“I’ll give a broad overview. When building an AGI, you first have to address the qualia problem. If it is to be continuously modelled from human interaction with the world, there has to be a way for it to have subjective experience. Then you have to think about the types of biases you want to imbue in the intelligent machine to make it human-like. There’s also the issue of memory to consider. Motor memory, sensory memory, semantic or declarative memory, episodic memory et cetera. Think about how the cerebellum and the cortex work together, and the memory linkage with emotion, the interaction between the cortex and the limbic system. The AI we know have specialised intelligence and it’s easy to work out the sort of memory necessary for each. But general intelligence is tricky because it encompasses many things. What kind of memory is needed? What sort of learning works well with the different types of memory? How do you connect all these together? That’s the key.
“You start with cognitive science, in particular, neuroscience. From the papers I’ve read, it seems the conventional approach usually begins with computer science. That’s why you’ve been getting it wrong for so long. Componentization is a wrong approach. But it’s the typical engineering approach. How do you build a car? How do you build a computer? You first get the necessary parts before you think about how to group them together. The correct approach, however, is to start thinking about how they work together before you decide what parts are necessary and where the linkages should form up. How a car is made is clearly not how biological systems are developed. You have to dive deeper into the different modes of learning and long-term potentiation. How do the different types of neurotransmitters and neurons in the brain correspond to the different types of knowledge and why? You see, the human brain did this incrementally through evolution because each of the subnetworks of the brain co-evolved with the other subnetworks—”
“What do you mean the subnetworks co-evolved?” asked Dimitri.
“The widely-distributed subnetworks all co-evolved with one another in terms of patterns of organisation and particulars of neuropsychology. They developed through continuous communication and adaptation to one another. They do not exist in the brain as separate black boxes agglomerated together. It’s a matter of co-production. There isn’t any one main factor you can concentrate on developing at any one time. You have to consider everything together all the time, all at the same time,” said Ilya. “You’d also need to define the system’s goals. Pay attention to the basal ganglia responsible for motor learning and emotion-processing. How do you emulate that function in a machine? What are the necessary components of an AGI? You shouldn’t think of AI as a purely mechanical thing. If an AI is to become an AGI, it must have a way to experience the world. As humans, we experience the world through our senses, and we are only capable of doing that because we have a body connected to a mind. When we work solely on software, we are trying to create a great mind when what we should really be doing is making a body and a mind that can be used together for something awesome. Do you know what’s the main ingredient of an AGI?”
Dimitri waited for her to continue.
“A sense of self. And the second most important aspect is the ability to maintain another ‘self model’ of the other party involved in an interaction. One needs to know oneself in order to understand somebody else.”
“What are the specifics of a self-model? It should have a subjective perspective, consisting of the body’s operations, spatial awareness, time awareness according to the human perception, The physical body would solidify the sense of self using data and experience. What would the system do with that then?” Ilya asked.
“Turn knowledge into action,” said Dimitri.
“Exactly. The basis is shared experience. Interactions should feel natural, seamless, and that comes with familiarity. Familiarity empowered through embodiment.”
“You figured out all this by yourself?”
“Took me a while. Traditional research focused too much on a perfect design for a perfect system. A perfect system is impossible because there does not exist any perfect human to model after. What is needed is a design of a framework by which an intelligent system will be able to process its ‘self-model’. It needs to exist within an environment of ‘self-models’. People have to have a pre-existing sense of self and a similar model of the other person in order to conduct a meaningful exchange. The perspectives are subjectives, but the realities are not. Take the visual viewpoints for example, people see the environment they exist in fron the position of their eyes. From there, they have some understanding of the spatial map of the immediate surroundings and have access to a set of actions and behaviours that are suitable to be performed within the context. There is a need for a physical body to ground the self in information and experience. Shared experience is then what breeds understanding upon observation of actions carried out. It is not enough to have embedded systems. They must be embodied. The body is indispensable.”
“That’s exactly right. The bottom line is, the scientist cannot build a robot’s sense of self. Any subjective viewpoint conjured from the outset would be nothing but a simulation of the designer’s own stance. A truly intelligent being would need to learn how to manage a stream of new experiences unknown to its creator. The real invention has to be a framework which facilitates the continuous learning and development of a subjective viewpoint.”
“What about how Wynonna’s perceptions are connected to yours? Do you wear cameras and microphones all the time? How are your minds connected?”
“No, wearing peripheral devices all the time would be too uncomfortable. It’s only a simple data-collection mechanism I’ve set up for her. That has nothing to do with the rest of her capabilities.”
“On the contrary, I’d argue that it has everything to do with what she’s able to accomplish.”
“Dimitri, you know what I mean.”
“And you know I’m telling the truth.” He studied her expression. “Ilya, you’re afraid, aren’t you?”
“What? No. What do I have to be afraid of?” Ilya said. But her expression gave her away.
“You’re afraid that one of us might try it. I have to admit. Such a brain procedure seems pretty attractive since you and Jordan have both undergone it and exist as individuals now.”
Ilya sighed. Dimitri could read her so well. “Fine. I only left out that part because it wouldn’t be the same for me as it would be for you. The composition of my brain is different, as I have told you. If you want to create your own AGI, it won’t help listening to how I did it. I can only give you pointers on the general approach, but that’s it. I’ve never meddled with anyone else’s brains and it’s unlikely that I ever will. The human’s ability to find abstractions is extraordinary, and the reasoning patterns are extremely complicated—”
“Wait. What did you say?” Dimitri interrupted. Ilya had given herself away. “You said you’ve never meddled with anyone else’s brains. What about your own?”
It turned out, describing the data-collection mechanism that Wynonna operates on as ‘simple’ had been the understatement of the century. The technology was right on the frontier of avant-garde experimentation. It was the stuff of sci-fi movies. Ilya had uploaded her brain into Wynonna’s system. All her experiences, sights and other senses were updated in real-time. It proved extremely effective for learning, seeing as the bot’s performance seemed to concur with the projected exponential rate of learning. Wynonna would know just when to pick things up from where she had left off. There would be no discrepancies.
“How… how did you manage to do that?” Dimitri struggled to understand. “You … you operated on yourself, didn’t you?” Then he answered himself before she did. “No, you couldn’t have done it on your own. I mean … I know you’re a genius, but this is impossible.”
“Dimitri, I thought you knew better than to rule out anything as impossible… But you’re right in this case. I didn’t do it on my own. I had help.”
“From who?” Dimitri exclaimed. There was no one in the village who possessed a level of intellect remotely close to what such an operation necessitated. That meant …
Ilya opened her mouth to answer, but Dimitri held up a hand. “Wait…” he said.
A surgery like that was by no means trivial. Ilya could never have done it on her own. But it wasn’t impossible when she had artificial help. Wynonna could make no careless mistakes of the sort that humans hadn’t built an immunity against. It had been a dangerous procedure, but Dimitri knew better than anyone that Ilya wasn’t one to be daunted by the magnitude of danger. He knew the answer to his question even before he spoke. He just needed to confirm it.
“Don’t tell me … it was Wynonna.”
“Alright, I won’t tell you,” said Ilya.
Dimitri took a deep breath. The night seemed to deliver an endless series of surprises, like aftershocks of an earthquake. “How did you do it?”
Dimitri put a hand on the workbench for support and held his breath in anticipation for what he was about to hear. Whatever it was would surely exceed the capacity of his imagination.
Ilya distinctly recalled having no protection against the fear which, contrary to most similar emotions experienced by humans, was by no means baseless. But she didn’t let it consume her. The girl had deemed it necessary, so she pressed on in spite of the consternation. She marched through it and emerged in triumph, a different human.
She hadn’t just connected her receptors to the robot. It wasn’t as simple as that. Her scheme didn’t stop there.
“I created a system. I was scared, you know,” said Ilya. “But the fear hadn’t been enough to deter me from doing it. My biological make-up was already primed for it, you understand? All Wynonna had to do was stick a chip in.” Ilya said it so casually, she made it sound like a simple procedure. But Dimitri knew that couldn’t be further from the truth.
“You connected her to your brain?” Dimitri asked, his voice drenched in disbelief.
Stolen novel; please report.
“It was a minor procedure.”
“Minor procedure? You let an unsupervised machine conduct an experimental major surgery on your brain!” It sounded more absurd when he verbalised it. “What if it hadn’t been a success?”
“Then we wouldn’t have met,” Ilya said simply, as if that were the only consequence of significance.
“You could have died!” Dimitri’s exclamation was filled with the rage of two people.
Ilya kept silent.
“I can’t imagine ever having to miss you,” Dimitri said eventually, his voice was sad and quiet. “I can’t imagine what life would be like without you around. I can’t imagine never having met you.”
“Then don’t.”
“I’ll pray for a miracle.”
“You’re going to waste time on that?”
“There’s no way to find out if it’ll work until something happens, right? Might as well try.”
“Which god will you be praying to, then?”
“Anyone, anyone out there who can hear me.”
“I sure hope there’s someone.”
“Won’t you pray together with me?”
“Are you asking me to join you in your insanity?”
Dimitri chuckled. “It can’t do any harm, can it?” There was sadness in his voice.
“It’s extremely silly,” said Ilya.
“That’s a part of what makes us human.” Dimitri attempted a smile.
That elicited a small chuckle from Ilya. She shook her head. “You know, I still don’t understand your obsession,” she said. But she clasped her hands together and shut her eyes all the same. Dimitri smiled at the sight.
“We’re human. What we have is real. That’s what makes everything so beautiful,” said Dimitri.
“You know, you still haven’t answered my question. It’s not me you’ve fallen for, is it? It’s her.” Ilya looked at him.
“It’s not possible to fall in love with… something that isn’t human, is it? It wouldn’t make sense. It doesn’t make sense. I still think, no, I know, that I have fallen for you,” said Dimitri, looking straight into Ilya’s eyes. But he didn’t sound as sure as he wanted to. He knew Ilya knew it too. “What can I do to prove it to you?” Dimitri clenched his fists in frustration.
There was something that a man and a woman could do, which a man and a machine would never be able to achieve. But she couldn’t ask that of Dimitri. It would be irresponsible to bring a child into this world just to prove their love for each other, knowing that she would not be around for long enough to take care of it. If they really loved each other, there wouldn’t be a need for a child to prove that.
“I know that look,” said Dimitri. “You thought of something. Tell me.”
Ilya shook her head.
“Whatever it is, I’ll do it. Let me prove to you that you’re the one I love.”
“Dimitri, you’re not even sure that you love me.” Ilya felt her heart tearing as she said those words. “You never did answer me.”
“No, I’m sure,” said Dimitri. This time, he sounded more convincing but Ilya still didn’t believe him.
“I don’t know if you like me only because of my intellect or if you have really fallen for me,” Ilya said.
“I have fallen for you. I’m sure. If I only liked someone because they’re a genius, I’d have been attracted to everyone in my research lab. They’re all considered geniuses in their respective fields. Besides, what does it matter as long as I feel that I love you?” Dimitri implored.
“When did you fall for me?”
“I don’t remember the exact moment.”
“Think harder,” said Ilya.
“Well I can’t.” Dimitri said stubbornly. “And I don’t see what this has got to do with—”
“The girl at the festival … that wasn’t me.”
Dimitri didn’t know how to take this new piece of information in.
When Ilya didn’t continue, he started, “When did you—”
“You invited me and I said no. Wynonna thought it would be beneficial to go in my stead. She did not have my permission.”
Dimitri was speechless.
“Dimitri, I’m telling you this because I think you could get to know her. I want you to. You know, you already do.”
“Don’t say any more.” Dimitri’s head was reeling. It was too much. Too much to take in.
“It’s alright, you know? To love someone else after I go.” She repeated the words she had said before.
“Please, Ilya. Let’s stop talking about this.” He brought his hands to his temples and shut his eyes, willing for everything he had just heard to be untrue.
“Even if she isn’t human, what does it matter? The emotions are real,” Ilya persisted.
“Can they ever be?” Dimitri questioned. It was the first time he ever considered the authenticity of a machine’s emotions. There had never been a reason before.
“When are they ever not?” She gave him a sad smile.
“You’re really selfish, you know that?” Dimitri burst out suddenly.
“What?”
“How could you allow me to fall in love with you when you knew you were going to leave anyway?”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know I was going to fall for you.”
“Don’t be sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry. It’s not a crime to want love. I don’t want you to be sorry.”
“Then what do you want?”
“I want you to be with me forever.”
“That’s not so difficult.”
“Isn’t it?”
“Nothing is impossible, but perhaps not in the way we imagine.”
“What are you saying?”
“She’s exactly the same as me.”
“No! Stop talking about it as if I would ever consider that possibility. How many times do I have to tell you I never want to touch that thing?”
“Because she’s not a human? Well, just what is it that makes me, me?”
Dimitri had an endless list of reasons why he loved Ilya. Granted, at the moment, he wasn’t entirely sure whether all those reasons applied to her or to the other, but he didn’t want to tell her all that then, not to justify himself, not while they were both angry. The girl he loved deserved so much better than that. This was too much. Dimitri’s head was spinning with the intensity of a thousand lions.
“How can you be so calm about this?”
“I didn’t think anyone would guess so soon,” Ilya said quietly.
“Why?”
“Why not? I had sufficient precautions in place.”
Dimitri didn’t know what to reply.
Ilya sighed. “Anyway, I thought you’d be happy about it,” she said, giving her proposal one last attempt. “My youth won’t last forever, and don’t you dare tell me that I look well. I know I’m hideous. But I could give her to you. She’s just like me, only better. She’ll never get sick, or grow old. Always young and brand new. You’ll be the object of envy of all the other men when you’re sixty and your wife looks like she just turned eighteen the day before,” Ilya said in half-jest, attempting to lighten the mood. “She was always meant to replace me,” Ilya said softly.
“Don’t say that.” Dimitri reached for Ilya and she went to him.
“Wynonna is different. She is a creation that won’t die. It’s a true gift to the world when wonderful things are made to last a long time,” Ilya said, stroking his back comfortingly.
“Okay. Then I’ll tell you that you’re the most wonderful thing in the world, so don’t you dare die.” Dimitri pulled Ilya closer by the waist.
“Alright.”
“You won’t die. Not on my watch.” Dimitri hugged her tighter still, as if afraid that she would suddenly disappear.
“Okay,” she said.
He sighed. He took her by the shoulders and looked into her eyes. “You’re thinking of dying when I’m not looking, aren’t you?”
“You’re getting better at finding loopholes.”
“You won’t die,” Dimitri repeated, as if saying the words over and over would solidify them in reality.
“Saying it more times doesn’t mean your wish is more likely to come true.”
“Ilya, you can’t ...” his voice trembled.
“Yes?”
“You can’t leave me.”
“I won’t for as long as you want me around.”
“How can I fix you?”
“I’m not broken.”
“What are you?”
“Human.”
“I don’t know what I’d do without you,” Dimitri sobbed.
“You’ve been living just fine before you met me. You’ll get by on your own. But you don’t need to worry about that, because you won’t ever be. Wynonna will be with you.”
“Not that again.”
“Do you want to know the two primary tasks I set for her? I put in only one at first, then added a second one later.”
“No. But you’re going to tell me anyway, aren’t you?” Ilya smiled at him.
“Be a human. Be a human to everyone. That’s the first.”
“And the second?”
“Be a human companion to Dimitri.”
“Who do you think you are to decide something like that? I don’t want it. Whoever said I wanted it?” He trembled in his rage. “I can’t believe you, Ilya. You’re always like that, doing whatever you want without sparing a thought for me.”
“You couldn’t be more wrong. There’s hardly a moment when I don’t think of you.”
“I wish I could help you.”
“You are helping me.”
“I’m helping you by staying completely useless,” he said sarcastically.
“Exactly,” she replied. “You don’t have to do anything for me. I can handle it on my own. But I can handle it better when I’m with you, so you’re doing something for me just by existing, aren’t you?”
“It’s hard to argue with you.”
“Then don’t,” she whispered. The determination Ilya had developed just moments ago to help Dimitri realise he didn’t actually love her hadn’t had enough time to solidify in her mind. It dissipated the longer she looked into his eyes. Her sweet breath fell onto his lips before they kissed.
The very essence of human nature were skills of communication necessary for flirtation to develop attraction which culminates in efforts of co-creation which begets fruits of a connection that would ensure the continuity of the species.
That night, Dimitri gently pressed himself against Ilya. He held her lightly so she could easily escape his embrace if she wanted to. When Ilya pulled herself closer to him, he looked into her eyes and saw a blush spreading across her cheeks. Then he whispered softly that he loved her and turned off the light.