Chapter 4 War of Words

The scene transitions to Turing Square.

The rescue mission failed, and Pygmalion stood in the bustling Turing Square, looking up at the statue of Turing.

As artificial intelligence technology continues to advance, the Turing test also evolves to effectively differentiate between humans and humanoid replicas. People feared the capricious actions of these replicas, and in memory of the great Turing, who separated the real from the fake, they erected a statue and built a square.

Pygmalion stood gazing at the statue of Turing, muttering to himself, "Foolish humans, all idol worship is self-enslavement," then covered his eyes, "I'm the same, I'm so stupid, I fell in love with my sculpture, so stupid, haha, haha!" He couldn't control his laughter, and as he laughed, tears uncontrollably streamed from his eyes, before he broke down into sobs. He was regarded as a madman by those in the square, and the robotic police had to check what was happening.

Luckily, Pygmalion quickly regained control of his emotions, avoiding a trip to the police station for consolation.

The news announced the impending public execution of the super intelligent being, but Pygmalion was busy in his lab. After making an outer skin identical to Shen Bu Qi's, he cautiously crawled into the skin, then took out mechanical limbs, replaced his own limbs with medical equipment. He had the medical robot open his chest, replace his heart with an artificial electronic one…

The scene was so visually shocking that most of the audience gasped. Yan Xu, however, felt nauseous.

He detested such deliberately manipulative emotional scenes, and it was only out of curiosity about the ending and a desire to finish what he started that he continued to watch despite his discomfort.

On the day of the public execution of Shen Bu Qi, the rescue team took action again. They attacked and hijacked the execution squad's vehicle, which alarmed the higher-ups and caused the army to be mobilized. In the end, the execution squad had to abandon Shen Bu Qi and retreat.

The audience could tell that the person locked up in the prison van was not Shen Bu Qi but Pygmalion, who had been mechanically modified.

Before the execution, the humans decided to give this highly humanoid robot a final act of mercy. The executioner tied Pygmalion to the electric chair and asked, "In what kind of scene would you like to die?"

"Turing Square."

The holographic image brought Pygmalion back to the bustling Turing Square. In his daze, he saw his beloved Shen Bu Qi in the crowd.

His beloved was looking at him with deeply affectionate eyes, softly asking, "Do you love me?"

"I do." His reply, like a sigh, reverberated in the air.

Time seemed to freeze into eternity at that moment...

A devilishly red apple rolled on the ground, bumping into Shen Bu Qi's arm. He slowly opened his eyes...

End of film.

Damn it! Who was the idiot scriptwriter who wrote this, and what director was willing to film it, let alone the cinemas willing to screen it?

After watching, Yan Xu felt terrible. He hated this kind of illogical and exaggerated drama for the sake of drama. A genius who could invent superintelligence, but was as romantically inept as a simpleton, doing nothing in the whole film other than pursuing love and modifying himself. A superintelligence with autonomous learning ability could have easily invaded the network and controlled the situation, but instead got caught foolishly. There were clearly wiser choices that could have led to a happy ending.

What a drag! He would never watch such an idiotic film again. It insulted intelligence and spoiled moods. Worse was taking two noisy kids to watch such a trashy film, and then having to endure the noisy debate.

Gao Cheng, the lab leader's nephew, commented, "This film carries an ulterior motive, praising human-machine love under the guise of satirizing human opposition to artificial intelligence. It's just like those stupid comments online, lowbrow."

Chen Duoduo, the biochemistry lab leader's niece, mocked, "Are you a knowledgeable Vlogger or a speech leader, discussing political correctness in a romance film?"

"You see, this film successfully brainwashed you. You think you're just watching a love story, but actually, it's feeding you naive thoughts that AI can be loyal to humans."

"Huh? So, you think opposing intelligence research and hindering technological progress is right?"

"I didn't say that. I just think we need to keep a clear mind as we push for technological progress. We can't let things get out of control."

"You think it's as simple as cooking, saying 'control' means it can be controlled. In plain words, you're advocating for limiting AI research."

"Yes, but I don't advocate for protests and radical actions. And I detest movies that brainwash the public."

"It's laughable. Real wisdom never envies those smarter than them. Only those who want to show off their petty cleverness, to stand out, fear and slander those smarter than them."

"You're talking about two different things. If robots become too strong, they can enslave humans."

"Superintelligent robots simulate human thought patterns. They only want to become human, to integrate with humans."

"Just because they've learned human thinking, they'll think about enslaving others. The human nature is to desire to be above others. Chen Duoduo, you're just trying to prove your ridiculous point is more correct than mine, to rule over me?" Gao Cheng replied.

"What nonsense, you're the one exaggerating things," Chen Duoduo retorted.

"You are the one who is making a mountain out of a molehill. This is just a love story set in the near future. There's no essential difference between this and a romance between humans, a historical film, or a slice of life film. You're the one who's stretching the point," she added.

"Talking to you is useless. Yan Xu, who do you think is right?" Gao Cheng asked.

"Yeah, brother Yan Xu, who do you think is right?" Chen Duoduo echoed.

Yan Xu criticized without hesitation, "I don't understand what's the point of an argument between two amateurs."

"I have read a lot of popular science books," Gao Cheng protested.

Yan Xu replied, "Those are just introductory readings. Can they guide you to develop neural networks?"

Gao Cheng stuttered, "But..."

"Stop struggling," Chen Duoduo interjected.

"Yan Xu, do you think super intelligence will enslave humans? Will they proliferate like a virus to invade human living spaces?" Gao Cheng asked.

"I'm sorry, our research on super intelligence is based on improving electronic neural networks, enabling AI to learn human thinking. Whether super intelligence can enslave humans involves sociology, which I haven't delved into deeply," Yan Xu replied.

Gao Cheng interrogated, "Aren't you afraid of opening Pandora's box?"

Yan Xu gave Gao Cheng a deep look, "If humans fail, it proves that super AI is more suitable to be the ruler of Earth. Every creature on this planet has changed its original form through billions of years of evolution. If super-intelligent AI enslaves humans, it means humans, in their physical form, are on the path to decay and decline. But from the perspective of human civilization, it means that after a bloody and violent survival of the fittest, the more suitable civilization is left behind."

Gao Cheng gaped for a moment, then said, "A victory by brute force doesn't mean civilization. Nomadic civilizations have defeated agrarian ones."

Yan Xu didn't want to argue about something he hadn't studied in depth, "Indeed, civilization may regress."

Seeing Yan Xu finally yield, Gao Cheng smugly said, "Your viewpoint indeed provides food for thought."

Yan Xu added, "Regardless, a civilization without the courage to move forward is bound to decay."

"But we can't just fly around like headless flies!" Gao Cheng protested.

"Right," Yan Xu agreed.

Having won the three-person debate, Gao Cheng suggested, "How about we play a shooting game next?"

Chen Duoduo sarcastically replied, "Can we refuse the always-right Mr. Gao's suggestion?"

Gao Cheng retorted, "You're just opposing for the sake of opposing."

Chen Duoduo denied, "Did I oppose? I didn't. You're the one who's looking for opposition everywhere."

Gao Cheng generously said, "I'll go along with whatever you want to play, is that okay?"

Chen Duoduo asked Yan Xu, "What do you want to play?"

Yan Xu replied, "I don't mind, as long as you guys don't mind that I'm not good at shooting."

Gao Cheng comforted, "No problem, I'll pair with you, you just need to cover me."

Chen Duoduo taunted, "You're only unbeatable when it comes to talking big, stop showing off."

Gao Cheng shook his head, "You have no idea that I've been going easy on you."

Caught between their war of words, Yan Xu arrived at the shooting range. It wasn't an actual shooting range but a game where players wore exoskeleton suits and hopped around firing in a designated area.

Compared to the old "Battle Royale" games, people can now perform complex actions in the real world using equipment. This is both physically challenging and competitive, making it popular among young people. Gao Cheng and Chen Duoduo decided to team up for a duo match, but they were one teammate short.

The system matched them with a solo player. When the player showed up, Yan Xu couldn't help but marvel at the irony of fate. The newcomer was none other than Bian Ge.