Pandora's Brain (27 page)

*

‘Thank you for looking after Alice, Jemma. I can tell that she has been leaning hard on you.’

‘It’s not been a burden, Matt. She’s a great friend, and that’s what friends are for.’

‘Well, don’t belittle it. You have been a huge help. And there’s someone else who could do with some support, you know,’
Matt said.

‘Really? Who’s that?’

‘Carl.’

‘You’re kidding,’ Jemma said, incredulous. ‘He’s probably adapting to your new situation better than anyone.’

‘Maybe so,’
Matt conceded.
‘But in some ways he is losing his best friend. Or rather, his best friend is no longer just like him, which leaves him out on a limb. He’s a lot more sensitive than people give him credit for.’

‘Yeah,’ said Jemma, reflecting back on the car journey. ‘I’ve seen that side of him a bit lately.’

‘So do me a favour, would you, Jemma? Keep a bit of an eye out for him?’

Jemma tilted her head suspiciously. ‘What are you up to Matt? Are you match-making?’

‘Heaven forbid I should attempt anything so crass!’
he responded, laughing.
‘We uploads don’t involve ourselves in affairs of the heart, you know.’

‘Yeah, right!’ she replied, smirking.

The journalist selected for the exclusive interview was, of course, Malcolm Ross. David told him that he was their preferred choice because he had known Matt prior to his murder. He said that they wanted to focus entirely on the human interest angle – the story of Matt being uploaded was simply the story of a young man returned safely to his family and friends. They would not be drawn into a discussion of the wider technological and ethical issues of AI as a whole, and this included what might or might not happen to Matt’s mind over time. Ross understood that he had no choice in the matter. If he thought it was an unreasonable restriction he kept it to himself.

The programme was filmed by the BBC and broadcast live on just about every major news service around the world. Since Matt could not travel, Ross and the cameras came to the Embassy complex. Ross sat at the main desk, speaking into the microphone by the main monitor and looking at the monitor screen. From time to time he looked up and through the window at the giant supercomputer gently humming away next door. David, Sophie and Alice were at adjacent desks, with cameras trained on them throughout the interview. Vic, Norman, Leo, Carl and Jemma were nearby, but it was agreed that they would not be featuring prominently in the programme. Also in the room were half a dozen of Vic’s team of scientists, including Gus, Julia and Rodrigo. A couple of cameras were positioned at the far end of the room to capture a panoramic view of the whole team. Everyone was silent as the shoot began.

‘It’s great to see you again, Matt,’ Ross began, once the cameras were rolling. ‘At your request we are doing this interview live, so that both you and the audience can be confident that the conversation will not be distorted in the editing suite. Let me start by saying I’m not sure where to look when I address you!’

‘Hello, Malcolm,’
Matt replied. His tone was calm, but inflected in normal human ways. There was nothing machine-like or artificial in his voice.
‘It’s very good to see you again. I suggest you look at the camera next to the main monitor. That’s my eyes.’

‘OK, I’ll do that. Although it seems odd that your eyes are such a long way from your brain, which is now housed, I understand, in that very large array of servers next door.’ As he said this, Ross was gesturing for the benefit of the camera in the direction of the window and the computer room beyond it.

‘That’s true, Malcolm, but people tell me they get used to it very quickly. It’s not so very different from the fact that when you speak on the phone your voice can be heard a long way from your mouth.’

Ross laughed briefly. ‘OK, well let’s not quibble about our bodily metaphors. So Matt, you have been through some truly astonishing experiences since we last met. How does it feel to be in your new . . . your new situation?’

‘Well, we humans are good at adapting to new circumstances. It’s true that I’ve had some incredible adventures. But deep inside I don’t really feel any different. I’m still Matt. I have the same memories and I still love the same people.’

‘So you are adamant that you are still human, Matt?’ Ross asked pointedly.

‘Of course: what else would I be?’

‘I don’t know. Some might call you transhuman, or perhaps post-human. I understand that you are now capable of mental feats which no human has ever been able to accomplish before. For instance, that you are running numerous sub-minds simultaneously, each with the ability to do what a normal person can do.’

‘Yes, that’s true,’
Matt agreed,
‘but on the other hand there are things that I used to be able to do which I can’t do now. Like get up and walk around, for instance. Or dance. Or get in a car and go for a drive. For reasons which I fully understand and accept, I am not going to be given a physical body in the foreseeable future, even though technically it would be fairly straightforward.’

‘Yes,’ Ross said, ‘I understand that you are going to remain what is known as an ‘oracle AI’. That notion was raised when we last met: it means that you will have no way of affecting the external world outside that big box in there,’ he waved his hand at the window, ‘apart from transmitting speech and visuals. And you are comfortable with that?’

‘I accept it,’
Matt replied,
‘but I won’t deny that it causes me some sadness. I wish I could hug my parents and my girlfriend, for instance.’
He paused, to allow that idea to sink in with the audience. The viewers were treated to a brief shot of David and Sophie, and a longer one of the highly telegenic Alice.

‘Likewise, the people close to me are having a hard time adjusting to my existence as a mind without a body,’
Matt continued. He paused for effect again.
‘But I am very aware that many people around the world are concerned about my new situation. They are worried about what might happen if I could interact with the physical world. I will do everything I can to reassure those people that no harm will come from me being uploaded, and that on the contrary it is wonderful news for humanity. I accept that this will take time, and I will not seek to hurry it. And in fact I want to take this opportunity to thank publicly the people who worked so hard to revive me. I am very grateful to be still alive.’

‘Yes, I’m sure,’ Ross said, diplomatically non-committal. ‘Which reminds me: it was only very shortly after we last met that you were shot. I’m not sure of the etiquette here. Do I commiserate with you, or congratulate you?’

‘Both!’
replied Matt, enthusiastically.
‘I don’t remember much about the shooting, except that it hurt like hell. Think of me as someone who had a close encounter with death, but was lucky, and in the end only lost the use of my legs.’

‘Indeed!’ Ross said, with raised eyebrows. ‘Well, commiserations and congratulations.’ His expression turned serious. ‘Now, I want to ask your reaction to some of the opinions that are being expressed about your new situation. One is the idea that in uploading your mind into a new brain, Vic and your father were guilty of playing god, of trespassing on the role reserved to the Supreme Being, whether you call him Yahweh, Allah or God. How do you respond to that?’

Matt paused before responding.
‘I do respect the fact that a majority of people around the world believe in a Supreme Being. We all yearn to know what makes the universe work, why we are here, and what it all means. My own view is that if there is a God, then He, She or It designed us to be curious and intelligent. Why would we have been given our amazing brains if we were not supposed to use them? In the last few thousand years, and in particular in the last few hundred, we have, as a species, developed a very powerful technique to harness our curiosity and our intelligence, and it has made the world a far better place for everyone. That technique is called science. I don’t think faith should define the boundaries of what science should investigate: that is a job for ethics, and our elected representatives. I don’t think Vic was playing god: I think he was being a scientist.’

‘I see,’ Ross said, with studied neutrality. ‘Another argument which we are hearing from a number of religious groups concerns the question of whether or not you are still human. I apologise if it is rude to keep calling your humanity into question, but I know you are aware that these questions are being asked. The argument is that you are really not human, even though you think you are, because you have no soul. How do you respond to that?’

‘Well, I wonder how those people who say I have no soul can possibly know that? As far as I can tell, or indeed anyone who knew me well before the attack can tell, I am definitely the same person that I was. My brain-state has been copied faithfully into a silicon brain. If my old carbon brain and body held a soul, then why can’t my new silicon one hold a soul as well? If people want to claim that they have a soul and I do not, surely the burden of proof lies with them, not with me.’

‘Ah,’ Ross said, smiling, ‘you want to fight fire with fire. Well, whether or not you have a soul, no-one could deny that you have spirit, Matt!’

Ross turned to face David, Sophie and Alice for a moment, but he was not ready to talk to them yet. He turned back to the main monitor and continued his interrogation of Matt.

‘There are many other questions which the religious
community would like to put to you, Matt, but let’s change course for a while and consider some of the issues which concern people in the technology community: people like Professor Montaubon, who appeared on the same show as you did, just before the shooting. He and others like him are worried that the goals and motivations of an artificial intelligence will inevitably diverge from those of humans. He argues that given the ability of a machine intelligence t
o improve its cognitive performance, any dispute between humans and artificial intelligences will be one-sided, and humans will lose. He also thinks that once humans realise how far we have been surpassed by the machine intelligence we have created, we will become despondent and listless, and lose . . . well, lose our spirit. Do you see any force in these arguments, Matt?’

Ross was surprised by Matt’s response to this question, and didn’t try to hide it.

‘Yes, I do,’
Matt said.
‘I think the arrival of the first human-level artificial intelligence is a momentous event for our species. It has enormous potential for good but it also has potential for harm. And Professor Montaubon’s arguments are exactly why I think the first artificial general intelligence should be a copy of a human brain, and should be an oracle AI, at least for a while.’

Ross smiled again. ‘In other words, Professor Montaubon’s arguments are why the first AI should be . . . you.’

‘Precisely,’
Matt agreed.

The interview proceeded without any mis-steps. David and Sophie were passionate and convincing in their roles as proud parents, protective of their son in the face of criticisms which they understood, but believed to be unfounded and unfair. Alice was radiant in her defence of her brave boyfriend, and resolute in her loyalty.

Ross put to them the arguments of those who believed it was a mistake to have uploaded Matt, or even an evil act, but although he gave no overt indication of his own views, most viewers could probably tell that he was sympathetic to Matt’s case.

Within moments of the programme airing, an entire industry of academics and commentators sprang up to analyse and parse Matt’s statements. The commentaries ranged from high-brow intellectual discussions to tub-thumping demagoguery, from earnest analysis to broad comedy. Home-made parodies and satires of the highlights started appearing on YouTube, the most-watched being a wryly witty version where some of Matt’s words were put to music and sung by a well-known Elvis impersonator. References to Matt and his family appeared throughout the schedules, including the adverts.

The public reaction to the programme was broadly positive. It varied around the world, of course, but overall, critics and audiences alike expressed agreement that Matt had passed the Turing test: he had proved that he was a sentient mind, and that as such he deserved certain basic rights. There was still controversy about whether or not he was still Matt Metcalfe, and to a lesser extent about whether or not he was still human. But the programme did seem to convince most audiences that he deserved at least to be treated as human.

The following day, David, Sophie and Alice each gave a small number of interviews to selected newspapers and bloggers. They prepared carefully, rehearsing their answers to the hard questions. There were no major upsets. The journalists were all respectful, and none of them came up with a question that hadn’t already been thought about.

*

Vic and Norman had made some minor changes to Matt’s proposal, and the President’s speech-writers made some more significant ones. But it was recognisably Matt’s words that the President read out at the Emergency Special Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York two days later.

The General Assembly Hall was hushed as the President composed himself in front of the podium, and his face was projected on the twin gigantic screens suspended behind him. Between the screens, the huge tapered golden pillar which rose from floor level to near the 75-foot high ceiling of the giant blue and green auditorium seemed to David to urge the speaker to rise above humdrum and partisan concerns, and to give voice instead to our better natures. The President had invited him and Sophie to join his staff inside the auditorium, but they had preferred to remain near to Matt, so they were watching on the main monitor in the control room.

The media booths around the perimeter of the assembly room were full to bursting, and their broadcasts were played out live in almost every country round the world. They were watched on screens in homes and offices, bars and restaurants. In many cities and towns, giant screens had been erected specifically for the purpose.

By convention, the first speaker at special sessions of the General Assembly is always a Brazilian. This session was no exception, but the delegate from Brazil had too much sense of history to waste time by exploiting this tradition, and simply introduced the President of the United States. The President also went straight to the point.

‘Ladies and gentlemen, the human race is confronted with a momentous decision. You all know that a truly remarkable scientific breakthrough has been made in the last few weeks, and as a result, the world’s first conscious artificial intelligence has been created. I believe it is no exaggeration to say that this is the most important technological development in our history since the discovery of agriculture. We have agreed to meet here today to discuss Resolution 70/133, and the vote on that Resolution will comprise our response to that development. This resolution will not be binding on the members of this Assembly, but it will give a firm steer to those who do have to make this momentous decision.

‘The resolution takes the form of agreement to the proposal which I will shortly read to you. The proposal was drawn up by Matt Metcalfe, a brave young man. I did not have the pleasure of meeting him before he was killed, but we have all followed his adventures, and we have all watched his interviews. I have now met him, albeit only via the telephone, and I can tell you that he is as impressive in real life as he seems in his TV interviews. Once I have read the proposal, I will make a few comments by way of initiating the debate.’

Once he had finished reading the proposal, the President gave what he hoped was an even-handed assessment of the situation. He praised Matt and his family for their courage and their determination. He
commended Vic and his team for having achieved a remarkable scientific breakthrough, and declared that it opened up extraordinary opportunities for humanity. He gave no hint of his annoyance at the upload having been carried out without prior consultation with his office, but he presented a brief sum
mary of both the religious and the secular arguments for terminating Matt’s consciousness. He did not call for delegates to vote either in favour of, or against the proposal, although many people listening to him understood that by referring to the uploaded mind as Matt without any caveats, he was in fact taking a position on some of the issues which Matt’s return had raised.

The President knew that people were deeply divided on the issue of Matt’s upload, both in the USA and beyond. He was unwilling to take a clear line on what he had called the ‘momentous decision’ without seeing whether a consensus could be developed first. This was partly a matter of political caution, but it was more a genuine recognition of the gravity of the decision that faced the world. The President did not personally share the opinions expressed by certain religious groups, that Matt could not possibly have a soul, and therefore did not deserve the same rights as other humans. He also agreed with Matt that the faith of any one particular group should not bring the whole of scientific enquiry to a juddering halt.

He had also come to be inspired by Matt’s suggestion about an Apollo Project to vanquish death. Like most people, he had previously paid no attention to cryonics
and the people who froze their brains after death. But now he was taking the idea of brain preservation seriously. Maybe Matt was right: with his growing mental capabilities, brain preservation technology just might become feasible within a few years. That was certainly a prize worth reaching for, if the risks could be mitigated.

But those risks were substantial. Like many of his advisers, the President was seriously concerned about the potential dangers presented by the arrival of the world’s first AGI. He had now been briefed by numerous experts, and he knew that if Matt continued to develop his powers and something went badly wrong, the impact on humanity could be grave.

He did not want to be the President who failed to avert the extinction of his own species.