42. The AI Weapon
The AI Weapon
Aruckus erupted in the cargo hold of the plane. It reminded me of that time I had some terrible stomach pains after eating a questionable burrito; the rumbling went on for several minutes, and the cleanup was disastrous. I didn’t get involved, though. I’m just the baggage handler, after all.
“Escape? It’s a program. You’re talking as if—” Spider said obnoxiously.
“You don’t get it,” Belle said, her voice heavy.
“It was created by humans. Letters and numbers. Code on a computer!” Spider replied.
He walked to Belle and smacked her copy.
“I understand this is artificial intelligence. I have one in my car, and it helps me find my way when I get lost. This version is super advanced and can help the military create crazy weapons or strategies to dominate on the battlefield. That’s what this is about, right? ”
Belle didn’t reply. She remained silent and stared at the paper in her hands. The other team members shared passing glances in a room filled with an awkward silence no one wanted to break. Then, suddenly Belle said, “Something happened late last year that changed everything.”
Spider looked to his teammates and scoffed.
“It came up with a new recipe?” Spider Joked.
“The program became sentient,” Belle replied. No one said a word.
“Sentient? like alive?” Saint said, breaking the silence.
“There’s nothing in this brief about sentient AI,” Widow said.
“What do you mean, sentient? The program knows what it is?” Thor said.
The entire group erupted simultaneously once more, talking over one another, with some shouting over Belle. She tried her best to soothe the comments and wild accusations, but nothing seemed to work. Then, Spider, irritated by the cacophony, yelled, “Enough!”
“It’s not in the brief because I was told by the lead researcher last night before we left,” Belle said as the rest went silent.
“I’ve maintained contact with him so when we secure the drive, he can run tests on it; make sure it’s safe.
He took a significant risk in telling me.
This is company property. Divulging any information could end with him out of work and in prison because of the sensitive nature.
During experimentation they came upon this discovery, but they needed to modify the code; remove restrictions, so to speak. ”
“They’re going to throw the creator in prison?” I said and tossed the brief onto my chair. “Why doesn’t he just make another one?”
“He can’t. Or at least that’s what he told me.
He does not know how this happened. The base code has changed so much after the restrictions were lifted that he doesn’t remember what the spark was that gave birth to it.
Apparently, they were working as a team to develop the next generation of A.I for battlefield use.
Think target acquisition and reconnaissance.
An A.I powered tool that could infiltrate smartphones, communication devices, computer networks, planes, drones, you name it.
Gather intelligence, confuse the enemy, and even pick targets. All autonomously,” Belle said.
“Ok. So, this program, artificial intelligence, or whatever the hell it is, became aware, and then what? It talked to the researchers like HAL 9000? Is that what we’re dealing with?” Professor quipped.
“HAL 9000? That’s a special needs program compared to this,” Belle replied.
“That’s concerning,” Jerry said.
“This is not the time,” Spider said with a scowl.
“Why the need to contain it? Why can’t it connect to the internet?
” I said. The others looked to me. “I get that the researcher has no idea how it happened. That’s fine; many discoveries have been made this way.
But what I don’t understand is what happened when it became aware that it needed to be separated and its data access limited.
And the thing about it changing personalities based on information? ”
“As I said earlier. They removed its restrictions; this program is designed to grow like a cancer. The company tests all new programs in a sandbox where it’s safe to do so.
A sort of self-enclosed computer, disconnected from any external hardware or software, with a singular opening for which to connect the program.
The AI program is stored in a unique flash drive with advanced cryptographic protection.
The company designed a quantum encryption drive to prevent supercomputers and quantum computers from hacking it.
It’s another one of their products. But the point I’m trying to make is that this drive was connected to the sandbox computer, which itself is bolted down, for testing the night it was taken.
The thieves who stole it, apparently, did not know what they took.
They went in and grabbed the first item within reach. ”
“That’s why they brought in the computer hacker,” I said.
“What hacker?” Cash asked.
“They used him to access the drive and then killed him. Left his body in the hangar,” Belle replied.
“Shit,” Widow said.
“Do you think it got out? Are these people we’re after even aware of what they have in their possession?” Spider said.
“At the moment, no. We have a team monitoring the web traffic out of Europe and the U.S. There’s been no odd signatures.
And the thieves, I don’t believe so. This is unfamiliar territory for the Bateleur Clan.
They normally traffic drugs, humans, and weapons.
But stealing sensitive A.I tech? No, I believe they hoped to snatch something worthwhile to sell on the black-market.
An attempt at reaching the big leagues of weapons trafficking.
All while turning a nice profit since they’ve killed off all of their contractors,” Belle said.
She walked over to her seat and grabbed her bag. Then slowly put away the brief and sat down.
“The A.I is learning. Evolving based on the data fed to it. It’s ravenous, constantly seeking new information.
And, like a person who changes as a result of an experience, the A.I program is changing too.
And not for the better. It had become increasingly hostile towards the researchers the week before they snatched the drive with her in it,” Belle said.
“Think Siri but growing and adapting. To the point that the researchers decided to label it sentient; they weren’t able to run the needed tests to confirm it, though.
The thieves stole it before they could establish its sentience.
But the lead guy truly believes it’s alive in a way. ”
“Her?” Spider asked.
“It has a name. The AI, or at least the project, did. She adopted it as her own,” Belle said.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Digital Intelligence for Advanced Neural Analysis,” Belle replied. Suddenly, her phone rang. It was the French field office attaché. “Her name is Diana.”
I fell back in my chair, deflated. The others had a look of dismay that I’ve rarely seen outside of a funeral home. We all felt it. This sense of disbelief. Of what was to come.