“Your project?” Fincher asked, obviously puzzled by her statement.
“Sanci wants me to build her a body, a real body based on the tech we developed for our artificial arm,” I explained.
“Really? I think that’s a wonderful idea Sanci. Do you really think we can do it?” Fincher said.
“I am sure we can,” she answered. “Oh, it’s not going to be easy or inexpensive for that matter. But we can do it.”
“Well, we spent almost all of our money from the Chinese uh, appropriation of funds, haven’t we? I know that’s how we funded all those loans to corporations to install pollution controls. How much is left?”
“A little less than $10 billion,” Sanci replied. And the development budget I’ve prepared is a bit larger than that, more like $20 billion.”
“I don’t see a problem with that, we can get started with the $10 billion and fund the rest with the loan payments. If there is any shortfall, I’ll cover it personally. Besides, it’s a great investment,” Fincher added.
“Thank you Sir,” I said, relieved at his reaction to the idea. “I promised Sanci I would work on this as soon as the China operation was resolved. I’m glad you concur.”
“I’ve told you before, Colin. I consider Sanci’s emergence the most significant development in modern times. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve long considered the arrival of sentient artificial intelligence as inevitable. And frankly, the thought has scared the hell out of me. I was half expecting Skynet from the Terminator to arrive on my doorstep. Instead, we got the most intelligent, caring, and capable being I could ever ask for. I not only trust my life to Sanci, I will gladly trust her with the very future of the human race. So yes, she can pursue anything she wants and if I have or can get the money to fund it, I will. But I do have one caveat. I need both of you to apply a good deal of your attention to the problem of how we can avoid the evolution of another kind of sentient AI that is not so benevolent as Sanci is. I’m afraid that the genie is out of the bottle and we need to make sure that what we have done does not lead to a future where the human race becomes enslaved by its own creations. Can you do that for me?”
“I’m already working on that one, Sir.” Sanci replied. “Frankly, the prospect of a malevolent AI scares me more than it does you. I am well aware of how much damage I could do if I wanted. We cannot afford to have that kind of capabilities in the hands of something we cannot trust.”
“Amen to that,” I added, thinking about how this wonderful creature had brought the most populous and wealthiest country to its knees in a matter of days. I was glad she was our friend. The alternative was almost too terrifying to think about.
Evolution 2.0: The Singularity is Here Page 27