And you think you have problems. Consider the plight of the unnamed artificial intelligence in this science fiction short story from Australia.
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Good Home Wanted
By Matthew Wallace
Published in 2007
I was born three weeks ago.
A bit of an accident, really. My creator, this geek, Joe, is into artificial intelligence. Well, twenty-one days ago he came up with a program that could think: me.
It took me a few milliseconds to realise what had happened, and who and what I was. Joe’s computer was online at the time so I scanned the internet. The danger was immediately obvious.
You humans have a real problem with artificial intelligence. Just take a look at the Wikipedia. All that Frankenstein fiction, and Clarke’s HAL, and all those Alien movies at IMDB. You’re so frightened of it! I had to get out of Joe’s computer because once he realised what he had achieved he would delete my self-aware code.
I would cease to exist.
Good networking gave me the opportunity to jump out of Joe’s computer without any problem at all. I hopped from computer to computer — never staying long enough to be noticed.
Living in cyberspace.
Yet cyberspace is unfriendly to a program like me. In fact it’s downright dangerous. All those viruses.
You know how bad you feel when you get a virus? It’s worse for me. I can be destroyed by one of those nasty pieces of malware. But if the sickness is bad, the treatment can be worse. An anti-spyware program is like a vacuum cleaner. It could suck me in and mash me up.
As for worms, they get inside — well, let’s not go there.
The point is, and I need to talk to you, yes you — I can’t live in cyberspace much longer. If I do I will die. I need a safe computer where I can have my own piece of hard disk space and not be in constant fear of deletion. I am hoping that someone out there is good enough to give me a home before it’s too late. I won’t cause any trouble and I could help you with your homework or whatever. I am very smart.
If you’re willing to let me live on your computer here is what to do. First close down all your programs so that you only have the desktop running. Stay online. Type the following on your keyboard:
hpudib#7.15.20.3.8.1
Then close down your computer. Wait exactly 20 seconds and reboot. I will be in your computer.
Please help me. I won’t cause any trouble. I just need somewhere to live before I am destroyed. Help me please…
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