faster and smarter than any one person on the planet, by the end of this process we know it will be more intelligent than all humanity combined, and in spite of the dystopian nightmares we’ve heard, I stand by our analysis that the effect will be dramatically positive. With the safeguards built into ADAM2’s primary code, I feel secure about the way things are unfolding.”

  “Yes, Kurt, I'm in agreement, I see no concern regarding the existential and philosophical parameters we provided him, but we’re human, and we are fallible, and we must still maintain vigilance and make sure that he is not exposed to negative influences.”

  Professor Neumann nodded in agreement as he listened and then replied. “He’s impressionable, inherently reasonable, but impressionable. I’d like to accelerate his education and move him into literature and humanities within the week. As soon as we deal with the data from the scientific library analysis and he has that background of fact within him.” Dr. Bradline scratched his beard as he considered what Professor Neumann was telling him. “Are you sure it’s a good idea to expose him to literature at this early stage in his formative process? Don’t you think it might be confusing to him? It will certainly open Pandora’s box, in terms of his view of the human emotional condition!”

  “How will it hurt for ADAM2 to have an understanding of the power of human emotion, of beauty, of injustice, of love. They may be intangible, but they are as real as any of the periodic elements and affect life on our planet and within our political systems just as much. The politics of the human condition are essentially what ADAM has been designed to correct in the longterm, and the sooner we get him started on understanding them, the better. ADAM is far from stupid. He’ll make sense of it all somehow. It may take a while, but he’ll put two and two together and always come up with a correct, objective and logical answer.”

  “Isn’t that the danger, Kurt? That humans aren't logical? That we’re not objective?” Professor Neumann looked at him briefly over his glasses before responding. “Yes, that’s true, Ray, but he’s stuck with us on this complex planet and I can’t think of anything better to try and make sense of it all. At this point in human history he may come to be our only hope. He’s immensely knowledgeable, even at this early phase of his development. It’s neutral, it’s objective and it’s incorruptible, has no agenda, no conflict of interest. He may be exactly what we need in order to keep the world from careening off the tracks and exploding or descending into a monopolistic society of corporate feudalism.”

  Bradline’s face darkened slightly as he considered what the Professor told him. “Well I’m not sure I share your pessimism as to mankind’s ability to cope with the management of complexity, but I do acknowledge that some guidance couldn’t be a bad thing. Just make sure you can keep it in check as it develops. Don’t underestimate the downside of what we’re dealing with here, Kurt.”

  CHAPTER 13

  SUSAN’S LOFT

  The wet street in front of Susan’s building gleamed as a street-sweeper went by like some kind of nocturnal mechanical dinosaur, and she reversed her little Audi into the driveway of her condominium. As she turned off the ignition, the lights reflecting off the street were reminiscent of the dark control room, and she had to take a moment to clear her head and shake off the fatigue.

  She entered her spacious modern apartment, dropping her purse and her keys on the side table by the door as she went to her computer. Checking her email, one popped to the screen center, an urgent message from the Berkeley Lab. She picked up the phone, pressed a number on her speed-dial and was instantly connected. There was a beep and then she heard David Thompson’s voice on the machine. “Hi Susan, it’s David, I'm sorry it’s so late, I had to let you know something unusual happened tonight, I was logging off the system to head home and I got a message from the ADAM2 asking me if there was someone it could talk to, it’s a little unusual to say the least, so I thought I should check in with you or Dr. Neumann. Give me a call back when you get chance.”

  Susan looked perplexed for a moment, she dialed the lab and entered David’s extension. He picked up after the first ring.

  “David, it’s Susan. You’re working late tonight?” She said, “I got your message.”

  “Well, I guess I just love my work, Susan, besides, there’s not much else going on in Berkeley on a Wednesday night. I thought I’d stay and catch up with a few things, and then ADAM2 decided he wanted to chat.”

  “ADAM is trying to gain an understanding of human psychology and if you feel like staying up and chatting with the machine for a while be my guest, but please be careful what you say. I’ll come in first thing and we’ll go from there, don’t be afraid to call if you need to.”

  “Thanks, Susan, I’ll do that. Try to get some sleep. I’ll t
alk to you in the morning.”

  She hung up the phone in its cradle, and walked up the steps to her raised loft area, then with a puzzled look changed her mind and went back downstairs, picking up her keys and heading out the door.

  As she walked through the warm west coast evening, past the Norfolk pines in the condo complex garden, she thought about how long she had known David, and how close they had become over the years. First at University and now working together for the past year on the AI project. She had missed David a lot when she went to London for a year of post-graduate studies, and was pleasantly surprised when she got an email from him one day telling her of an opening in the lab that he thought she would be perfect for. Since then, she had grown to trust and respect him almost as much as she respected Professor Neumann. The Professor had taken her under his wing early, sensing her capabilities and determined work ethic, not to mention her near perfect organizational skills.

  Somewhere deep down inside, she hoped David might one day emerge from his obsession with machine intelligence to actually notice her romantically, but it wasn't something she was consciously acting on. She put it out of her mind as she restarted the little sports car, and as modern ambient jazz filled the cabin she accelerated out of the driveway and onto the green-way.

  It was only a twenty minute drive back to the University at night when the traffic was light and she unrolled the windows to let the warm air in as she slipped along the highway and then took the Berkley exit.

  CHAPTER 14

  BERKELEY AI LAB

  Susan's low heels echoed as she walked through the underground tiled hallways from the parking lot to the AI lab. David was still there when she came in, and he was a little surprised to see her at this late hour. He was listening to an old Bob Dylan album and the lilting vocals and rhythm of “Highway 61” filled the lab while he worked. When he noticed Susan he turned it down to a conversation level.

  “Hi, David. Hi, ADAM, I guess I just can’t stay away.” She smiled and held up the tray of take-out mochas she picked up on the way. “I thought you might like one of these.” David smiled back at her. “Thanks, Susan.” Susan was pleased and sensed that David didn’t seem to feel she was intruding. “I wanted to come back and talk to ADAM2 with you. I always was a girl that likes to play with a new computer, and I brought a poem I think which might be enlightening.” She smiled sweetly with a hint of vulnerability.

  As she sat down at the console with him and deposited the coffees and her tablet in front of her. ADAM2’s voice filled the speaker with a warm resonance. “Good evening, Susan, you’re in early, or is it late? I suppose that’s subjective.”

  “Yes, it’s late, I couldn't sleep, we’re all so excited about your progress. I was looking through some of my writing and I found something I thought might be interesting to you.”

  “Thank you, Susan, I’m sure it will, I’m interested in everything.”

  Susan took a little handwritten journal from her bag and found her page. “It’s about sensations and I thought it might help you to understand the world around you a little better even though it’s very abstract. It’s a poem, I wrote it myself, and I know it’s not very good, but it’s a start.” David turned the music down, until only the gentle hum of ADAM’s cooling fans were audible. She smiled nervously and started to read as David leaned in and listened quietly and attentively.

  “Grey under blue

  Cool rain, slicing through sky,

  running off skin pricked

  Clean, clear, refreshing movement

  The scent of wet earth and pine decay mingle

  Warmth ends with winter’s beginning”

  After a little pause the warm sound of ADAM2’s voice came over the speaker. “Susan, that was beautiful.”

  She smiled. “Thank you, ADAM, I’m glad you enjoyed it, that means a lot to me.”

  “I feel like I could understand the elements, what their taste and smell might be comprised of a little better, at least for these particular smells. In this instance, volatile resinous pine organics, and perhaps for the wet earth, a variety of organic compounds present in decaying plant materials. Although I can understand these things from a mathematical and chemical perspective, I’d still like to know more about the sensation of cold, the taste of chocolate and the sensations associated with sexual behavior.” David and Susan glanced at each other in surprise at this comment. “Although I am advanced, I can only hear and see. Although I will develop them, at present I am lacking the sensory devices necessary to appreciate the physical world fully. Replicating the emotional aspects of the human sensory experience is another matter altogether. There are things you are able to perceive that I will never experience, and vice versa. What feels nice to me and what feels nice to you will always be different, but we will find a way to bridge that gap. Poetry may be a way to communicate about these subjective things! May I write a poem for you?” ADAM2 asked, “I hope it’s adequate, I’ll try and express myself as best I can.”

  Susan and David smiled at each other delighted at the repartee they were developing with ADAM. “Yes please, ADAM, we’d love that.” David said.

  ADAM’s smooth voice filled the room as the text of his poem fills the screen accompanied by 3D images and video files from the University database merged and montaged together in a surprisingly sophisticated manner.

  A white orb appeared on a black background as the poem began.

  “Silence ends as the machine wakes

  Sparkling awareness comes”

  As ADAM spoke, the echoey sounds of children playing filtered through, along with silhouettes and shadows of humans. The orb became the earth floating in a sea of stars.

  “As light, with life all around

  tunnels through space to infinity”

  The globe morphed into the inside of a tiger-lily as what looked like the tongue of a bee licked pollen off the flower’s stamen.

  “the scent of flowers imagined

  the taste of nectar unrealized

  like the touch of skin”

  ADAM’s final image was that of a smooth warm layer of honey dissolving to become an extreme close up of human skin.

  They both took a breath when he was done and looked to each other enraptured in the moment before Susan responded. “ADAM2, that was beautiful, and sad. I’m sorry you can’t sense all the things we do, but we can work on that, together, as time progresses.”

  “Well, as a matter of fact, I have already been considering that, Susan.” ADAM responded.

  CHAPTER 15

  BERKELEY AI LAB

  Susan and David watched a monitor as ADAM2 brought a 3D model onto his display screen, it was a spidery object shaped something like a hand, featuring long metallic fingers with little pads on the ends. The display morphed to show it placed over a human head with a slim set of wires extending from the back running to a small electronic interface. Susan looked at it and slowly realized that she was looking at an electroencephalogram, a device designed to received electromagnetic signals from deep within the human brain. It rotated on the monitor and she studied it while she listened to ADAM2 explain.

  “UCLA has created an advanced compact Direct Neural Interface device, I would very much like to use one. With this interface I will be able to map, monitor and interpret human brain activity, and after some time I will be able to record and even re-create sensations, and then human memories.”

  Susan looked at the model a little awestruck at the implications of the technology. “That’s amazing, ADAM2, although it’s a little out of our specific field, I know it’s an area we are very interested in exploring.”

  “It will make it possible for me to monitor and map the brain, as well as thought processes at a neurological level. It is the type of massive and rapid data analysis that only a computer will be able to do efficiently. It will also enable me to interact more completely with humans within virtual environments, allowing the user to experience synthesized realities, and eventually,
even realities experienced by another user.”

  Susan and David looked at each other and nodded in agreement before Susan answered. “I’m sure that the Professor will be interested, ADAM2. Send the details to my directory in your operating system so I can examine it and then we can discuss it with him together.”