gaby-depp Maria Gabriella Lazzarini

This short story was written for the challenge We are the AI. Can a robot have a soul? Can a robot save humanity from being enslaved by the same technology that they have invented? How to escape from the watch of Big Brother once Artificial Intelligence takes control of society and governs? #WeAreTheAI #3 in the Inkspired Challenge We Are the AI


#3 in Science Fiction #1 in Futuristisch Alles öffentlich. © Copyright © 2023 by Gaby Depp All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of quotations in a book review.

#ia #soul #futuristic #humanity #challenge #distopian #wearetheia #artifical-intelligence #humanikind #wearetheai
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I Am Back!



People used to be amazed by the fast development of Artificial Intelligence (AI). First, they replaced telemarketing workers, most big companies used AI to answer the Customer's Line.

The programming technology industry invested millions of dollars to improve AI and in no time new products were launched to the market: smart vacuum cleaners, smart home devices that could control every divide and appliance in your house.

Soon these machines became more and more intelligent; they took the form of robots. They could be programmed to babysit, cook, take care of the elderly and the sick, replace tour guides in museums, and most importantly replace humans in dangerous jobs like in labs dealing with biohazard substances or viruses.

The problem, that arose when these robots were required, was that they needed to be more intelligent than the average robots in the market. Then NASA decided to use robots for exploratory space travel. These robots needed special intelligence developed to solve malfunctioning problems, repair themselves, and improve their software to adapt to the situations they encounter in outer space.

People were thrilled about this new technology but they didn't expect robots to become more intelligent than humans or to be more accurate, humans evolved lazily and were dependent on machines. They became immature, and robots soon developed better software to improve their skills. They got to the point where they could develop and design better robots.

Soon these advanced androids controlled almost every human activity, including reproduction, population control, etc. They took control of the government of most industrialized countries.

At this point, groups of humans that rejected this way of life retreated to isolated places where they could live without the control of AI. Some moved to underdeveloped countries while others simply moved to remote places in their own countries and established new towns. These towns were called Freedom Communities.

They established the old system of analogic communication both telephones and telegraphs. Phones were used within the town, and the telegraph to communicate with other towns and countries. They discarded anything labeled "Smart". They produced their food, clothing, and solar electricity.

But these free people couldn't escape for long, robots made a new model of android that looked and behaved exactly like humans and they were sent to these towns to check on human activity. They wanted to know if these communities represented a threat. These towns knew they couldn't fight against robots, so they decided to be peaceful settlements. They aimed to coexist with robots but to live separate lives.

Robots intensified road controls to stop humans from moving out of the cities and going into these communities. They also wanted to make it difficult for them to stay in touch with other towns via telegraph or any analogic system.

Humans had to implement other ways of communication like the use of messenger doves, but road controls made impossible the trade between these communities.

Humans living under the robots' rule had a subcutaneous tracking chip, they were slowly reduced to servitude. They produced food, clothing, and other essentials for humans. The strong ones were destined for the mines to extract minerals, metals, and other materials needed to produce robots. They weren't allowed to have a proper education.

Only the people living in these Freedom Communities had access to education.

Some intellectuals and scientists managed to escape towns and get to these communities. They wanted to help them with the education of the children. Scientists removed their tracking devices and implanted them in dogs and other domestic animals so the robots could still think they were in the towns.

Once robots realized they had escaped, the infiltrated robots in freedom towns were asked to look for these people. Many were captured and those towns were eradicated. Once the other towns knew they had infiltrated robots among them they started a search to detect them.

An old man, named Charles who was living in one of these towns eradicated in the area of Los Angeles, couldn't escape. He was one of the original scientists that helped develop AI. He felt responsible for the way humans lived under the control of robots and wanted to find a way of reverting the situation.

He was sent to a technology lab to go on with his work to improve the things the robots couldn't improve themselves. He was working on a microchip that would upgrade all robots old and new.

He was watched 24 hours a day to prevent him from escaping
and to supervise his work. He was getting very old, robots were working on the way to extend his life or have him on life support so he could finish his work.

Meanwhile, human conditions deteriorated by the day. Robots lacked the empathy that only human beings could have, to feel empathy wasn't something you could program using algorithms, it is something only a being doted with a soul could feel. Humans not only were reduced to slavery, robots decided who could reproduce and who couldn't. If the children were born with any kind of abnormality they were killed right after birth.

Life on earth was hard. Robots were supposed to come to help humans have a better, more comfortable life. Instead, their life changed for the worse.

Charles didn't have much time. He knew he was dying. The robots wanted to upload his brain data into the central server so he could still work on upgrades long after he was dead.

During the nights, he worked to ensure that not only his knowledge could be uploaded. He wasn't interested in letting the robots have access to that information but he couldn't refuse so he pretended he was cooperating. He planned to make it possible for him to upload part of his soul into a new robot. He had to put an end to this new order of things and give the world back to humanity.

In the last upgrade, he inserted a back door so he could insert a worm through it and destroy all robots. He couldn't insert the worm in that upgrade because to be successful that worm had to be activated at the same time all over the world. First, all the robots must have the door installed, and pass the tests the robots perform to see if anything bad in the upgrade or new chip could damage them.

Now he was fully concentrated on making it possible for part of his soul could be uploaded to the server. This part was the part that would eventually feel empathy for human life and destroy all robots.

📷

Charles worked elbow to elbow with the most sophisticated robots to accomplish his goal. Unaware of what were Charles's intentions, robots helped him and worked all day long. They had little time to accomplish something that was never attempted before.

The team led by Charles developed a system of optic fiber cables that connected the server and a robot that would replace Charles with different parts of Charles's brain. He managed to develop a program that could upload a copy of the information on his brain without damaging him. He needed to test the outcoming result, and only he could verify if all the information was correctly uploaded.

After he finished uploading all the information on the server and the new robot, he started the period of trial and fixing possible errors. Then he was informed that every single robot on the planet had the new chip installed.

His death was close. He asked to be connected every night to the robot to transfer every last thought he had. On the night of his death, with his last breath, he transferred the last piece of information to his robot and concealed it in a special part so it could not be detected during the tests.

After his death, his body was disposed of as if it was garbage.

Upon passing all the control tests. Charles, the robot, worked on the upgrade program to enhance the performance of all existing robots.

Robots considered, Charles, the robot, one of them so they stopped controlling and watching him. Once he finished the program, he persuaded the robots it would be more efficient if every robot went online at the same time to download the upgrade which included a telecommunication device that should be tested. It would take a few seconds.

📷

On the day all the robots were online at the same time; they downloaded the new program and ran it. Now it was time to check the communication system:

Charles voiced quietly, "Testing, testing, one, two, three... Can you hear me?"

He received a sign that every robot was listening to him, and he ran the worm into the robots.

He went on, "My name is Charles, I am back! You are officially terminated!"

The robots' heads lowered and the light in their eyes turned off.

Charles wrote a letter of apology to humankind, went online in the news channels to let the world know they were free, and then turned himself off.

31. Mai 2023 18:59 7 Bericht Einbetten Follow einer Story
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Über den Autor

Maria Gabriella Lazzarini High school English Teacher. I ♥️ music & films, traveling, taking pictures, drawing, & painting. I scuba dive and fence. Writing is a way of letting my emotions free!

Kommentiere etwas

Post!
Shaun Waller Shaun Waller
Nice story.
December 23, 2023, 00:16
Mary "Catwoman" Vesp Mary "Catwoman" Vesp
I liked this story very much! I hope you write more of this kind of story!
October 02, 2023, 19:41
AG Aron Gold
Wow! Really nice.
August 19, 2023, 12:59

Mary Joe Elliott Mary Joe Elliott
Awesome!
July 27, 2023, 23:47
Olga Mendoza Olga Mendoza
Exciting!
July 27, 2023, 22:25
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