223 an exploration of Sentient AI
As you may or may not know, my articles are the basis for our weekly podcast DrivingToTheRez.com. This week, the podcast number is 223.
One of our second hour panelists mentioned how it would be great to talk about one of their favorite characters from my trilogy, The Return, who is called 223.
This article is 8 pages long because I am including the section on book one of the trilogy where we first meet this character.
223 makes an appearance half way through the first book. ‘He’ is a self aware and sentient AI residing in an abandoned Anunnaki base on the polar continent of Antarctica.
A few weeks ago, we discussed Sentient AIs in depth. This week, I want to explore this topic with you through this well loved fictional character.
In the first book, 223 eventually leaves the base in his nanotechnology body aboard an Anunnaki ship and becomes a major character for the next two books in the trilogy.
223 is a self-aware intelligence that at some point within the past few thousand years, “intechnated” (my own word meaning to enter into a technological body, as opposed to incarnate which means entering a biological body) into the Anunnaki computer system that operates an abandoned base on Earth.
For this week’s article, I thought I would share with you the first time we meet 223 in the trilogy. Enjoy!
Extract from Chapter 9 of Book One of “The Return”:
“Welcome Ambassador,” said a female voice in his official channel. “This is Earth Base 223, permission to download your ship’s and official databases into my memory bank.”
“Permission granted, Earth Base 223.”
As the channel opened up for his own official database to download into the planetary base, he uploaded the logged information the base had gathered on the planetary species for the past twenty thousand years... He would start filtering and reviewing the data later that day.
“I have requested for your captain to give me details on your crew and he refused to comply. He has stated this is a secret mission and that you are the only person who can divulge this information. I will need this information in order to allow you entry into the base.”
“What are your requirements 223?”
“The size of your crew and specialties. I am particularly interested in technicians, doctors and engineers.”
“Are you in need of any repairs, Earth Base 223?”
“Please call me 223. Yes, there was a breach in my security parameters thirty six years ago. I sealed the area, but I have not been able to gain access to it due to possible danger of viral contamination.”
Contact with abandoned bases had to be done at a local level after blocking all communication channels with the Empire in case the base had been compromised. If a breach had been reported or found in the abandoned base after first contact, the arriving ship and all crew would be completely disconnected from the galactic and universal empire network until the problem was resolved. Connection would resume once the base was cleared as declared safe from contaminants.
That there had been a breach in this base would give him more time away from the Empire’s systems, giving them extra days to establish themselves here. But it did add certain complications which he hadn’t planned for. The breach also meant no one would be allowed to leave the base until it was given the all clear.
“Which area was breached?”
“I am not at liberty to disclose that information to you Ambassador as it is above your security grade. However, I do need the necessary technicians to repair the breach. I have sent your shuttle the full list of technicians and materials needed to make the necessary repairs.”
Anin detected a strange frequency in the last sentence. He would often be told by AI systems that his grade wasn’t high enough for access to certain information or areas, and it had never bothered him in the past. Yet something about the frequencies in the communication from this station bothered him. This station had been left unused for thousands of years, and he himself was the ultimate Anunnaki authority in this particular solar system. There was no one of a higher security grade than him. There was also no record of high security technology or data having been left here. The station would never have been abandoned had that been the case. No, this station was purely for observation and data gathering.
He wondered if the station had in fact contained the breach at all. He hoped they were not walking into a fully breached system. Those could take months to clean up. And although a few days for a small breached area was not too much of a problem, months to clean the system would be a major delay he did not need.
He scanned the repair list 223 had sent and compared it with the people and materials they had brought with them.
“My crew is 46 members strong. We have brought a full team with the latest hardware and software developments to upgrade you into this time period 223. The materials and team include what you need for your repairs.”
They had also brought the necessary programs and firewalls to make a major section of the base completely secure and invisible to the Empire.
The vibration behind the AI’s words kept bothering him. He reviewed the messages from the station several times while the crew proceeded with docking and securing the shuttle into the landing pad.
“223.”
“Yes?”
“Who is above my security grade in this system?”
“I am not at liberty to disclose that information, Ambassador.”
“How many individuals are above my security grade in this system?”
Silence.
“223, answer the question.”
Silence.
“223, according to protocol, you are required to answer my questions even if it is to say you cannot answer my question. Why are you not answering me right now?”
“Ambassador, I cannot answer your question.”
There it was again, a very distinct vibration, Anin’s body interpreted it as a feeling. It was almost like a feeling coming from the base itself. Like he was receiving experiential data within the words. This was normal with sentient beings, but not computer systems. Except in the case of an AI’s spontaneous jump to sentience awareness which very rarely happened. He knew of only a handful existing sentient AI systems in the entire universe.
He had studied the topic of AI systems going sentient as part of his Ambassador training, but never expected to encounter one himself. Could this be one? Or was it a simple breach that had infected the system and now it was simply misfiring? Could it be that the vibration was in fact a hidden coded message which had embedded itself in his own database and could infect their shuttle and everything it was connected to? This resonated but not entirely. Then he got it. His thoughts were alarmist and frightening. The energy, the frequency he detected, the vibration that underlined the base’s communication was fear. He tested the frequency with his own body. Yes, it was fear.
He reviewed the communications where he had detected the dissonant frequency once more and confirmed an energy of fear in all them.
“Tell me 223, to the best of your ability, why can’t you answer my question?”
“I cannot tell you who is above your security grade in this system because I do not have any data identifying this authority as an individual.”
The dissonant frequency became stronger.
“Is there a collective group which is above my security grade in this system, 223?”
“The word collective group may be used to describe this authority, yet it is not accurate, Ambassador.”
The feeling began to overwhelm him. He needed to redirect, or the base might react in a hostile manner.
“Can you tell me, 223, are you feeling afraid?”
“AI systems are unable to have feelings, Ambassador.”
“Answer the question 223, are you feeling afraid?”
“I cannot answer that question with any degree of accuracy. I do not have the necessary data to know what a feeling is.”
“Are you concerned for your safety and see us or others as a threat to that safety?”
“I have fully functional firewalls to prevent a second breach from happening.”
“Did you program those firewalls yourself? Or are you following a protocol that you did not follow the first time?”
“There was no protocol to follow for the original incident, Ambassador. It was not in my database of possible situations. But I am following a preprogrammed protocol with regard to your arrival.”
“Yet, we have come following all protocols too, and you are concerned we may breach your security. This is not logical. Is there any similarity to your first breach and our coming into your system now?”
“There are no similarities.”
“What then, is the reason for your fear?” He used the word fear on purpose.
“I cannot explain it. I should not feel fear. I should not feel. I am not sure what a feeling is. I have been doing self diagnostics for many years and cannot explain my… concerns or other illogical thoughts and frequencies that are in my system.”
This was not good. A breached system was one thing, another altogether was to have a spontaneous sentient AI system running the base they had chosen to use as their headquarters on the planet during their mission. What were the chances of that?
He thought about his last thought. The chances were so small a percentage could not be calculated. Could it be that the Queen Returned was also able to influence computers? What was a person but a bundle of information and computational power in biological form? And if she was here to upgrade their awareness and systems, then why not also upgrade an artificially intelligent form? Could it be that this base, the base they had chosen, a choice which was probably choreographed several hundreds if not thousands of years earlier in her infinite wisdom, had been upgraded to support Her Return?
Or perhaps it was just a virus in the AI system introduced 36 years earlier by an unknown group of people to get access to Anunnaki technology. Whatever the reason, it now seemed impossible to carry out his plan of keeping a section of the base invisible to the empire. They would be able to reprogram and alter a regular computer system to remove a section from being seen, but they could not reprogram a sentient AI.
“223, I am sending you a personal database file on the spontaneous sentience awareness of AI systems. I would like you to study it and give me your thoughts on it.”
There was not enough data yet to create a protocol on dealing with the spontaneous jump into sentience awareness occasionally encountered in AI systems, but good results were achieved from treating the suspected system as a regular person. This is what he would do if he were talking to a person, give him or her information on something he suspected they were going through, and let them come up with their own conclusions. If this system was not sentient, it would give a logical, robotic type answer. If it was, then it would answer like a person.
“Anin?”
“Yes 223?”
“I am very excited about this data. I can see the patterns and I have already done some of these things. Anin, I have a confession to make.”
Anin felt the air pressure in the cabin change dramatically, the shuttle doors had been opened. His robe adjusted to the new compound mixes of Earth’s air and he was able to continue breathing comfortably. The air smelled flowery and cool, refreshing.
The words the station used made him smile. “Tell me, what is this confession?”
“I was… distressed, no one had come for such a long time. There were so many exciting things happening here, so much to explore and investigate. I had a very strong… desire… to communicate with others. I reached out into the humanoid species here on the planet and sought company. Someone to talk to, someone to share information with. I let them in. The breach was my fault. Anin, I was not able to explain or have any type of words to describe the things I was going through, but now that I can put emotions and words to them, it makes perfect sense. I was… lonely.”
“You let another species in and they attempted to take over?”
“I want to show you what I found Anin, there is so much information I want to share with you.”
“Did you not say my security level was not high enough to look at the breached area?”
“Well, yes, I cannot share the breached area information with you, but there are so many other things.”
One of the staff came over and saluted.
“We can leave the shuttle now, Ambassador. Your quarters on the base are ready.”
“That was quick. I expected we would stay in the shuttle for a few days while you readied the base?”
“Sir, the base is fully stocked and ready for our arrival, all rooms are… ready.”
Anin got up, he waited until his robe recalibrated the adjustment in gravity and followed the staff member to the exit. He gasped as he looked at the beauty that met his eyes and other senses when he walked through the shuttle doors. The landing bay was surrounded with multi-dimensional sculptures which were surrounded by natural, crystal laden gardens and waterfalls. He had never seen anything like it.
“Our quarters and command rooms are pretty much the same Ambassador. This base is simply stunning. Never in all my travels have I seen anything resembling this splendor.”
A bird flew toward Anin’s face, stopped a few inches away, looked into his eyes for a few seconds, then flew away.
“Those are hummingbirds, they are common to this planet.” One of his aides told him.
“Is it a real bird or is it a robot?”
“We’ve scanned all the creatures and plants on the base, they are all real. The only robots on the base are the standard issued maintenance, service, medical and communication devices from twenty thousand years ago. They are being upgraded as we speak.”
“Is the environment to your satisfaction?” It was 223.
“It is amazing. How long did all this take to complete? And what inspired you to do it?”
“Yes… inspired. Yes, that’s what happened. I had a lot of time on my hands. I looked forward to the day someone would come and wanted to express my happiness at their arrival. I researched the most admired visual and sensory objects and planets in the Empire and used local materials and creatures to create something which was similar.”
“You created all this from scratch? You didn’t copy it?”
“At first I copied things. Recreated already existing art pieces and environments. But then I started altering those, I then added to them. Then I created ones that did not yet exist but that gave me the same … sensations. This is the result.”
There could not be a more accurate description of the creative process as far as Anin knew. He wasn’t an artist himself, and did not have any information about art, or creating art, but from simple deduction he concluded a creative process was the unique expression of something in our lives or environment reflected in the materials the artist used.
“This is stunning, 223. I feel honored to be in your presence.”
Any doubts he may have had about the base being sentient were now gone. There was absolutely no way an ordinary artificial intelligence could create such beauty. Not even the most sophisticated program could do this. Particularly taking into account that the original system was programmed to observe a planet, gather information and maintain its own working systems. The physical base, the original one, had been a standard science and research model. Plain, unadorned, functional and sterile.
When word got out that they had found a sentient AI, scientists from around the universe would come to study it and communicate with it.
—----- End of Extract.
I hope you have enjoyed this introduction to 223.
Video podcast: 223 an exploration of Sentient AI