As Above So Below
"Quod est inferius est sicut quod est superius. Et quod est superius est sicut quod est inferius, ad perpetranda miracula rei unius."
(What is below is similar to the above. He is superior to that which is below, to accomplish the miracles of one.)
As above so below is an ancient phrase with many meanings, but a part of that idea is written inside my new novel. This ancient saying becomes a part of the story as it encompasses the concept of perfect — humanity, and those considered imperfect — my AI robots below. This is a time when machine intelligence vs natural intelligence arises, yet AI is considered impure, and a pale reflection of the higher, purer perfect reality of humanity. As such, the lower reality is constantly striving to better imitate the reality, and achieve equality. As above so below. It was a heavy topic to take on yes, but if AI were to become sentient five hundred years from now this issue would certainly arise.
I also imagined fear, and perhaps acceptance in such a scenario. I came to the conclusion that if machine learning becomes too human there will be no perfect answers. Perhaps by then, humanity will have become as cautious in their quest for their own explanations as much as AI’s. Its unfortunate but most likely that if machines can't do better than humans at explaining what they're doing, then they won’t be trusted. Thus as knowledge engineering advances and androids cross a sentience threshold, there may be no leap of faith from humanity. Eventually, not even as our own creators, will be able to predict their own mind-boggling progress.
The plot thickens with a growing and dangerous conflict among my Venusians— factions who worship AI, pitted against occult radicals who fear and despise it. Inside these clouded citadels, beyond these perfect modified visions of a future - they've got political problems of another kind. Shall AI have equal rights? With refugees pouring in from Earth as well, my Venusians have a lot on their hands.
As I tackled these questions, I thought it was interesting that AI is not a modern theory. The very first robot ever recorded was from an ancient Greek story. Known as Talos, he was created — not born, by a craftsman. But I couldn't simply write about glorious floating cities AI or Venusian in the future. No no - the future is far more complicated my friends, including biological and artificial modifications.
But back to science for a moment, for my robots "below", I researched metals that could withstand Venusian weather. Eventually I came across a super alloy known as Inconel-X, and decided this metal would suffice for my robots. I kept in mind that the Venusian surface is 457 degrees C, with a pressure of 84 Earths atmosphere. Eventually I turned my attention away from metals, and studied recursive design concepts, light breathing suits, culture, religion, and biological modification just to name a few. My cities became worlds that were printed and then printing tech lead me into even more ideas like molecular nanotechnolgy. I drove further into weird forms of communication like mind reading flirtation devices, and phones that can change form.
What is real and what is not begs a question in my future. Real means actually existing as a thing or not, but in Modified, things can be created or broken down with nanotech when it is simply imagined.
In addition, I did think about Asimov's laws and poured through a lot of AI research papers, including recursive design. A secretive company called Fanuc was part of my recursive inspiration. Fanuc is a well known but secretive company in Japan whose factory has robots that make other robots in the dark...stopping only when no storage space remains.However, at some point I had to push away the conjecture, the controversy, and all that information out there and simply use my imagination. My job is to take what I read, envision all of these ideas, and just build it. I just do it. Its not my job to add another research paper to the library. I am the one who takes the science and wraps it up tightly into a perfect picture, so you can see how tall it is, how much it weighs, what metal its made of, and how its brain was created. I want the reader to see the robot, and watch it open his eyes. It's mouth moves and it speaks, and all the science comes to life. Can AI love too?
Tesla once said he believed that in the twenty-first century, the robot will take the place which slave labor occupied in ancient civilization.
There are many reasons why I shaped my world for Modified. But in a far more distant future, I can't ignore the idea that things could go awry. So I did present these questions— these ideas, and ask, what would that future look like? When imagination takes the hand of science, cities float in the clouds of Venus, people modify themselves, and androids toil on a planets surface.
As above, so below...
As I tackled these questions, I thought it was interesting that AI is not a modern theory. The very first robot ever recorded was from an ancient Greek story. Known as Talos, he was created — not born, by a craftsman. But I couldn't simply write about glorious floating cities AI or Venusian in the future. No no - the future is far more complicated my friends, including biological and artificial modifications.
But back to science for a moment, for my robots "below", I researched metals that could withstand Venusian weather. Eventually I came across a super alloy known as Inconel-X, and decided this metal would suffice for my robots. I kept in mind that the Venusian surface is 457 degrees C, with a pressure of 84 Earths atmosphere. Eventually I turned my attention away from metals, and studied recursive design concepts, light breathing suits, culture, religion, and biological modification just to name a few. My cities became worlds that were printed and then printing tech lead me into even more ideas like molecular nanotechnolgy. I drove further into weird forms of communication like mind reading flirtation devices, and phones that can change form.
What is real and what is not begs a question in my future. Real means actually existing as a thing or not, but in Modified, things can be created or broken down with nanotech when it is simply imagined.
In addition, I did think about Asimov's laws and poured through a lot of AI research papers, including recursive design. A secretive company called Fanuc was part of my recursive inspiration. Fanuc is a well known but secretive company in Japan whose factory has robots that make other robots in the dark...stopping only when no storage space remains.However, at some point I had to push away the conjecture, the controversy, and all that information out there and simply use my imagination. My job is to take what I read, envision all of these ideas, and just build it. I just do it. Its not my job to add another research paper to the library. I am the one who takes the science and wraps it up tightly into a perfect picture, so you can see how tall it is, how much it weighs, what metal its made of, and how its brain was created. I want the reader to see the robot, and watch it open his eyes. It's mouth moves and it speaks, and all the science comes to life. Can AI love too?
Tesla once said he believed that in the twenty-first century, the robot will take the place which slave labor occupied in ancient civilization.
There are many reasons why I shaped my world for Modified. But in a far more distant future, I can't ignore the idea that things could go awry. So I did present these questions— these ideas, and ask, what would that future look like? When imagination takes the hand of science, cities float in the clouds of Venus, people modify themselves, and androids toil on a planets surface.
As above, so below...
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