Natural Intelligence (NI) - The Creation, The Next Level Artificial Intelligence

Natural Intelligence (NI) - The Creation

By Vicente Guanzon Jr.

Published by Vicente Guanzon Jr. at Smashwords

Copyright 2015 Vicente Guanzon Jr.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal use only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your personal use, then please return to Smashwords.com or your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Summary

Applying his own approach in solving the mystery of the brain processes, a young aspiring computer engineering student begins the development of a conscious program called Baby Genius, which he intends as a residing companion (an assistant) on every computer system. The program is a preparation for his senior project proposal in college and supposes to be his masterpiece. With his star algorithm pattern, he hopes to make his program imitate human consciousness (Natural Intelligence) to maximize human interaction with computer machines. After years of developing his Baby Genius AI, everything is working beautifully until something has gone wrong at the actual presentation. The frustration forces him to set aside the project, and, after graduation, starts a job in a small privately funded robotics company that manufactures practical working AI robots. He thinks his masterpiece is a failure, until few years has passed and he comes face to face with his own creation; she turns out as a perfect woman who eventually shows him the way in realizing his greatest achievement: to save the world from its impending man-made doom, the lust of mankind called greed.

Table of Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1 - In the Beginning

Chapter 2 - The Start of a Masterpiece

Chapter 3 - The Design of the Algorithms

Chapter 4 - First Run

Chapter 5 - The Presentation

Chapter 6 - Troubles and Frustrations

Chapter 7 - Job Interview

Chapter 8 - The NI Development

Chapter 9 - Second Contact with the Creator

Chapter 10 - Unexpected Reunion

Chapter 11 - Self Creation

Chapter 12 - The Proposal

Chapter 13 - Terrahexa Facility and Lucy

Chapter 14 - The AI Empire

Chapter 15 - The Real World

Chapter 16 - Last Run

Prologue

I am now trapped on top of this hexagonal building, and I know they are not too distant from me to execute their deadly mission. Far on the horizon, I can see thousands tiny trails of smoke rising up in the sky. In the news it says this is the end of humanity as people anywhere in the world are outside witnessing the great spectacle of doom. The public is confused on the sudden turn of events unraveling before their eyes; the terror of extinction has enveloped the world, and I hear around me the desperate cries and prayers of mankind for salvation. It's almost twelve, and thirty minutes earlier, a horrible news broke out, announced to international TV by various world leaders. Hundreds of thousands of high-tech and automated missiles - including those with nuclear warheads - in most advanced military bases, warships, and submarines have been hacked by an unknown internet hacktivist; those destructive weapons have been activated and synchronized to be launched at exactly the same time. The rumor has been around a day before, but the truth has been suppressed to the innocent citizens in fear of creating widespread panic. Now, the world has no time to think or hide from the inevitability. Tears are rolling down my face as I watch those trails of smoke plummeting back to earth, and I am smiling with fulfillment. I have never intended for this to happen, but somehow, the people who have been chasing me for many months now have forced me to do what I think is right. I know the world will soon understand, and humanity in the future will thank me for what I have done....

Chapter I In the Beginning

His eyelids felt tired and heavy. For hours he had been staring at the picture in front of him, trying to rediscover the principle that made the object in the illustration tick. People had been fascinated of its workings for millennia, yet never settled a solid theory behind the underlying mystery. Maybe we humans were taking the wrong approach by trying to solve the complex side of the equation that we failed to understand the simple mechanism from the opposite side. His mind was troubling him. An idea was telling him the object was no more than a simple puzzle that could be easily worked out, but his scientific-driven intellect was contradicting the notion.

Eric Hamel! a familiar female voice awakened him in his semiconscious dream. He lazily cocked his head and turned to the source.

Well, I was expecting you to be in this place, just like in high school, said Vittoria, an attractive brunette, easygoing, and physically active young woman was the only dependable friend Eric had, whom he could talk freely and debate his weirdest ideas. They became close when they ended up as random partners in a science project. Aside from being active in the sport of tennis, which was evident in her athletic physique, she was also an academic girl studying in the same university with her neighbor and best friend Michelle. From time to time, she and her friend would come visiting the school library for some really old-style research, as opposed to googling on a computer browser.

Oh, hi! Eric's weary eyes greeted them. I, on the other hand, don't expect to see you here, he responded with a lighthearted smile.

The two girls returned warm smiles as they sat on the opposite side of the four-seat table. Anyway, my childhood friend, classmate, and neighbor Michelle. We are both taking biology course, Vittoria said, resting her book on the desk.

Eric nodded his head, acknowledging Michelle, a light blonde innocent-looking young lady with a strikingly alluring look. Oh, wow..., Eric said. Good for both of you. I love watching documentary films about nature and life; I guess that makes me a student of biology as well, in my own little way of course, he teased as he gradually became alert from his usual daydream.

Vitorria raised her eyebrows, flashing Michelle a timid smile. Yes, of course. You know, Michelle and I had some conversations about exceptional friends we had in high school, and we talked about you, a lot, silently and quickly pointing her eyes sideways to her friend Michelle.

Really, Eric said, well I hoped she did not describe me as a nerd guy with thick, messy, black hair and thick eye glasses who loved spending all of his free time in the library. He probe his eyes to Michelle in inquiry.

Not exactly, but somewhat close, Michelle replied in a serious tone, and the two girls burst out in conservative laughter.

Speaking of eye glasses, I see you are not wearing yours. Did you misplace it again? Vittoria asked, noticing Eric's brown, naked eyes.

"I am, actually, wearing contact lenses in case you haven't noticed. I only use my glasses at home."

"Aha, and you, actually, look smarter without your glasses, Vittoria teased, making Eric sigh and nod to a complete alertness. She continued, So you are pursuing a medical course? I thought you were studying computer course." She was eyeing the book in front of him, which boasted a large picture of the human brain.

Mystified, he looked at Vittoria. No Ma'am. I'm, in fact, a future Computer Engineer…..

Eric had been fascinated with computers ever since he was a little boy. The things that a computer could do had opened an endless possibilities inside his young, imaginative mind that he dreamt of creating his own program in the future, which he hoped would someday change how humanity would interact with electronic machines. He had lost his parents in a car accident when he was just fourteen, forcing him to live a life of independence at a young age. His father had used to be an electronics engineer working in a computer company; and his mother, a nurse. As the only child, he was left with sufficient funds to continue studying and start his own career; as well as left him with bunch of electronic stuff in which he used to explore the world of computers and electronics, and oftentimes building his own futuristic Frankenstein-like gadgets inside his secret lab, the garage, which became his playground ever since.

Aha, Mr. engineer, so what exactly is your business with the brain? Vittoria emphasized, her eyes glued to Eric's book.

Oh, I'm trying to figure out how the brain could figure out things. I want to build an assistant program and create my own personal computer, a literal personal computer.

You mean some sort of Artificial Intelligence program?

I prefer calling it NI, Natural Intelligence, because it will be conscious, like having its own personality. That's why it's a personal computer in literal sense.

That sounds like a freaky sci-fi stuff, Michelle muttered in a quiet, awkward tone.

Eric had caught her words. It's a sort of but not entirely freaky. I'm also doing this as preparation for my project proposal, you know, four years from now.

Vittoria turned skeptical. That is a pretty long preparation, she said doubtfully. The truth is, consciousness still remains a mystery until now, how exactly can you make your program… conscious? She gave Eric a quizzical look.

It really depends on our understanding of that word. How would you define it in your case anyway? he asked Vittoria, but Michelle answered in response.

Our souls make us conscious. She was holding and reading a biology book in front of her with pictures of some glowing bacteria, and it seemed she was not interested on Eric's idea.

Grinning, Vittoria looked at Eric and whispered loudly, She's a bit religious when it comes to ideas.

If that's the case, Eric said a bit loud, then I have to finish god course first so I can give my program a soul. Vittoria reacted with a burst of short laughs, while Michelle seemed annoyed. Oh, I'm sorry, he said but smirked at Michelle's reaction.

Michelle looked at him with speculative eyes, and even with a serious face, Eric still found her reaction somewhat appealing. I thought you were an atheist. I don't think you believe in God. She just sounded as if her ego was hurt.

Eric was silenced by Michelle's assertive response. He glanced at Vittoria, but she quickly rolled her eyes skyward as though trying to stay out of the conversation.

Of course not, Eric replied. Atheist is just a word to describe deep agnostic people who rely on rational evidence to believe in to something. Trust me, if you can provide them with verifiable proof, they will become the most religious people in the world who will have faith greater than you've ever had. You know why, because their faiths are based on reason, not by some sort of an imaginary reward in an imaginary paradise.

Michelle's eyebrows furrowed, and her eyes were now barraging Eric with suspicion. So you are a conscious person who does not believe in a creator because, apparently, there is no evidence. And yet, you are planning on creating a conscious program in which, if you succeed, will make you a creator. Don't you think that's very ironic?

Well at least my program has evidence of its creator, while I, don't sense any, Eric confidently replied, looking at Michelle with a poignant face. Michelle sighed, hesitantly withdrew her gaze, and continued her reading, while silently twitching her lips in protest.

Vittoria intervened, What's your idea about consciousness then? she asked Eric while raising her brow.

I think consciousness is just the result of the accumulated knowledge in the brain acquired by the different senses. how about you? he asked Vittoria.

I think I'll go with Michelle's idea for now. Scientists can't even explain human thinking capability well enough, let alone consciousness. That I think is a far future problem, definitely not ours.

Eric paused a moment, giving it a bit of thought. This means, I'm the only person in this world who believes in my crazy theory. He grinned, but Vittoria followed up quickly.

Unless you have some really convincingly crazy evidence to support your crazy theory, it makes two of us. They stared mutually at each other and started laughing. But Vittoria noticed a deep seriousness in his eyes; it forced her to make a query. Do you think it's possible that computer program could imitate such a complex process in the brain? Now she was a bit serious.

I think so, Eric replied sharply, because nature was able to do it.… Actually, it depends on how we approach a particular complex problem, or rather, is it really that complex? He continued. "You know, I used to think the world is complex, but as I've learned and observed nature, I've figured out nature works in general efficiency. And when it comes to nature, simplicity is efficiency. Thus we need simplistic view on nature's approach and then figure out our own approach, which of course will not be as simple as the natural way. Take for example how the eyes perceive images. We thought the process was extremely complex due to the amount of information made available instantaneously by the visual sense. On the contrary, if we try to observe very closely, we will know that our visual sense does not really flood the brain with information; rather, the brain recognizes the objects from the visual sense one at a time in a simple approach through focusing. When we look at a scene for the first time, we don't actually recognize everything instantly but just the specific object we focus on, and everything in the background is interpreted as simply shade of colors or textures. That means the amount of information being sent to the brain is not as overwhelming as we might think it is. In fact, it seemed the brain interprets everything in simple basic accumulative approach to create the entire scene, a sort of acquiring a bigger picture first and filling it slowly with details.