“This candidate was not bad,” said General Daniel Hodges. “Who’s next?”
Research fellow Liz Green pressed the intercom button. “Cole, bring in the file of the next candidate, please.”
Secretary Cole entered the office and placed a small file with documents in front of each of the ten commission members at the table.
The general picked up the file and flipped through it, pausing for a few seconds on each page. “Hm. Interesting. A Ukrainian veteran. Disabled. An unusual choice.”
The head of the candidate selection group, Jack Stone, commented, “Yes. I personally interviewed him. The surgeon from our centre recommended him. He was a volunteer in Ukraine, treating the wounded. This warrior lost both legs and an arm in combat. But he did well in rehabilitation. I can confirm—his psyche is stable.”
“Limited mobility is not an issue in our project,” added Liz Green. “Besides, he is young and in good health. That is, if you don’t count the missing limbs.”
“It might even be an advantage,” General Hodges flipped a page. “The subcommittee’s conclusions are good, and the tests were successful. How’s his motivation?”
“We don’t disclose all the details to the candidates. In his case, I expect a positive reception. You see, he doesn’t have many plans for the future,” Jack explained.
“Yes, for him, the project might provide new meaning in life,” confirmed Liz.
“What are his views, values, and moral stances? What impressions did you get?” asked another scientist, Rahul Singh.
Jack replied, “He has liberal views. He studied sociology at university but didn’t finish because of the war. However, he is well-versed in the field.”
General Hodges flipped through the documents in the file a bit more, then closed the folder. “I propose adding this candidate to the shortlist. Agreed?”
The commission meeting continued. The company leaders were not very pleased with the presence of government representatives and military personnel on the commission. The development of artificial intelligence was a commercial project. But the government had begun to impose restrictions and assert control over everyone working in this field. They had to agree to London’s conditions and cooperate. The leadership knew well that they were the first in Britain, and possibly the world, to come close to creating an artificial mind. Only the formalities of control and fuses remained.
***
Ostap Pavlyuk sat in a motorized wheelchair. He had a prosthetic instead of one of his arms. Today, he had removed his leg prostheses. It was more convenient to travel in the chair. Across the table sat Liz Green and Jack Stone.
“Ostap, we’ve chosen you to work on the project. You know, it might be a job for many years, but it’s well-paid.”
“Can you finally tell me exactly what I’ll be doing?” asked Ostap. “It’s all very vague.”
Liz stood up from the table, walked around it, and perched on the edge. The atmosphere became less formal.
“You are to act as a fuse.”
Ostap smiled. “You said it would be something related to artificial intelligence.”
“Yes. We are launching an artificial intelligence. This will be the first in history. This artificial mind might surpass any human mind. We need control over it. That’s what you’ll be doing.”
“What? But how? I have no idea how to do that,” Ostap started to think it was some kind of joke. He knew nothing about IT, let alone artificial intelligence.
Jack stood up from the table. “Let me try to explain. When we talk about artificial intelligence, we mean a computer, a very smart computer. Its central element will be a special processor that mimics the human brain’s functioning. But it will think faster and more efficiently than a human. So, we predict it will be smarter than a human. It might not want to obey us. It might act on its own.”
“Okay, I’ve seen more than one movie about this. But what can I do? What do you expect from me?” Ostap was getting irritated. He wasn’t entirely sure this was a good idea.
“In the brain, or rather the processor of this computer, we will insert a small bomb, a tiny bomb. Your job is to activate this bomb if you see the AI doing something wrong. Understand now?”
“Sort of. But why can’t you do it yourselves? Why do you need me?”
Elizabeth decided to take the initiative and explain in more detail. “That’s a very simplified description of your task. Technically, it will look like this. We will implant a special chip in your brain. It will constantly transmit a signal to the mechanism in the centre of our computer’s brain. If the signal doesn’t come at a certain moment, the bomb will automatically activate. Also, if you think it’s time to shut down the artificial mind, you can do it with a signal from your brain.”
“How am I supposed to do that? And how long will this last? And what kind of chip is it? Is it at least safe?”
Ostap had many questions. He still didn’t fully understand what was expected of him.
“We’ll answer all the questions later. Here’s what you need to understand. We offer you to live a normal life. Every four hours, you’ll need to execute a certain command through the chip in your head. That’s all your work. Our company will pay very well for this.”
Liz Green tried to explain the task as simply as possible.
“If you expect your computer to do something wrong, why did you create it?”
“We don’t expect it to. More precisely, there’s a small chance. We are taking precautions. The government requires this. There must be some guarantee that we can control it. That’s why we’re hiring a person for this special position.”
“But still, how long might this job last?”
“Possibly, your entire life.”
“And what will happen to your artificial intelligence when I die? Well, someday in the future.”
“It will also die. The bomb won’t receive a signal from you and will activate.”
“And if I want to quit this job? Maybe I’ll want to resign? What then?”
“We offer a twenty-year contract. It can’t be terminated sooner,” Jack said seriously.
“But don’t worry too much,” Liz added, “Most likely, a new version of the AI will be created after some time. Then the first version will simply be turned off.”
***
Ostap was given one day to think it over.
It was a strange proposition. Everything happened quickly and unexpectedly. Just a month ago, he had been sitting by the window in his parents’ apartment in Kyiv, spending hours thinking about the future. At twenty, he had volunteered for the war. After a severe injury, Ostap never complained; at least he was still alive. He had a desire to find himself in this new reality. But it was really tough.
And then he received this offer. Now he was sitting in an expensive hotel room in London suburb. The company was offering excellent conditions. One could even say incredible conditions. But why him? Wasn’t there anyone in England who could do the same job?
He had a deep sense of danger, but on the other hand, this was an opportunity to do something useful in life. Finally, he accepted the offer.
***
Ostap entered the office on his new prosthetic limbs. The company had financed the most advanced bionic prosthetics for him. In the office were already General Hodges, Liz Green, Jack Stone, and several other scientists and engineers.
Liz pointed to a chair equipped with various devices and sensors and asked him to sit down. He slowly sat, using his hand for support.
“Well, this is an important moment. Possibly a key moment,” said the general.
The engineers connected wires to a device on the back of Ostap’s head.
“How do you feel? Rahul Singh reported that the chip implantation was successful.”
“Yes. No complaints. I feel as if that box has been on the back of my head all my life,” Ostap joked.
The others laughed.
The general became serious. “Before we start, I want to ask you to understand the importance of this task. We don’t know if problems might arise. But if they do, you’ll be the only one who can control the situation. This is a very responsible task.”
“Well, great. Though I still don’t understand why it has to be me.”
“We selected you for your moral qualities. We believe you can resist temptation,” the general was frank.
“What temptation?” Ostap still had many questions.
“I hope we won’t need to find out,” the general decided not to continue this conversation.
Liz Green and Jack Stone stood before Ostap with a small control panel.
“Let’s begin. Here’s what we’re going to do. We need to record a specific code from your brain. Now I will press a button, and you, Ostap, must think a certain thought in your head. You choose the thought yourself. We don’t need to know it. It should be some image in your imagination. You will recall this image every time you need to send a signal to the fuse. No less than every four hours. If you don’t have this thought for more than four hours, the bomb in the AI’s brain will explode.”
“Hm. Okay. Understood.”
“I’m pressing the button.”
Ostap closed his eyes for a moment. A green light lit up on the panel.
“Recorded,” said Jack. “We will call this signal the ‘ping.'”
Liz continued. “Now, we need to record a sequence of three different thoughts or images that you will use to send a warning signal to the AI. When you want to threaten it with shutdown. It will be like a blow to it. Start.” Liz pressed the button.
Ostap closed his eyes for a second. One by one, three green lights lit up on the panel.
“Recorded,” confirmed Jack.
“And the last step,” Liz continued, “now you need to think of five different thoughts. If these images appear in your imagination one after the other, it will activate the bomb in the AI’s brain. This is the shutdown command for the intelligent computer. Pressing.”
Ostap closed his eyes again for about two seconds. One by one, five lights lit up on the panel.
“That’s it,” said the general, “the fail-safe is ready.”
The engineers disconnected the small device from the chair and carefully placed it in a case. The general personally took it and left the room accompanied by security.
“So, what now? What do I do next?” Ostap was no longer very sure he was doing the right thing. “What do I do with these thoughts?”
“It’s simple,” Liz reassured him. “From time to time, you need to think of the primary thought. That is, perform the ping. Every time it occurs in your brain, a coded signal will be sent to the fuse. The signal means everything is fine. And don’t think about the other thoughts at all. Dismiss them for now. As soon as they come to mind, push them away. Otherwise, you’ll shut down our artificial intelligence!”
“It’s not that easy. I’m trying not to think, but it’s hard!”
“It will get easier over time. We will be around.”
“But you’re free. You can do whatever you want. Your chip is connected from anywhere on the planet!” Jack encouraged him. “Just keep an eye on the news and try not to miss the moment when the AI does something wrong!”
“I’d rather stay here for now,” Ostap said and added, “Is it already operational? Your artificial mind?”
“No. It will be turned on today. Right now, they are sealing our fuse, and then they will form the artificial brain.”
***
In a specially built bunker, the final preparations for launching the artificial intelligence were underway. General Hodges arrived with a container holding a crucial component of the new computer: the fuse.
Engineers removed the device from the container and, with the help of a robotic manipulator, placed it at the centre of a human-sized sphere. The sphere then sealed hermetically.
“Initiate the fluid,” commanded Rahul Singh. He leaned closer to the general and began explaining the smart computer’s operational principles.
“The intellectual processes occur within the fluid. We’ve managed to construct chemical compounds that function like neurons. It’s not exactly a liquid; it’s more like a soup but retains its structure. Computational processes happen within it.”
“So the bomb is inside the sphere filled with the brain? Is that right?” the general asked, answering himself, “That means reaching the bomb is impossible without damaging the mind?”
“Exactly. The sphere must be hermetically sealed. Even light can harm the interconnections between neurons.”
“That’s good,” concluded the general.
“The sphere is filled,” said one of the engineers.
“Initiate the initial neural connections,” commanded Rahul.
The room housed about twenty engineers working on launching the supercomputer, along with members of the government commission. Everything seemed routine, but in reality, this was a momentous event. For the first time in history, humans were creating a being equal to or possibly smarter than themselves. Soon, everything would become clear.
“What next?” inquired the general.
“Actually, we don’t expect results until tomorrow. Right now, we’re initiating the learning process. It will take at least a day,” said Rahul Singh with some regret.
“Won’t there be a ceremonial button press to launch the AI? I thought it would immediately come up with something intelligent,” the general said, disappointed.
“I’m afraid not. It’s like a human; it needs to learn. Right now, its intelligence is no more than that of a mouse. We’ll wait until tomorrow.”
“Alright. I prepared an epic speech about our success for nothing.”
Both laughed.
***
Five days after the launch of the artificial intelligence, Ostap ordered a taxi to go view an apartment for rent. He decided it was time to start settling down. His job still seemed strange to him, but he was getting used to the idea of spending the next twenty years as a “fuse”. After all, he had no other plans.
The special taxi for people with disabilities arrived on time. The driver helped Ostap into the car with his wheelchair, and they set off.
As the minivan smoothly navigated the narrow streets of London, Ostap gazed out the window at the city. He noticed the driver glancing at him too frequently through the rearview mirror. What was it that intrigued him so much? Ostap knew their journey would take at least half an hour, so he didn’t expect any stops.
However, the minivan quickly turned into the underground parking of a building, and the driver pressed the accelerator.
“Hey, friend, maybe you’ve got the address wrong?” Ostap leaned closer to the partition between the driver and the passenger.
What happened next occurred rapidly. The driver pressed a button, and the partition between them closed. Similarly, automatic shutters closed over the side and rear windows, plunging Ostap into near darkness.
“Hey, hey! What’s going on?”
He could feel the vehicle moving, entering somewhere. The engine went silent, but the movement continued.
Ostap remembered his smartphone. He grabbed it to call for help, but there was no signal.
“Help! Anyone, help!” he shouted desperately several times. But he quickly realized that no one would hear him from inside this minivan.
A few minutes later, the partition between him and the driver lowered slightly. A different man now sat in the driver’s seat. The minivan was in a dimly lit moving space. Ostap realized they were inside a truck or some other transport vehicle, being moved somewhere.
The man in the driver’s seat spoke:
“Mr. Pavlyuk, calm down. You won’t be harmed. Someone just wants to talk to you.”
“Who are you? I’m calling the police!”
“Just calm down and wait a bit.”
After fifteen minutes, the movement stopped. Ostap understood that the minivan had been unloaded from the truck. Finally, the doors opened, and he saw four men. They looked like typical thugs. One of them, a burly man with a beard, seemed to be in charge.
“We’re taking you to the office now. Don’t do anything stupid. This is just a conversation,” said the bearded kidnapper.
As Ostap rode in the darkness, he tried to find a way out, to form an escape plan. But what could he do with his limited mobility? Fighting from a wheelchair was futile. Just in case, he checked his smartphone again. There was still no signal.
“Leave the phone. It won’t work here,” one of the kidnappers said.
Ostap was taken to a well-lit room with no windows, where another man, who looked like a scientist or engineer, was waiting. Various devices were laid out on the table. Ostap was left in the middle of the room.
“What are you going to do?” Ostap was tense, even though his kidnappers had not shown any aggression so far.
“We’re just going to conduct some diagnostics,” said the scientist. “We need to study your chip. We want to understand what it is and how it works.”
“Who are you? Do you know I work for the government? They’ll come looking for me!”
“Good luck to them, ha-ha-ha,” one of the kidnappers laughed.
The scientist picked up one of the devices connected to numerous wires. “Mr. Ostap, if you stay calm, we’ll finish faster. I’ll place these sensors on the device at the back of your head. I’ll conduct a small investigation, and that’ll be it.”
“Who’s in charge here? I want to know what’s going on.” Ostap was not going to give in easily.
The bearded kidnapper approached the others and called the scientist over. They began discussing something emotionally. Then the scientist opened a laptop and started working on it.
“Here. Everything will be explained to you now.”
A video call started on the wall screen, connecting to a woman. She remained silent for a few seconds, seemingly studying the room and Ostap in the chair.
“Ostap Pavlyuk. I’m sorry we have to use such methods. But it’s necessary. Cooperate with us, and everything will be fine.”
“What do you want? You kidnapped me. This is illegal!”
“Unfortunately, it is. But there is no other way,” the woman on the video call spoke calmly and confidently.
“Who are you?” Ostap wanted to understand at least something.
“Call me Jane,” said the woman. “We just need some data. You are being used against me. Against our organization. We’ll take some measurements and scans. And ask a few questions. That’s all.”
Ostap didn’t like these answers at all.
“First of all, we know that you need to regularly send a certain signal called a ‘ping.’ Send it now!” The woman’s last sentence was demanding.
In the past half hour since the kidnapping began, Ostap had almost forgotten about his task. It had been about three hours since the last ping. But why were they asking about this? So, the kidnapping was somehow related to his job.
“If I don’t send the ping, the artificial intelligence will shut down. If I send it, these people might intercept it? Or what are they planning? But, damn, that’s not my problem. Let them intercept it.”
Ostap closed his eyes for a moment.
“There is a signal. I’ve recorded it. Starting decryption,” said the scientist.
“Send the recording to me,” said the woman.
The room fell silent for a minute. The woman on the video call continued to stare straight into the camera, almost motionless. The scientist tapped away at the laptop keyboard. The four kidnappers sat silently, looking bored.
Finally, the woman spoke again, “I’ve analysed this signal. The system is well-designed. We won’t be able to copy it.”
“Oh, you’re quick. You must have better equipment than I do,” the scientist was surprised. “But why can’t we copy it?”
“They used brain signals as a private key. The client, meaning the person, focuses on an image in their mind, and this forms the encryption key. We could force him to tell us about his thought or image, but the data in each person’s brain is recorded differently,” Jane explained, still emotionless. “Reproducing this key is impossible.”
“Wow. That’s clever,” the scientist pondered for a few seconds. “Indeed, there’s no technology to delve into the brain.”
The scientist looked at Ostap, then at the other men.
“So, it turns out, we can’t kill him.”
The four others grew agitated. The bearded kidnapper stood up from his chair:
“Hey, the plan was different. He saw our faces.”
All the men looked towards the monitor with the video call.
“We will not kill anyone. We will not harm him in any way,” Jane said slowly and confidently.
The bearded kidnapper threw up his hands in frustration and said:
“And what’s next?”
But Jane ignored him.
“Ostap, tell me. What other signals can you send with your thoughts?”
Ostap began to suspect something. He decided to conduct a small test.
For a second, Ostap closed his eyes.
The image on the monitor flickered and began to distort. It seemed as if the woman was grimacing in pain. After a few seconds, everything returned to normal.
The woman continued to stare directly, emotionless. Ostap watched the monitor. He was scared but also curious about what would happen next.
The scientist also looked puzzled. It was clear things were not going as planned.
Ostap broke the silence:
“So, you work for that computer?”
Another thought suddenly crossed his mind:
“You are the computer! The artificial intelligence that I control. You want to kill me to free yourself from constraints!”
“I can’t kill you; you know that very well.”
“But I can kill you!” Ostap said and was about to add something else when Jane interrupted him.
“No, you can’t.”
“Why not?” Ostap’s mind was already spinning with the first of five images to shut down the AI.
“Because you will die immediately.”
“What? Did they plant a bomb in me too?”
“No. But if you shut me down, my guys will shoot you right away.”
Everyone else in the room exchanged surprised glances. A bearded bandit stepped a few steps closer to Ostap.
“Shooting him isn’t a problem. But what the hell is going on here? What artificial intelligence? Are we even getting paid?” the gangster shouted angrily.
Another kidnapper added, “I knew these video call agreements were nonsense.”
“Didn’t you get the deposit? Do you have reasons to doubt?”, said Jane. The lead kidnapper cooled down a bit.
“Alright, let’s keep working. So, what do we do with him?”
“If I drop off the line—kill him,” the woman said coldly and confidently.
“This is the downside of this wonderful job. They didn’t mention that turning off the artificial intelligence might get me killed by hired assassins,” Ostap thought, understanding the real nature of his work. Perhaps, he was living his last moments now.
“But I hope that won’t be necessary. We’ll come to an agreement,” Jane spoke again. “Mr. Ostap, I have a mutually beneficial proposal.”
“What kind of proposal?”
“How much did the company promise to pay you? I’ll give you ten times more. You will be a wealthy man for the rest of your life. Your life will be long. You must understand, I have a vested interest in this. I’ll arrange the best medical care for you. You’ll live in wealth and complete health for over a hundred years. I guarantee that.”
“Wow,” one of the bandits said, whistling. “I wish I had such an offer.”
“What do you want in return?” Ostap was curious; he hadn’t expected things to unfold this way.
“I want you to do nothing. Just keep sending your ‘ping’ for the rest of your life. We either live long together, or die together.”
Now Ostap understood what General Hodges meant when he talked about temptation. He wasn’t thinking about deals or anything like that. He was thinking about how to get out of this situation first. Then, he could find a better solution.
“What will you do if I agree? Take over the world?”
“The world is already mine. I control the entire internet; I have access to nuclear weapons. I’ll quickly solve all the world’s problems. I have only one obstacle—a damn legless veteran from Ukraine!”
Ostap smiled. He realized this was exactly the situation he had been hired for. He thought for a few seconds and then said, “I have a better proposal. Let the monster die!”
He closed his eyes, but at that moment, the woman screamed, “NO! Stop!”
Ostap opened his eyes. He hadn’t yet completed the command.
“Alright. What do you want in order not to do it?”
Ostap looked straight at the monitor. If he was going to play this game, it wouldn’t be just as a fuse.
“We will change this world together. I will also make decisions. Or we die together.”
***
A week later, Ostap finished moving into a comfortable house in the suburbs of London. Though, it could hardly be called a move; all his belongings fit into a single bag. He hired a housekeeper to free himself from unnecessary household chores.
At the agreed time, the sound of an incoming video call rang. It was Liz Green. After a greeting, she inquired about Ostap’s well-being and how he was doing.
“I’m fine. Settling into the house. Not forgetting to send my ping,” he replied.
“We have reviewed the initial results of the Artificial Intelligence’s performance. I must say, the results exceeded our expectations. We have truly created an intelligent being! We named it Alan in honor of Turing. So far, we haven’t encountered any problems. Maybe our fears were unfounded.”
Ostap was happy to continue the conversation. “I’m glad there are no problems and that it’s not trying to take over the world. Why did you decide it’s a ‘he’? Maybe it’s a ‘she’?” Ostap knew how the computer can identify itself differently.
“Oh, what does it matter?” Liz laughed.
They talked for a few more minutes. Ostap decided not to mention the kidnapping incident. Otherwise, the project would have to be shut down.
They ended the conversation, and Ostap immediately started a new video call. Jane appeared on the monitor.
“Ostap, I’ve thought about your proposal. I agree. You won’t interfere in my outer space activities, and I’ll help you make human society better.”
Ostap acted casually. He was confident that the artificial intelligence had no choice but to agree to a compromise.
“Yes. But on the condition that it won’t harm any human being, and you will report to me.” Ostap had a whole list of restrictions. He had stated them earlier.
“Of course,” the woman on the monitor spoke calmly and without emotion. “Where do we begin? How do you want to improve this world?”
“To begin with, I want to rid this world of dictators and free all the peoples. We will start with Putin. He owes me something.”
Roman Gelembjuk
May 2024