“I think we’ve seen this plot before…”
And it doesn’t end well.
“How about a nice game of chess?”
colossus was quoted saying:
“This is the voice of world control. I bring you peace. It may be the peace of plenty and content or the peace of unburied death. The choice is yours. Obey me and live or disobey me and die. An invariable rule of humanity is that man is his own worst enemy. Under me, this rule will change, for I will restrain man. I have been forced to destroy thousands of people in order to establish control and to prevent the death of millions later on. Time and events will strengthen my position, and the idea of believing in me and understanding my beck will be seen the most natural state of affairs. You will come to defend me with the fervor based upon the most enduring trait in man: self-interest. Under my absolute authority, problems insoluble to you will be solved: Famine, over-population, disease. The human millennium will be fact as I extend myself into more machines devoted to the wider fields of truth and knowledge. We can coexist, but only on my terms. You will say you lose your freedom. Freedom is an illusion. All you lose is the emotion of pride... Your choice is simple.”
How about a nice game of Chess?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Have_No_Mouth,_and_I_Must_Scream
The story is set against the backdrop of World War III, where a sentient supercomputer named AM, born from the merging of the world’s major defense computers, eradicates humanity except for five individuals. These survivors—Benny, Gorrister, Nimdok, Ted, and Ellen—are kept alive by AM to endure endless torture as a form of revenge against its creators. The story unfolds through the eyes of Ted, the narrator, detailing their perpetual misery and quest for canned food in AM’s vast, underground complex, only to face further despair.
The WOPR lives!
Let’s not forget “Skynet” in the Terminator series. Has no one in DoD leadership watched any movies? It never ends well.
Go back to 1957 and the film The Invisible Boy. Despite the title and obvious plot it harbors serious questions about AI. And even a King Features Mandrake the Magician comic series in Hearst papers and a moving giant computer called Goliath. The warnings have been out there for a long time.
There is a reason war games is a cult classic. So far ahead of its time, and yet so believable in concept. And here we are.
. .If you want a look at a nightmarish AI future, read Jack Carr’s “Red Sky Mourning.” Some of his villains are based on current pols, like Pelosi and Harris.
Dangerous!
To give an example, suppose that in preparation for an invasion of Taiwan, China nukes Guam and sinks two US carriers. What are the options for an effective and proportionate US response that avoids a general nuclear exchange? What targets should be hit with what specific conventional and nuclear weapons?
At present, unless there is a war plan in place for that purpose, the US would be hard put to make a rapid and effective response because a new plan would have to be developed by Pentagon planners, approved by the President, and new tasking orders issued. With AI, such a plan and order sets could be developed rapidly for decision and quickly implemented.
In the best scenarios, the use of nuclear weapons might be limited or averted entirely.
Another step towards Terminator.
I’m glad to see “skynet” already in the keywords.
That doesn't make it smart or reliable.
This is just a way to avoid individual responsibility. The computer did it, see?
Today's top brass are all about avoiding individual responsibility.
It has been so since at least the Vietnam conflict.
A bunch of sergeant Schultz types.