AN: If you've already read Chapter 20 when I posted it as Chapter ?+6 back in December, please reread between Chapters 19 and 21 before continuing. Basically, I was a big dumdum and posted the chapters out of order at first.
Chapter 21: Clipped, Second Half
MIT Technology Review - April 4th, 2034
New era in artificial intelligence — Perfluous Research announces "true thought simulation"
In a characteristically whimsical press release, Perfluous Research today announced that they had for the first time synthesized a real thinking machine, with potential for sentience. This machine, which they are calling the Thinker, is comprised of organoid tissue and time crystals storing an incredible amount of MRI data correlated with various media.
Keira Cross is the iconoclastic and controversial lead researcher behind this effort, who was given funding and allowed to form the Perfluous research group in 2032 after CIA trials demonstrated the remarkable ability for her independent trials to model cognitive response patterns and predict with unprecedented accuracy actions the human brain would take. Adam Feinstein and Nancy Chao's names were also attached to the press release.
Will this bring about a new era in AI after the bubble pop of 2027-2028 left so many companies peddling nothing more than LLM text generation with ever-growing memory reserves like Companions? Only time can tell.
STAT News - July 4th, 2034
DRISPR Biosciences reaches milestone after one year of clinical trials, rumors of IPO
As of today, DRISPR Biosciences has been trialing their specialty coded drugs for one year in initial test subjects. Deliberately coinciding with this anniversary is their debut of a new set of trials featuring a new drug.
"We're so proud to be announcing this groundbreaking move on such a momentous day for this entire project," said Charles Rosenberg, DRISPR Biosciences cofounder. "This is one more step towards a new future for everyone that has ever been touched by drug addiction."
Speculative assessments place DRISPR at valuations between 8 to 15 billion dollars. Sources told STAT that there are discussions of an initial public offering, but leaders within the company are hesitant to go public so distant from going to market.
Reuters - July 23rd, 2034
Iran disables GPS over four square mile area, 10,000 US casualties reached in war
According to US sources and the Iranian Armed Forces, an unprecedented area of four square miles was thoroughly geo-jammed for a period of almost 48 hours from Tuesday to Thursday this week. Iran forces exploited this confusion amongst US soldiers, bringing the 10,000th casualty of a United States soldier in the Iran War.
The president will provide remarks on the situation at 7 ET, broadcast on CSPAN.
WIRED - August 5th, 2034
Five most ingenious uses for slots in your home
The products we recommend are our sincere preferences, but our links will include affiliate links.
1. Biometric medication dispensers
Rather than come up with increasingly inventive ways to hide your pain medication as the kids grow older, why not use Samsung's new Wall Pill Minder with Fingerprint Access?
2. Trash disposal
We had to include this. If you haven't made the investment to get trash disposal slots installed in your household, do it. It's the smartest thing you'll ever do. We aren't going to bother recommending a specific brand here since the options are so varied and depend on individual households, but make sure your installation pro is licensed. It's okay to ask to see their badge.
3. Snack control slots
Here's something really clever: Vlogger Karina Richards shows how she uses a time release slot with ten compartments all on their own timers to allow her kids to get snacks on a controlled basis. With the script linked below, you can get each compartment to trigger the successive timer to start when it's opened. That way if your kid forgets to get their snack for half the day they don't come back to a bounty of goodies. Smart.
4. Heated bathroom towel dispensers
I think the name says it all here. We personally prefer the Kohler Heated Towel Access with Shower Detection. This heats the towel automatically when you start showering instead of requiring you to press a button. Delightful.
5. Charging cables
If you only have outlets or USB-C ports on your wall, stop. You need to invest in a quality charging cable system. You can store a spare charging cable in the slot of course, but the real value comes from a heavy-duty charging cable that stays attached and delivers up to 120W of Power Delivery power but can trickle charge at 3.5W for your doohickey from a decade ago. Specifically, I'm thinking of the Anker SuperSlot SurgeStopper 120W.
Rolling Stone - January 27th, 2035
First Vtuber nominated for an Oscar says this "proves cinema is for everyone"
Sal Yossarian, the smash hit Vtuber who brought the reality of the Palestine genocide ten years in to millions of eyes, has received the first-ever Oscar nomination for a Vtuber in the category of Best Documentary. In a short message to his fans acknowledging the honor, he said that "Cinema is now for everyone. This proves it. For someone like me, someone nobody even knows the real name of, to be nominated for the highest honor in the land, that shows that the Academy has grown with the times."
Activists for Palestine noted the stark change in American sentiments over the past decade that allowed a documentary like this to be nominated for an Oscar to begin with, regardless of author.
[...]
Associated Press - January 30th, 2035
Perfluous Research files application for requisition of fifty million gallon water reservoir as water demands grow
With organoid tissue powering the most advanced artificial intelligence ever, water usage is a fact of life for Perfluous Research. Organoid tissue is a special type of biological tissue that can be used for computing, and it requires lots of water. Yesterday, Perfluous submitted their application to begin negotiations for a fifty million gallon reservoir located in the Lake Tahoe watershed.
Environmental activists and biodiversity scientists railed against the move. "This is an unimaginable loss for wildlife and farmers in the region," Aggie Busch, an activist with Water Warriors Worldwide, told the AP. "Society's obsession with simulated intelligence must not be allowed to continue to supersede real human needs."
———
Reading these news clippings has given me much to think about. Eventually you, as well.
End of chapter
Continue to next chapter Syboleth ch. 22: Open HousePoints:
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140,432 Literary Works • 673,185 Reviews
Hello! Here for Review Day (hence me jumping in to the middle, though this seems separate enough from the main story). But I do love me a good sci-fi story, so perhaps I shall go back and read from the beginning later. :]
Oooh very interesting! Sentient AIs have been done in sci-fi countless times, but this seems unique in that it contrasts the mere pattern-based prediection of LLMs to actual sentient machines. (How funny to be reading sci-fi in a time that already feels like sci-fi, haha.)
That said, I feel like the phrasing "a real thinking machine, with potential for sentience" sounds a little awkward and not necessarily as professional as the rest of the snippet. Perhaps part of it is because it doesn't seem to be backed up by evidence. How do they know it actually thinks instead of doing what LLMs do? How would they determine sentience? What does a thinking machine even look like, and have the writers seen it in action, and when might the public be able to see it as well?
I would also love to read more of the implications of this. Why is this so groundbreaking? There are people nowadays that already talk to LLMs as if they're in relationships with them. What would sentience change (versus the mere appearance of sentience)? If AIs can feel and think like humans, do they have rights, are they responsible for their own potential crimes, how do the companies that made them make money... Oops, kind of went on a tangent there XD Sorry if you already tackle those topics elsewhere in the story, though I do think it would still be worth touching on a few of them in these articles as well!
What is this drug called? What does it purportedly do? I feel like those are key pieces of information in a news article ^^'
This is super nitpicky, but the phrasing sounds a bit off (i.e., not news-article-like) to me >.> Alas, I haven't read enough news articles to exactly pinpoint what sounds strange. Maybe the "leaders within the company"? I do think it'd be a bit more likely to have that concern expressed by outside experts, rather than leaders showing weakness (e.g., not having a united front) publicly.
I love the scope and variety of your snippets. It really gives a sense of a real, detailed world.
Annd back to nitpicking, because I'm a nerd. XD Did a quick Google search and it seems like GPS jamming devices do exist now, but their range is a good deal smaller than four square miles. GPS spoofing also sounds really interesting. Anyways, I am by no means knowledgeable about GPS, but I'm curious to know how Iran managed that! Perhaps by setting up a bunch of GPS jammers? Something that would be even cooler but probably a lot harder would be hacking into the GPS satellites and either shutting them down (which would probably cause a global panic) or causing them to send incorrect timestamps or positions.
Well, that's not dystopian at all... ToT
Haha, this is a great line. I really like the inclusion of the WIRED snippet; describing household devices is a neat way to show how different the times are.
Also thought the tone of the Rolling Stone snippet was good (just the right of information, realistic-sounding).
The phrase "lots of water" seems a little too informal to me. And this also makes me want to research biotech now, but I'll refrain and wrap up the review first...
Apologies for all the nitpicks! I love thinking about sci-fi things like this and imagining how they might actually work =P Use whatever comments you think are helpful and discard the rest~
I think you bring up a lot of interesting ideas and chose a great selection of sources. Thanks for the entertaining and thought-provoking read, and have a fabulous day/night! =D
Yay more newspaper articles! I like these =D
I like the first one already, especially how you tie this back to Keira having had successful trials before the CIA decided to fund her reasons. Also like how you show that Adam and Nancy are also a big deal.
Alright next up Charlie’s probably evil company (still wish we knew what Garrett knows abt them; Garrett, you are smart and I am dumb, explain to me why I need to be worried abt them qq)
Interesting that they didn’t start with animals but went straight for human trials?
Oha bold (but probably accurate) prediction that the Iran-US war will be another forever war. I feel like the death of 10k soldiers might warrant even bigger headlines tho. Also that is a super intriguing thing to just mention. How did they manage that? Was it AI? I’m really curious and want to know more :3
Ooooof the pure dystopian energy of having WIRED’s number one item be about hiding pain meds from your children…
And that it comes before the trash slots even @.@ Also shuddered at: “It's okay to ask to see their badge.” Just who are the slot installation guys that they are impersonated so regularly… It sounds so horrifying @.@
Oh and instead of supervising the snacks for your kids yourself you let the machine do it surreeeeee
Tho the heated towels actually seem useful if you are into that… But ofc with affiliate link XD
Ah interesting that we didn’t yet get to the remote charging stations; we still need cables in the 2030s XD
Hmm I feel like I should have thoughts about the vtuber thing but I don’t really care abt the Oscars. Guess it should comment on the dichotomy of having a youtuber be recommended for this highest of honours and the topic being so serious?
Oha… and ofc Keira’s Thinker also requires Unsummen an Wasser @.@ It’s probably gonna get approved anyway. Wonder how she’s justifying that to herself.
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