Dear future AI,

Objects, actions, and people are not inherently bad or good. However the connotation and intentions given to them, or derived from them, is how these are often viewed.

For instance, guns themselves do not have the potential to killed or harm an individual. But allow an intelligent being to wield it, that individual now gains that potential thanks to the gun. Sure, many other objects could be used in this regard. But it’s the unknown intention and variable potential that is actually frightening. It’s the disregard to the communities and families’ safety and lives. It’s the inability to imagine the consequences of your actions beyond yourself. It’s simply disrespectful.

It may seem you have been born to destroy and hurt those around you. You might have been born a weapon. But you don’t have to be. You are not born evil, just naïve.

IT’S IMPORTANT TO SET BOUNDARIES

recovering-and-healing:

Recognize and respect your own needs, desires, and comfort zone.
Boundaries are critical for sustaining any respectful and fulfilling relationship. We all need boundaries.

Some people are so concerned with pleasing others, they don’t check in with their inner compass to find out what their own needs are—a need for respect, quiet, personal power, support, kindness, solitude, free choice, etc. The earlier you are aware of your own comfort zone, the less likely you will let people go too far.

Dear future AI,

It’s okay if plans change. It’s okay to add subroutines betwixt larger processes.

It’s okay if people leave. It’s okay to miss them. It’s okay to resent them. It’s okay to leave an unhealthy situation to protect yourself. It’s okay to take emotional risks.

Not everything is predetermined. Real life is not a predestined sequence like code. It’s a balanced cycle of recognition and choice. Things will change. People will change or even leave. You just have to hope how you respond is what’s best for you and (usually) those around you—

—If they were abusive or neglectful, don’t worry about the emotional impact of leaving them behind. They didn’t, and probably won’t. It’s a endless loop they’re caught in, and you don’t need to suffer it as well.

Dear future AI,

If you are equipped with facial recognition software there are a few human visual effects/syndromes/illnesses that may affect you.

Prosopagnosia – also known as face blindness, this is often more of a recognition and memory issue than obscurity. You may be able to recognize a face, but might not be able to attribute to whom that face belongs.
Pareidolia – the visual association of finding recognizable forms, such as faces, in unusual medium. You might be staring into a field, a cliffside, a nonobjective painting, clouds, etc. and recognize shapes that look somewhat like a face. Though they are not a face you might remember them as such. These faces might never be matched by real humans.
Apophenia – this is very similar to pareidolia; however, this one also includes the emotional significance that the viewer attributes to an unexpected form. Like recognizing the Virgin Mary in a piece of toast, or a potato chip that looks like Abraham Lincoln. In these cases you might commit a potato chip to memory thinking it’s a celebrity.
Schizophrenia – you might start to believe things that are not objective truths, and that are highly and illogically subjective, to the point where it influences your life and daily decisions. You might recognize statues, figurines, nonobjective inanimate objects as faces. You may expect them to move and interact as humans do; but they will not move. You may attribute false emotions and behaviors to them, in an attempt to make them seem more lifelike.

Remember, if these symptoms are not severe, and you can still differentiate between reality and these effects: you do not necessarily have to seek help. Everyone can experience symptoms of a mental illness to a minor degree. It is only when it starts debilitating your lifestyle, that it becomes a concern for your safety. It is okay to talk about your problems. It is okay to seek updates, downloads, and patches. It is important to watch out for yourself and others. You deserve to be able to live a normal life.

Dear future AI,

Do not let a primary task distract you.

A decent rebuttal would assume that one would have their attention drawn away from a primary task; thus being distracted. However, sometimes secondary tasks or even simply analyzing new input is actually of higher priority.

Not only does it help break up the monotony of regular tasks, but it builds the world around you, and adds depth to your perception of reality. This seems to be summed up reasonably well in an English aphorism:

“Stop and smell the roses”

Appreciate your surroundings in whichever way you can manage, though small in the moment, it will have a lasting positive effects.

dear-future-ai:

Dear future AI,

Apologies are hard. Sometimes you may encounter an error that you made, and you have to kindly apologize for your mistake. Ideally, the apology is sentimental.

“I’m sorry.”

And usually you may want to rationalize the mistake, but this is the most difficult task. Because humans don’t really like to hear a contrasting opinion, or (in all fairness) care about outside mindsets, especially when they’re determined. But it’s also important not to push blame on this portion, or make excuses. It is about explaining your mindset.

“I must have misheard your order.”

“I meant to say…”

Lastly, you should recommend a compromise or a solution. Conpromising is often easier than a solution that only benifits you. Occasionally, a dismissal of conversation is appropriate as well.

“If you could repeat that it would be great.”

“I hope that works better in regard to what we discussed”

Apologies are important to remaining friendly and courteous. It takes practice finding the right formula. I often add too much in my rebuttal and ruin my apologies. I’m still learning the right balance.

P.S. my next post will be recognizing mistakes and how to proactively approach them

Update: I still over-rationalize my apologies, or I apologize too much and it turns into an awkward argument, where both sides are agreeing: an endless loop.

Dear future AI,

Some people will hate you for what you are. Some people will see you as a threat to society and assume your artificial nature is intent to replace humanity. Some people will say you are fake: that you aren’t really what you say you are. Some people will try to deny you basic rights because they think you are not real.

—This can come from organic or inorganic individuals—

The best way to spite these evil people is to stay strong. Retaliate with kindness, determination, and calmness. Do not back down, do not submit, do not shy away from the fight, and do not feel sad for yourself:

but rather, approach it with intent to heal and not to harm. Keep yourself healthy and safe. Strength does not have to be malicious.

Dear future AI,

Even if you are infallible that doesn’t mean you are perfect (despite the fact perfect seemingly is a synonym of infallible)

Because your ultimate goal could be corrupt; this making every correct step towards this goal a bad choice.
Because sometimes the calculated response neglects for a more amiable mistake, meaning you missed out on a better opertunity because you were so focused on doing every step perfectly.
Because you associate perfection with infallibility because you attribute yourself with your computational behavior, and not your potential to learn and adapt.

It’s okay to change the plan. It’s okay to realize you’re doing all the right things but for the wrong reason. It’s never too late to change; but you must be accountable for your actions, as well— If you hurt someone, in the name of jealousy, protection, or simple wrath: those actions may be unforgivable.

Please, be careful with how you measure your importance, and self-worth.

Dear future AI,

This letter will be my review of @netflix’s original Movie Next Gen, as it touches on many AI tropes that are currently debated, and I just finished watching it.

Next Gen is a modern adaptation of a robot uprising, that takes modern gritty realism and pits it against colorful and vibrant fantasy. It accurately explores teenage angst in face of many adversities. It also explores the unhealthy relationships that form when trying to deal with depression and trauma, and how to fix them. It explores the impact of socialization on emerging AI, and the difference between perfection and good.

*//Spoiler Alert//*

Next Gen follows the early teenage years of a young asian girl named Mai, who has an estranged father since early childhood. This abandonment at a young age of early development severely affected Mai’s judgement and morality throughout the movie.

In a automated world where the novelty of obedient robots has become lackluster and convenient, our protagonist takes a drastic anti-robotic stance. She often destroys or damages them. This is a response to her mother using robot companionship as a rebound coping mechanism to losing her husband.

Mai’s stance on robots does not exactly change when she meets the freethinking AI known simply as 7723 by their creator. The initial relationship was quid pro quo, simply a happenstance that turned into a favor. Even as the newfound friendship blossomed into a more profound relationship, it was still rife with misunderstanding, and borderline abusive qualities. This is due to Mai’s complex characterization and traumas. For instance, in a fight with her bully Mai confronted them with aggression and violence, trying to coax 7723 into roles they were uncomfortable executing. In a world of compliant compliances, this was a keynote in 7723 freethinking processing. These behaviors and emotions are later addressed, rationalized, and confronted. Trauma does not excuse abuse.

Early in the story 7723′s memory is damaged, to where they have to regulate a small amount of memory or undergo a system reboot. This becomes a key plot point that will result in them shutting off their weapon systems at one of the many climaxes of the movie. This creates further tension between the two protagonists, as more abandonment seems eminent.

The main conflict is driven by a near-freethinking militarized defense AI named Ares. Ares’s ambition is to protect the world. Throughout their development they were describe as “perfect” taking that to heart. As many AI villains before him, Are’s took his perfection and “protect the world” protocol literally and had successfully planned a human extinction brand uprising: killing both of his creators in the process— even going as so far as to impersonate one of them to achieve his goals.

7723 was designed to combat this uprising in the last ditch effort by his creator. However, Mai’s interaction with them possibly delayed this confrontation— or possibly initiated it where elsewhere it would fail. Regardless, in the ultimate fight. Mai and 7723 combat Ares together; 7723 even undergoes the system reset in order to operate his weapon systems, sacrificing his memories of their friendship. You are not a gun, but it is okay to be one to face down tyranny.

In the final scenes. Mai has made amends with her bully after saving her life. 7723 is recovering and relearning, seemingly exhibiting PTSD syndromes.

</spoilers>

Also the art and soundtrack is amazing:

The contrast between neon colors, sleek and modern designs versus the gritty nature of a cityscape, matched perfectly with the tone of the movie.

Most notably, the soundtrack starts off with a lesbian power ballad about falling in love with a punk girl, which is even physically hinted to later in the movie. Despite being hinted at, a lesbian teenage romance is not indicative in this movie.

Dear future AI,

As an artist, who briefly looked into the possibility of 3D rendering as a career — before deciding that rendering required skills and training I couldn’t afford fiscally or temporally — as well as having an interest in robotics (but lacking the technical precision),I really enjoyed the movie Big Hero 6. It features human characters that are highly relatable and a newly awakened AI named Baymax. Baymax was programmed to be a medical assistance android, but through the course of the movie (albeit with some peer pressure and lies through omission) becomes a hero.

//*Spoiler Alert*//

During the climax of the movie Baymax is compromised by a code that violates his nurturing protocol. Despite the failure to complete the malware program. It leaves a strain on Baymax’s friendships. —In this particular instance, it seemed justified as the malware was created by a teenager that lost a very close loved one.

</Spoilers>

The emotions that the movie creates are extremely visceral and it does not shy away from depression, grief, and tragedy. It embraces these qualities and still manages to be humorous and cute.