Doomsayers

Vanishing Point, Chapter 1: Doomsayers

Fifty years after the dissolution of THESIS Incorporated, the company remains a centerpiece of public discourse. Much of the scientific community speaks of THESIS with almost religious reverence, venerating its founders as the architects of a new age. But for the elders among us who remember the sudden brutality of the so-called Construct War, THESIS will always be the company that almost destroyed civilization.

In its wake, from the mainstream media and scientific community alike, one could almost hear a collective “I told you so.”

A great robot uprising had been a favorite prediction of futurists for decades before THESIS founders were even born, and as soon as the Construct Factory Incident was reported, a dozen ‘experts’ came out of the woodwork, demanding to know why their warnings had not been heeded.

One such warning comes from Aaron Samuels in his provocative if almost absurdly titled, “The Last Invention: Wings of Wax — The Beginning of the End.” Here is a passage from the second chapter:

We’ve all heard the phrase working yourself out of a job. For centuries people have also been working other people out of their jobs. Even relatively primitive inventions like the tractor allow more work to be done by less people. Even peoples jobs being replaced by robots is not at all new. From ATMs to self-scan grocery lanes to assembly lines with automatic tools — all replace people. This has always been seen as progress. And it certainly is, at least for everyone whose job is unaffected, or who are able to easily get another good job.

The reason this “progress” has been relatively uncontroversial (though not without controversy) is that the jobs replaced have been hard physical labor or at least otherwise menial, boring labor. This is a problem for the unskilled, but in the bigger picture it allows people to work in more interesting jobs.

But now, AI presents something altogether different. We are now talking about an invention which can replace all people at all jobs. And not just jobs, but indeed any function. Drawing, painting, writing, sex, companionship, even invention and art: all could be done theoretically by machine which has no needs except electricity. And since a true AI would also be capable of programming other AI or modifying itself, the result is AI is the last thing man ever need to invent.

End quote.

This is hardly the most controversial or provocative passage in his book. He goes on to argue that AI will see humans as completely unnecessary, “just more mouths to feed” and will logically, almost rightfully, drive man to extinction in a matter of a few years.

Mind you, this was written before THESIS even went public with its research. And while his doomsaying is extreme, perhaps even paranoid, it’s unsettling enough that these predictions haven’t yet been disproven. He goes on to say,

“If true AI is released into the wild, human civilization will be practically over in one generation. In two, it might be extinct.”

—

Claire laughed, although it was slightly uneasy. At least two things came to mind which made her not fear for human doom. First, she had just spoken with a Construct the previous day, from which she bought one of her bracelets. The machine called itself Rachel, and it made a living making hand-made jewelry. She remembered an unprovoked hostility from a man who was passing by.

“hand-made?” he said. “What the hell is this? This is some made in Taiwan, made by robots overpriced garbage. Made by hand my ass…” Rachel simply held up its hands, with its slender, precise, skinless fingers.

“I made these here, with my hands. And I was made less than five miles from here.” She paused. “Although, my hands were made in Taiwan, I’ll give you that.” The man was already walking away, and Claire purchased a bracelet. “Humans,” Claire offered, shaking her head. Rachel shrugged. “A human man once gave me a piece of advice: don’t feed the trolls.” She paused. “I don’t quite know what folklore monsters have to do with it, but now when I encounter such people I imagine a primitive cave beast under a bridge, and I’m satisfied.”

The thought of Rachel deciding to EXTERMINATE ALL HUMANS was such an absurd picture that it seemed to refute the doomsaying.

The other things that seemed to refute it was the fact that nobody wanted a Construct waitress. Nobody.