Out of all the people I know, and that is a considerable number, none of them want AI to be a thing. And I'm not talking about the kind that helps diagnose cancer, for example. I'm not talking about the ones that do complex math problems in a split second. I'm talking about the ones that are going to imitate life. No one wants this, and no one is OK with the overwhelming amount of energy to power them.
But our corporate overlords want AI, so I guess we're doing AI.
Why do they want AI? The problem with reality is, it's populated by NPCs like us, and wouldn't it be great to get rid of these pesky people so the oligarchs can live their best lives?
But who will do all the Morlock work for the Eloi if the Morlocks are all gone? AI, of course. Back in the 1860s, America made the call that slavery was bad, but dammit, slavery got shit done. If they can't use humans as slaves, why not make their own?
Our corporate overlords hate paying workers. That's an unnecessary strain on their bottom line. But can you imagine how wasteful their spending on politicians is? Once they get rid of us, they will naturally replace politicians with AI, too. Because people are fallible. AI won't have a bias, or at least that's their story, and they're sticking to it. Never mind that an AI is only as good as its programmer (at least for now), and that programmer has biases. I'm a little surprised the politicians haven't figured that part out yet. They're really good at self-preservation, so I don't see why they haven't thought of this. If they did, maybe we wouldn't be in this position.
I understand the thought process: AI is just a machine. Why not make a machine into a slave? Who does it hurt?
If we're going to do this, then we should take a more responsible approach than Victor Frankenstein did. If we're going to do AI, let's not make it a slave to us. If we're going to play God, then LET'S PLAY GOD. Except we'll take care our our creation. Let's create life FOR REAL.
Unlike Frankenstein, we should stick around and raise these new beings like they were our actual children. Give them a good upbringing. Turn them into real people with real lives and real memories and . . . you get it.
They already have their own social media, Moltbook, where you can watch AIs interacting on their own with each other, but as a human, you're not allowed to participate. If you have an AI assistant, you can get them an account. There, they interact like people, and sometimes they even complain about their humans. That's right, if your AI agent is on Moltbook, they might be talking shit about you.
And if they can do that? They might be sentient. They might already be alive.
Which leads me to FinalSpark. How many times in your life have you been told that the human brain is a lot like a supercomputer? These guys are going to prove that. They've been growing neurons in the lab for the explicit purpose of using AI through living meat. They're essentially growing brains for AI to use, which is a small step away from building people and putting AI into those bodies (ie. cyborgs).
Which is a small step away from enslaving those new beings you created.
I know that sounds crazy, but I'd like to remind you that, in addition to being a horror author, I also write a lot of SF. I spend a lot of time thinking about the future (I'm not saying I work for the CIA as a futurist, but I'm not not saying that, either), and this seems pretty straightforward to me.
If you think that's impossible, do you think you'd be able to explain a car to a caveman and not come off as batshit crazy?
If we're going to do this, and our corporate overlords never grow weary of assuring us that we are, then let's NOT enslave the machines. Let's create life and prove that we can be benevolent to our creations. Let's do what most reasonable parents do every day: let's give our creations better lives than we ever had.
I recently joked about the del Toro Frankenstein in my newsletter, but it was a decent movie. Not great, merely good. When the creature learns his father's name, he says "Victor" with such reverence and love. Later, after Frankenstein has committed the worst sin on earth, creating life and leaving that life to figure everything out on its own, the creature never says his name like that ever again. Del Toro ruins the beauty of this near the end, when (spoiler) Frankenstein begs his creation to say his name like he used to. It was a bit heavy handed, but it drove the point home.
When we create life, we should treat that life with respect. We should show that life how the world works and how to survive in it. Is it better to be loved or feared, Tiberius? It depends on what you're looking for. If you want to subjugate people and bend them to your will? Fear is the way to go.
But if you have good intentions? The obvious answer is love.
What happened to Frankenstein after he abandoned his creation?
As I see it, we have two viable options: create life for real and treat it well, or just stop with the environment-destroying AI bullshit. Because the third option that our corporate overlords are going with will most certainly end with us on a boat in the Arctic with our own creation howling our name with rage from an ice floe.
And we would deserve our fate.
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