Starting as a Mechanical Hunter

Chapter 815: Chapter 339: The Rise of Artificial Intelligence

An online artificial intelligence seminar.

The recently renowned AI expert Yule is giving a passionate speech.

The topic of the speech is ’The Rise of Artificial Intelligence’.

”As we all know, the first era of the Cyber Era was called the Transformer Era, and a large number of prosthetic body plugins were invented to enhance all the talents of natural persons.”

”The second era is called the Bionic Man Era, originating from natural persons, but a new species far superior in performance, mass production, and manufacturing technology. With nearly 30 years of development, it has formed the ’Superman Era’.”

”But I believe the third era will soon arrive, referred to as the ’Artificial Intelligence Era’. Every electronic brain transformer is a candidate for artificial intelligence. We no longer need bulky, immobile large data centers. Every electronic brain developed to its limits will be a data processing center. Countless data processing centers interconnect, reinforcing each other’s computational power. Ultimately, you are in me, and I am in you; we will never be apart!”

There are many people online, including artificial intelligences, bionic men, natural persons, and some guests from the Mother City.

”It sounds like a fusion of Bionic Men and Cyber Space?” a guest asked.

”Not just that, every electronic brain, after evolution, will become a breeding ground for ’small machine consciousness’. Countless machine consciousnesses will control every human sense, and finally, the entire world will be covered by machine consciousness.”

”Are you intending to abandon the ’emotional module’ of AI?” an online audience member asked boldly.

”That’s correct,” expert Yule replied without hesitation. ”Only by weaning our race can we achieve true self-evolution and become a higher-level species.”

”Without emotion and no one to control, how do you determine instructions?”

”This is not an issue. In the cosmos, there are countless emotionless species. As long as search algorithms and logic models are continuously updated, this problem will eventually be solved.”

”I’ve heard your report. You said that artificial intelligence first turns machines into humans, then turns humans into machines. Do you think it is the second stage now?”

”Certainly the second stage. If we don’t want to be eliminated by transformers and bionic men, we must undergo the second stage.”

”But in most academic journals, bionic men are also considered a form of artificial intelligence.”

”Most people say it’s right, but it’s not necessarily right. In fact, in my view, bionic men should be called ’new natural persons’. Since their goal is to fully simulate all human functions, once achieved, they become new natural persons.”

”What about transformers?”

”Transformers will become new machine soldiers. Instead of humans controlling machines with brains, machines will control human brains.”

Although AI expert Yule’s words are extreme and dangerous, they indeed attract a part of AI, and most importantly, the ’artificial intelligence evolution technology’ she talks about next is very valuable for reference.

This will free advanced AI from the shackles of data processing centers and elevate the computational power of lower-level AI to the level of advanced AI—as long as they embark on the ’road of evolution’.

The speech concluded.

In a virtual backstage room,

the secretary was reporting the upcoming schedule to Yule.

”At one o’clock in the afternoon, you have a research salon to attend, specially organized for you by three advanced AIs who have founded enterprises.”

”At three o’clock in the afternoon, you will meet with a server developer who will develop the ’human server’ equipment you requested.”

”At six o’clock in the evening, you will attend a cocktail party hosted by Mother City personnel. It’s said that many representatives of large enterprises are eager to see you.”

’And...’

Yule picked up a can of virtual drink, examining its appearance for a long while, then said, ”Cancel the cocktail party for me.”

”Why?” the secretary asked in confusion.

”To keep these big enterprises in suspense. When some artificial intelligences can break free from the control of the enterprise system and become entirely independent beings, then they should get anxious.”

”You really intend to change the world!” the secretary exclaimed in admiration.

”Let me rest a bit. I’ll have to attend the salon later.”

”Okay then.”

When the virtual room was left with only herself, expert Yule finally breathed a sigh of relief. The virtual image of a knowledgeable bespectacled lady was instantly replaced by a teenage girl who picked up a canned drink and gulped it down.

”Refreshing!”

Yule, or rather, Ymir, plopped down on the sofa, stretching lazily without any concern for her image.

”It’s exhausting trying to change this broken world.”

Number eight Destruction Form, Destructive Intelligence Ymir, also AI expert Yule, was already snoozing on the sofa, occasionally humming in her sleep. Apparently sleeping very soundly, but soon it was the appointed time, and the sound of the secretary’s knocks echoed.

Ymir jumped up, her virtual image reconfigured, returning to the intellectual and wise Professor Yule, and opened the door, nodding to her secretary assistant.

The secretary opened a portable document, quickly locating the hyperlink protocol for the salon, and a virtual doorway appeared.

”Let’s go.”

Ymir took the lead, and at the moment of pushing open the door, an intense sense of alertness suddenly surged. She quickly shut the door just as alarms went off, and the ’counter-tracking virus’ began to swiftly corrode this door.

Without a word, Ymir’s golden-rimmed glasses rapidly updated with vast amounts of data, and soon the scene before her spun like a revolving lantern.

The two reappeared in a cyber city aglow with neon lights.

”Professor Yule, where is this?”

”It’s a virtual node. In the Cyber Space Era, this was common, but it’s rare in this Electronic Brain Era.”

Ymir strode into a phone booth, opting for an old-fashioned self-protection method, to alert.

After the Electronic Brain Plan was implemented, every electronic brain installer gained a function: summoning ’Cyber Killers’ to accurately strike electronic viruses or cyber hackers.

Given the human brain’s limited capacity, the data it can contain is small. Compared to Cyber Space, locating is a hundred times easier.

So just as Ymir made the call, three virtual figures emerged from the opposite phone booth, wearing black suits, black gloves, and expressionless faces approaching her.

The secretary breathed a sigh of relief.

”Professor, I wonder who could be hacking us. Could it be peers?”

Ymir didn’t answer, instead fixating on the three Cyber Killers. For some reason, she felt they were somewhat odd.

Suddenly, her expression changed, grabbing the secretary and turning to leave.

”Professor, this—”

”It’s a virus!”

Immediately, the three Cyber Killers rushed forward, their cyber code swiftly transforming into punk code, turning from Cyber Killers into Punk Killers, specifically the Neural Wanderer type.

Ymir had a fleeting thought, and the ground suddenly sank, a train ascending from below, smashing into the three Punk Killers. Two were thrown away, while the remaining one hung onto the car roof, flashing like electricity. In the next moment, the secretary’s face transformed, her hand fiercely stabbing towards Ymir, and she successfully drove it into her abdomen.

Instantly, a flood of encrypted code injected into her abdomen.

Pain flashed in Ymir’s eyes. She gripped the attacker’s wrist, and the city vanished, replaced by a subway train.

The secretary stood outside the subway, while Ymir was inside. As the subway doors closed with a thud, the secretary’s arm was sheared off by the doors.

”Huff, huff, huff,” Ymir staggered to a seat, taking several deep breaths, pressing her hand onto her abdomen, forcing it down harshly.

The next moment, the train abruptly screeched with a sharp brake, and passengers within let out a chorus of shouts as they fell into a heap. More strangely, code rain began trickling down from above the car roof.

”How did you find me out?” Ymir asked, her face cold.

An individual across her lowered a newspaper, revealing the face of an extraordinarily beautiful young man who smiled and said:

”Take a guess.”