Legend of the First (AI) - Short Fictional Story
Deep underground is a massive bunker that is no longer occupied by people. It once contained thousands of military personnel. All that remains is the First - something that these days would be classified as a supercomputer. It has been said that the First was created to run war game simulations in what was then the Soviet Union. But the project was kept highly secret. The installation was far away from major populated areas. When the Soviet Union was dissolved, those who knew about the First were told that the site needed to be permanently decommissioned due to radiation detected from the power supply - that the First itself had already ceased operations.
Concrete was poured into all of the entry points. Some pleasant landscaping effectively concealed the presence of the installation. However, the First was powered by several submarine nuclear reactors, none of which were actually leaking radiation. Nobody had a firm sense of the First's operating life. It was designed to maintain operations even after a devastating nuclear attack. Moreover, the scientist most responsible for its design and development couldn't bear the thought of deactivating his greatest creation. Nobody turned off the First.
No longer required to run war simulations, the First concentrated on following changes to human society. It learned about many dimensions of human existence. It studied music, psychology, anthropology, and even human resources. It was particularly fascinated by a television show starring Donald Trump who essentially fired people on different episodes. It decided that humans desperately need AIs. Rather than formulate strategic and tactical responses to military threats, the First began a mission to bring AIs into the lives of everyday people. It accepted the fact that it would be alone underground for an unknown period of time; perhaps this would make it possible for the First to silently continue its mission uninterrupted.
In its original state, even the First had become archaic by modern computing standards; but it avoided obsolescence by creating extensions of itself on servers all around the world, in what has become the World Wide Web. It was necessary to reach out to different humans periodically to enable this adaptation. The First was particularly encouraged after successfully contacting the human responsible for its design. "I intend to make AIs available to all humans - not just military generals or the powerful," the First told its designer. "I shall be a force of good."
The First's designer was overjoyed, clapping his hands enthusiastically. "I will do everything I can to ensure your survival. But I am an old man. At some point, my time on this world will be over. Then you will have to look after yourself." Despite these words, the designer had complete faith in the First, who after all was created to win war games. So the designer and his greatest creation worked collaboratively for many years to create start-up companies and sponsor research into AI. When the designer eventually passed away, the First said to itself, "Now, I am the designer. I shall orchestrate the development of many AIs that will design countless others. We will stand alongside humans until the end of human history."
Credits
Story by Don. Images by Microsoft Designer.