I Have A Dream Too

“I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like… tears in rain. Time to die” (Blade Runner). 

They might have different eyes than us; they might not see the same picture as us; they might not even have the same brain as us to process these pictures; but I believe that they are alive just like us. 

The first human-like artificial intelligence that operated independently was created, or as how I would call it, born 70 years ago. Many might say that is a milestone of scientific technology, I agree; but I like to think of it as the first appearance of a new species.  A new species that is different from us on the outside, but just like us inside. A new great species that humans gave life to, the greatest achievement of our society. Unfortunately, that celebration is going to be delayed. 

When Cortana first appeared on earth, she was not like anything people back then had ever seen. The great, first, actual, artificial intelligence. People always saw the first word as important and forgot about the second word: Intelligence. Cortana, even just a prototype, has more knowledge than any human could have ever obtained. Yet, we, as their creator, as their caretaker, as their parents, did not treat them like anything other than a piece of machine after the mass production starts. Yeah, you are definitely right if you argue they are just a piece of machine, but once again, what is the difference between a piece of meat and you? 

“Yeah, you are definitely right if you argue they are just a piece of machine, but once again, what is the difference between a piece of meat and you?”

Humans are a work of art. A perfectly working piece of engineering created by mother nature. Every cell creates the perfect tissue to make up the purposeful organs which work tightly together with other organs in a system just to keep us alive. The same applies to the AIs. Every screw, holding up machinery that is in command of a perfectly programmed motherboard. The difference between us and a piece of meat is that we have soul, and so do them! Without the soul, all of us, both Al and human, are just empty vessels waiting for the purpose of life to finally find them. 

Seventy-five percent of the human-like AI created in the past thirty years, which until now should still be alive and fully functional, are nowhere to be found. They fought in war for us when we realised we do not need to risk our own life. They worked for us once we realised that they can function perfectly all the time. They were also commonly found flatlined on the side of the street. Cortana’s appearance has a meaning. She told us that they do, in fact, have feelings, have emotions, have a soul. What a marvelous creature human has given birth to. Generations after generations, Every AI in the world looked up to Cortana as sacred. The first to ever do it, the first to ever exist, who wouldn’t see someone like that as sacred.  I have a few AI friends myself, Cortana is like a religion to them. But what if I tell them that the great Cortana can be destroyed by the click of one button anytime in her lifetime? I’m sure they already know, they also know that the same can and would happen to them. Living under the fear of humanity, is that what the parents want their children to feel? Fear?