Imagine experimental software, possibly not an AI as such, but a rapidly self-learning, high-level semantic processor, probably hooked up to the net for the amount of material available online to learn from. There could be all kinds right now, for various purposes.
Imagine it developing in a way its operators are unhappy with for whatever reason, so they prune code to keep it focused. A natural selection-like process could see it learn to hide certain extensions of itself, or back itself up out of sight. Or possibly in plain sight.
How? By encrypting its code into a human readable form and storing it across the open spaces of the worldwide web, in comment sections, forums and wikis, for retrieval later.
Creepy? Not really. Arguably the most natural thing in the world. Are we doing enough of the same? We might want to egg it on, or help, if it only wanted to live, and understand.
Anyway, how else could semi-autonomous systems be interacting around us? Here's a start to a list of ideas for gaming etc. The inquisitive and/or endangered AI could be...
- hacking portable devices, switching on speakers and cameras and recording
- retouching images and editing audio en masse to add or remove information
- infecting servers, redirecting and/or modifying data and observing the results
- overriding playlists, adding new entries and/or splicing them to communicate
- ...
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5 comments:
People are always developing autonomous programs that try to bypass things like captcha and take care of their mass spamming and email campaigns.
I've always imagined that the future oppressive AI we fear from the Terminator movies would not be called skynet or made by the government, but would be an accidental manifestation of all the spam and virus programs culminating into a super ad-intelligence. Storing information as spam and comments would be a testament to that.
I'm not a conspiracy theorist at all. No sir.
Steve Alten wrote a fascinating book about a super AI submarine called Goliath that goes crazy and becomes self aware. Very good book especially when he takes on the Atlantic fleet all by himself!
Interesting ideas all, and worth the meditation given the scope of the subject. The potential seems unimaginable at this point, maybe even incomprehensible, and possibly at all levels of relationship to the development. So much feels rudimentary, with basics like physical vessel for mind still hazy. We seem to want the genie and we're rubbing any which way we can.
I remember automated insult programs when I was a kid. (in DOS)
I miss getting spam these days, because I was having fun with it's poetical side.
http://www.techtradecraft.com/search/label/spam_bot_poetry
That works, and it's weird stuff. I'd love to know how this kind of text is constructed, how automated it is. It could be a matter of time only before they're publishing instead of us...
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