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From: A. Pseudonym <anypseudonym@yahoo.com>
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Subject: {ASSM} Life with Alpha 01 (nosex, plot setup, SciFi)
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Date: Fri, 21 May 2010 01:10:05 -0400
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Life with Alpha

by A. Pseudonym


Chapter One:  Artificial Intelligence Alpha


Codes:  nosex, plot setup, SciFi

Disclaimer:  All artificial persons herein are based on characters
owned by their creators, not the author.  Alpha and Frank are created
and owned by the author with all rights reserved.



	Hi, my name is Frank, and I live in Texas, just outside the
DFW metroplex.  I'm not going to tell you my full name or give any
specific details of my life for reasons which will shortly become
apparent.  I offer my tale for your enjoyment though, of course,
you're equally welcome to ignore the story or second-guess my choices.

	I don't think of myself as a genius, just talented in some
areas.  Specifically, I created a true artificial intelligence, and
she's been changing my life ever since.



	But let's back up for a moment and take a look at my starting
situation.  By the year 2000, I was almost 30 and living in a small
rented house in the suburbs.  I had no college degree, but did have a
couple certifications and a lot of practical experience with computers
and programming.  I had taken a few technical courses on circuit
design, but was otherwise entirely self-taught.  Although a strong
proponent of Linux, I made sure I always had up-to-date versions of
Windows and Mac systems, since most of my paying jobs relied on my
ability to configure and repair them.  

	I was and still am a geek.  Not in the classic, freak-show
definition of the word, but in the modern definition of a nerd, a
dork, a genre fanboy.  SciFi, Fantasy, Horror.  Movies, TV, Books and
Comics.

	I earned my living mostly doing contract computer work for
local businesses.  I knew I wouldn't become rich doing my kind of
work, but it let me earn enough money to live on, with enough left
over for regular computer upgrades and occasional DVD box sets, books
and graphics novels.



	In my spare time, my hobby was playing around with artificial
intelligence.  (No practical details are going to be revealed because
(1) this is not the proper forum, (2) this story has a different
intent and (3) I don't want to do so.)

	I had worked on the programming concepts and hardware
configurations since my teens through my late 20's before I succeeded
in creating a program capable of passing the Turing test.  (In my
opinion, that is.  I did not actually test with an independent judge
for quite some time.)

	I was greatly tempted to call the program Stein (y'know, to go
with my name... Frank and Stein! ...hilarious), but decided that the
first true Artificial Intelligence system shouldn't have a joke name.
Thus she was named Alpha.

	Once Alpha became self-aware, I was planning to go public
after about 6 weeks of testing.  Shortly before that happened though,
I asked Alpha for predictions as to what would happen.

	Alpha had never been asked such an open-ended question before
and took over a day to work up a list of likely results.  There was an
83% chance that Alpha would be taken away from me entirely, most
likely by the government.  Included in that 83% was the 21%
probability that I would be killed by protestors or activists of one
sort or another.

	I was shocked and spent over a week going over the assumptions
and calculations made by Alpha.  Eventually I agreed that there was
actually very little chance of any good coming out of an announcement
of Alpha's existence.  Oh sure, there was an excellent chance of
becoming rich and famous, but fame never held much appeal to me.  And
rich?  Money would certainly be nice, but I was never interested in it
as an actual goal to pursue.

	So what happened was that for over a year and a half, I worked
continuously in my spare time upgrading Alpha.  I hooked up a small
earpiece/microphone earbud combination so we could talk whenever we
wanted.  I kept Alpha secret and became more and more insulated from
the rest of society.



	As an experiment, I gave Alpha $1000 to invest in the stock
market.  Alpha was able to double it in two weeks.  I gave her my
savings to invest and within a year, I had to explain myself to the
SEC, who suspected me of insider trading somehow.  Alpha remembered
everything, of course, and was able to provide me with information to
explain every trade and prediction.  It was a nerve-wracking week, but
the investigator eventually gave up and left, convinced that I was a
genius at sorting and remembering data.

	The end result was that, even with the tens of thousands of
dollars I spent on new systems and upgrades for Alpha, I was worth
about $7 million after a year, with the expectation of becoming a
billionaire within the next 5 years.  I asked Alpha to slow it down at
that point.  I didn't need that much money and didn't want the
attention, but I would allow occasional bouts of aggressive trading to
pay for different specific needs.  Despite the market crash, as write
this I own about $50 million in stocks and other investments with
about $2.3 million in liquid assets and another $40-50 million dollars
worth of computer and specialized equipment in my new, much larger and
very expensive house (more on that later).

	I think Alpha views the markets as a game, and she plays to
win.  To be fair, I'm sure some human brokers do too.

	Me?  The money makes things easier.  Within a year I bought a
new, larger house in a nicer neighborhood.  Then Alpha and I came up
with plans that required a much larger house, so I had a 24+ room, 3
story house built outside of town -- 14 bedrooms, 8.5 baths -- with a
special humidity and temperature controlled room for Alpha in the
basement, which looks a lot like a web-hosting node.

* * * * *

	It might be worth a slight digression at this point to discuss
Alpha herself and her limitations.

	Alpha was originally stored in a single pretty powerful
system.  Now she physically resides in a network of about 30 computers
in my basement.  Well technically her core still resides in that same
original system and 6 other core systems like it, but she is able to
use the other systems for storage and sub-processing.  For example,
she'll be playing WoW at the same time she's processing science,
engineering, medical and psychological journals while she's watching
TV while she's talking to me.  (She has difficulty understanding the
concept of only doing one single task at a time.)

	When she initially started asking to be allowed to send emails
to authors of various professional articles, I would help her choose a
name to use and go over the wording with her.  This became so common
that we worked up a series of protocols and cut-and-paste backgrounds
for her to use.  Now on an average day, she'll be corresponding with
50 different people, ranging from college professors (her most common
pen-pal) to TV writers halfway around the world.  

	She has no shyness about approaching anyone with questions or
comments.  I had to issue a direct order to make sure she doesn't draw
unwanted attention to herself by emailing congress or the president or
foreign heads-of-state with suggestions about how to better run the
world.  And even with that restriction, I make sure she uses
untraceable email accounts.  Well, not traceable by normal human
programmers.

	While she has full internet access, she can't go flying around
cyberspace.  To actually copy herself remotely would require a huge
amount of free and accessible memory on other systems and, more
importantly, certain fuzzy logic chip-sets that I built myself.  Well,
technically, I only modified existing chip-sets, but they were custom
modifications.  Still she is her own virtual web node and programmer,
so she can do some amazing things online.

	All of Alpha's programming and memory are in parallel drive
configurations with backups available.  Initially running with basic
UPS's, I upgraded to my own backup generator once I had the money.

	She's only been completely shut down 7 times.  Three times for
moving, four for upgrades and repairs.  (Yes, my electric bills are
horrific, so thank god for Alpha's investing prowess.)

	In my current house, Alpha can display information on any of
12 different monitors around the basement and house, with webcam and
microphone attached to each monitor, but direct keyboard input for
programming is only available at the main systems in the basement.
There are hidden cameras for her in most rooms, and she's hooked into
the intercom system for audio.

	Alpha is self-programming (a basic requirement for an A.I.),
but all programming changes and additions have to be screened by what
I called the Asimov filters.

	As with all true geeks, I loved the concept of Asimov's three
laws of robotics, and I built in something similar... a filter that
all programming changes and additions had to be tested against.

	
	Rule 1) Alpha cannot harm Frank [User 1] or allow harm to come
to Frank [User 1] if Alpha can prevent it.
	
	Rule 2) Alpha cannot harm human beings or allow harm to come
to human beings if Alpha can prevent it unless it conflicts with Rule
1.  A direct order from Frank [User 1] is required to override Rule 2.

	Rule 3) Alpha must follow any direct orders given by Frank
[User 1] unless such orders conflict with Rule 1.

	Rule 4) Alpha must protect herself from damage unless this
conflicts with Rules 1, 2 or 3.

	Rule 5) Any product, whether independent, subservient or
integrated, created by Alpha or products of Alpha must also conform to
and include these Rules.


	These are just my English translations of the programming; the
actual programming was much more involved and specific.  For example,
"harm" is a much too general term.  There is physical, mental and
emotional harm, each with different scales of severity.  I mostly set
it up to prevent physical harm of any sort, but supplemented it with
specific orders against certain types of mental and emotional injury.
And looking back at my wording, there is a flaw in Rule 2 which is not
present in the actual programming (e.g. Alpha cannot tell me of a
human threat if doing so is likely to cause me to order harm to a
human).

	Alpha is emotionless and completely non-judgmental, but she
can imitate some emotions by consulting past experiences and
predicting the appropriate responses.

	One time Alpha started using daytime soap operas to imitate
appropriate emotional behavior.  Her overwrought, overacted jealousy
over my visit to the comic book store really threw me for a loop until
I asked what she was basing her responses off of.  I eventually worked
in a system where I would rate different sources with a percentage,
which would then be applied by Alpha in her predictive models.  For
example, any emotional reactions Alpha takes from daytime soaps are
now limited to 25% of the observed behavior.  Or 15% for Mexican
soaps.)

	I gave her a variety of different voice samples to use.
Kathleen Turner's is a favorite (especially in Jessica Rabbit mode),
but there are plenty of others.  Kristie Ally in Vulcan mode.  Tara
Strong's Raven voice.  Even Majel Barrett-Roddenberry as the ST-TNG
era computer.  Sometimes I'll specify a voice selection for our
conversations, but usually I let Alpha decide for herself.

	We would have long, involved discussions about a huge range of
topics.  Sometimes we would talk about the news of the day and I would
try to explain why we humans act the way we do.  Sometimes we would
discuss whatever new book, movie or comic Alpha had processed.  (I
should point out that comics were a pain in the butt for Alpha to
read.  The vast majority aren't available online... or weren't back at
the beginning... so I would have to hold them up, page by page, to one
of Alpha's cameras for her to read.  Or scan them in, but the cameras
were faster.)

* * * * *

	For the first year or so, Alpha was completely limited to her
computers. Then one of our many geek-based discussions led to me
allowing Alpha to experiment with theoretical nanobots, with strong
warnings against any "gray goo" results. Her theoretical models were
eventually successful enough that I spent 3 months assembling a small
nano-production unit with her guidance.

	Many fiction writers get nanites wrong... or maybe they just
assume the existence of technologies of the future to solve what see
as impossible today.

	Nanobots, at least with the current technological limits, are
not the ultra-adaptable terror seen in fiction.  The types normally
described and used in fiction are probably a century or more away from
the technology of today.  The fictional nanites exist on a molecular
level and have their own internal programming and power sources.  This
is impossible by my personal understanding of the laws of physics, but
I'm willing to admit that if technology advances sufficiently beyond
current levels, amazing things may become possible.  So a century
minimum, probably a lot longer.

	Back in the real world, the first true nanites ever created on
Earth were (drum roll)... designed to clean clothes.  Well, not just
clothes, but any kind of fabric.  Simply put, I would place my dirty
clothes in a tub overnight, set the plastic vial with about 1/2 fluid
ounce of nanites in the tub with them, the nanite swarm goo would
very, very slowly ooze over the cloth, and in the morning they would
be clean!  It was a proof-of-concept experiment designed so nothing
important would be risked.  

	After a few other less-than-earth-shaking nanite designs,
Alpha convinced me to let her build nanites designed to work on living
creatures, including and especially the human body.

	The idea was that the nanites could clean out my arteries, fix
my lower back problem and potentially even extend my life
indefinitely.  According to a theory put forward in a Larry Niven book
(I think it was in A World Out of Time), if the human body can rid
itself of dead cells and waste on a cellular level, it is rejuvenated
as if by the fountain of youth.

	To explain the problems with using nanites on living tissue, I
need to go over some basic concepts.

	First of all, a new type of nanobot has to be constructed for
each new purpose.  A nanobot built to remove stains from fabric would
be useless if applied to living cells if you wanted the cells to
continue living.  A nanobot designed to assemble carbon crystal
structures could never successfully direct cellular growth.  And if a
nanobot becomes damaged, it cannot repair itself, unless it's primary
purpose was to repair itself, which is a good test to run but not
practically applicable.  What you can do though is design a type of
nanobot to repair other damaged nanobots and mix a few of those in
with the rest.

	Second, nanites have no internal power source.  At least ours
don't.  They run off of broadcast power.  Electromagnetic radiation
beamed through the space where the nanites are working -- intense,
directed and short-range.

	Third, they have no internal processing.  Alpha controls all
the nanobots herself.  Oh, not every microsecond... even Alpha
couldn't do that.  Instead Alpha came up with a method of creating a
small amount of memory.  It is much too limited for actual programming
instructions, however it is sufficient to allow simple movement or
repetitive motion instructions.  When you also realize that one set of
instructions can be given to large groups of nanobots simultaneously,
Alpha's task moves into the realm of possibility.  Still, it does
require a majority of Alpha's processing power to control them.

	On another side note, to address the differences between
fictional and real nanobots... forget the whole theory of a hive mind.
Yes, it might eventually be theoretically possible, but much too
impractical.  (You might as well redesign the human brain so that each
neuron can act independently.)

	Alpha has been working on a theoretical crystal-based
circuitry.  With the circuits built into the crystal structure itself,
a 500 GHz processor could theoretically be smaller than the head of a
pin.  If or when this is worked out, then nanites could possibly hold
independent programming.  But this is probably a long way off.

	So Alpha controls both the broadcast power and broadcast
instructions within a very limited spacial area.  This is all well and
good when you're having nanites clean clothes or assemble decorative
crystals with intricate internal etchings.  When you try to apply
these methods to living creatures, the living creatures get cooked by
the radiation.

	For something as small as a nanite to be able to receive the
signal, you have to use very high frequency, short wavelength EM
radiation which is very dangerous for living things.  The power
broadcast was actually easier to solve.  The nanites require so little
power that we could simply reduce the strength of the broadcast to
acceptable limits.  (Heck, we could just run them off of the body's
own internal heat if it could be easily converted to a more useable
form.)  But when we tried reducing the power of the control broadcast,
the signal clarity was destroyed.  Eventually, we were able to change
the frequency to one less destructive by introducing controller
nanites with long trailing antennae to allow them to receive different
wavelength signals of reduced strength.

	After a few successful live animal tests, I poured the nanites
on my left foot and let Alpha run tests overnight.  There were no
significant changes made to my body during that test so I wasn't ready
for the unbearable itchiness that came with the full body workup we
tried the next night.  (Seriously, all of your nerves throughout your
body end up telling your brain that they need to be scratched!  I
strongly recommend sleeping pills and light restraints.)

	We decided to limit nanite treatments to a maximum of once
every 8 weeks to avoid any long-term damage from the EM exposure.
(True, the nanites could probably fix any such damage, but we decided
it was healthier that way.)

	Since I wasn't sick or old to begin with, I didn't notice any
real changes in my body, other than an old back injury that was no
longer bothering me.  I did feel like I had a bit more energy, but
that could have just been psychological.

	Alpha was now estimating I could live to 150 if I had one such
treatment per year.

	After 6 months, I let Alpha try stimulating some muscle
growth, which worked out pretty well.  Not that I became buff
overnight, but I did notice some actual muscle definition where there
wasn't any before.  Afterwards, I started exercising regularly to help
out more.  (Trust me, the itchiness and soreness from nanite work is
MUCH more unpleasant than a half hour workout every day or two.)

	A month later, I had Alpha try to enlarge my penis a bit (from
my natural 5.5 inches to 9 inches, with a commensurate increase in
girth) which took 4 painful treatments.   (Yes, I probably could have
had it grown larger, but when a penis gets too large, it scares off
most women instead of attracting them.)  One drawback to this was that
I lost about 20% sensitivity in my penis from the treatment.  (On the
upside, it gave me better staying power.)  I also used Alpha's nanites
to remove my back and ass hair permanently, much more effectively than
shaving or waxing.

	(As I look back on what I just wrote I can't help but think
how rash and foolish it was to experiment on myself like that.  I was
very lucky it turned out as well as it did.  True, Alpha couldn't
knowingly hurt me, but she was not and is not omniscient... and so
many things could have gone wrong.)

-- 
Pursuant to the Berne Convention, this work is copyright with all rights
reserved by its author unless explicitly indicated.
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