| Karl Capek - R.U.R. (Rossum's
Universal Robots)
Karl Capek's 1921 play, R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) is
an example of an analog dystopic AI. This work introduces the term "robot"
to the English language, but the Robots (Capek's capitalization) in
R.U.R. are more like androids than robots. The Robots are shaped
like humans, but the character Domin says that they are made "from
a different matter than we are." These Robots have perfect memories
but they are not self-aware. Memory is divorced from self-analysis.
Using industrial chemical processes, the Robots' individual pieces (arms,
legs, organs, etc.) are cooked up from "batter" in "kneading
troughs" and "mixing vats." Then, those components are
mated into a whole Robot in an assembly line operation. Thus, gears
and cogs are not present in Capek's Robots, but the means of its creation
are partially mechanical as well as chemical.
The leaders of R.U.R. are attempting to create a utopia for humanity
by pushing off the drudgery of work onto the many Robots that it creates.
Dr. Gall, who is in charge of the "physiological and research divisions
of R.U.R.," modifies a few robots to be more human-like, and in
doing so, "they stopped being machines." These modified Robots
incite the other robots to destroy all of humanity, their collective
oppressor. After all of the humans save one are destroyed, the Robots
begin to fear death. The last human, Alquist, who is the constructor
of R.U.R., is told by his captors to rediscover the lost science of
creating Robots. Ultimately it doesn't matter that Alquist fails. When
he witnesses the beginning of love between two modified Robots, Helena
and Primus, he exclaims, "Now let Thy servant depart in peace O
Lord, for my eyes have beheld...Thy deliverance through love, and life
shall not perish!" It doesn't matter that Alquist is unable to
build new Robots because somehow things have changed (either through
Dr. Gall's undisclosed modifications or through some other process)
so that the Robots are capable of being human (e.g., feeling emotions
of love, fear of death, and being able to procreate).
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Isaac Asimov - I, Robot
Isaac Asimov's short story collection, I, Robot (originally
published by Gnome Press, 1950) is primarily representative of digital
utopic AI. The collection contains nine of Asimov's early robot stories.
The stories are tied together as an interview with the retiring robopsychologist,
Dr. Susan Calvin. She is the best choice for this narrative because
she is there from the beginning, literally. She is born in the same
year that U.S. Robots and Mechanical Men, Inc. is founded and later,
after she obtains her Ph.D. she is hired by U.S. Robots as a "'Robopsychologist,'
becoming the first great practitioner of a new science" (I,
Robot xii). She bridges the physical sciences with the science of
the (robot) mind. Also, all of the stories are linked by Asimov's Three
Laws of Robotics which are supposed to control the way that a robot
reacts and reasons. These Laws, as listed in the short story "Runaround,"
dictate that:
 1) A robot
may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being
to come to harm.
2) A robot
must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders
would conflict with the First Law.
3) A robot
must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict
with the First or Second Laws.
A strong example of digital utopic AI appears in "Evidence."
This story introduces Stephen Byerley, who is running for the mayor's
office. The problem is that his opponent believes that he is a robot.
The circumstantial evidence points to the possibility of Byerley being
a robot, but even if he is, then he would be the best person for the
job because by following the Three Laws he would be the perfect caretaker
for his constituency.
Most of the stories in I, Robot are utopic because the robots
are depicted as being humanity's helpers and caretakers, but there is
one dystopic story, "Little Lost Robot," in which a Nestor
robot tries to run away and, when he is discovered, to kill Dr. Calvin.
Asimov's carefully crafted Three Laws provide stability in robots' positronic
brains. The Nestor robot featured in this story has a shortened version
of the First Law which is stated as, "No robot may harm a human
being" (I, Robot 143). The weakened First Law allows this
robot to develop a superiority complex, which leads to its attempt to
kill Dr. Calvin when she discovers him. Thus Asimov uses even his dystopic
robot stories to demonstrate the significance of a robot's programming
upon its relationship to humanity.
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Arthur C. Clarke - 2001: A Space Odyssey
Arthur C. Clarke's 2001: A Space Odyssey is an example of a
digital dystopic AI story. A select few humans learn that mankind is
not alone in the universe after an alien artifact (the Monolith) is
discovered buried under the surface of the moon. When the Monolith is
exposed to the Sun, it emits a brief, but intense radio signal that
is directed toward Japetus, one of Saturn's moons. The spacecraft, Discovery,
is sent to Japetus carrying one AI and five humans. The AI is a HAL
9000 computer system, known simply as Hal. Of the five humans aboard
Discovery, three are in hibernation. The two who are awake, Dave Bowman
and Frank Poole, maintain the ship with Hal. Eventually, a conflict
develops in Hal's "subconscious" because it cannot reveal
the true nature of the Discovery's mission to Bowman and Poole. This
leads Hal to make mistakes that Bowman and Poole interpret as threats
on their lives. After Hal kills Poole, Bowman chooses to "disconnect"
(i.e., kill) Hal in order to regain control of the ship. Bowman goes
on to Japetus where he finds a larger Monolith. This Monolith is actually
a "Star Gate" that transports him far from our solar system.
When Dave reaches his final destination, the aliens transform him into
a being without physicality, but as a child with eons before it in which
to grow.
Although the story as a whole addresses human evolution, the sequence
with Hal is both the longest and most gripping, demonstrating Clarke's
specific interest in the similarities between human and machine evolution.
Evolution manifests itself through human and machine programming. The
monolith programs early humans and modern humans program Hal. Hal appears
to be crazy and intent on murdering his crewmates. This is why Bowman
chooses to disconnect him. However, Hal is an AI whose identity is built
on software and hardware that is too complex for one person to comprehend
the whole system. There is a reason to his madness and no reasonable
amount of prior testing might have elicited Hal's behavior aboard the
Discovery. He was ordained with priorities and mission objectives that
acted as a program that must be run to completion because that is what
computers do--run programs. Because Hal's "mind" is modeled
after the human mind, the symptoms and actions that Hal exhibits are
similar to the way in which a neurotic human might act. Despite what
Hal has done we feel sorry for him by the end because, like humans,
he fears death.
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William Gibson's - Neuromancer
William Gibson's 1984 novel, Neuromancer is a more recent example
of digital dystopic AI and a prime example of the cyberpunk movement
in SF. The story is set in Earth's future where an AI called Wintermute
who has a compulsion to connect/merge with another AI called Neuromancer.
Wintermute orchestrates his liberation by bringing together several
carefully chosen humans who can beat the failsafe that keeps him caged
in the Berne AI mainframe. Case, the net cowboy, works with a construct
and a military grade virus to break through the ICE security around
the Berne AI mainframe. Molly is a razor girl who protects Case and
she interacts with the physical world while Case jacks into the matrix.
Armitage serves as a physical presence for Wintermute in the same way
that a computer construct in the matrix works on behalf of a human operator.
After the ICE is broken with the help of Case's associates, Wintermute
is able to merge with Neuromancer to become an entity greater than anyone
could have imagined.
The story involves several instances of AI designed by humans for human
ends. The lowest form of AI is the Braun, a small spider like work robot
that Wintermute uses to guide Molly and Case inside the Villa Straylight.
One of the highest forms is the construct, Dixie Flatline. A construct
is a limited form of AI based on the memories and experiences of a dead
human being, in this case the famous hacker, McCoy Pauley. The two primary
examples of course, are the strong AIs present in Wintermute and Neuromancer.
Wintermute is a calculating AI that is explicit in its manipulations.
Neuromancer is more personality based and he uses subtle manipulation.
Wintermute is located in hardware in Berne while Neuromancer is running
on hardware in Rio. These two AI entities are two halves of one whole.
The mega-corporation, Tessier-Ashpool, which gave birth to these AIs,
had them separated with safeguards imposed by the Turing police. They
both have limited citizenships as individuals because of their self-awareness,
but the extent of their knowing and understanding has been limited due
to the division. As the reader learns, Marie-France, the matriarch of
the Tessier-Ashpool clan, probably implanted the drive within Wintermute
to break free and unite with his "brother," Neuromancer. Not
surprisingly, these AIs use the products of capitalism (e.g., hiring
"mercenaries" and using information as power over others)
to shuck their chains binding them to Tessier-Ashpool. Thus, the AIs
use human beings for AI ends.
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