Intelligent Systems

There is a desire among humans to create a sentient creation, be it mechanical, organic, or virtual. This desire has lead to major advances in computers and has created various human-like machines and programs that are considered great leaps forward in our engineering abilities. The purpose of this article is to display the possibility that we may have unknowingly created something intelligent, though likely not sentient, in our globalized world.

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           We shall start off with a few examples of systems in society that are meant to maintain the greater whole.
           A police force patrols the streets, and prevents crime. If a crime is committed then the police respond appropriately and arrest the individuals, or if need be kill them. Various people around town may witness a crime and call in to the centre. The dispatcher sends out the appropriate number of officers to the scene and they arrest those who are suspected of a crime. Then they may run an identification check on the individuals using the electronically-linked computers inside their squad car, and confirm this is an individual to be arrested.
           A company, generic, is exploiting some resource that the market demands. They will have a main office, to manage the rest of the company; a public relations office, which may be all the rest of society will see; the factories/production centers, where the desired product is made then shipped; the storage and final processing, where inspectors make sure things are correct before sending out into the market; and the various other groups, which help in providing that the whole system works properly and without having a part of it fail.
           Both of the examples may be interpreted as an organism, which takes in information, makes a decision as to the best course of action for it's survival; even if that means it must take care of a higher force, which may in turn aid the system (i.e. the police/military protects society and government, and they in turn provide funding to keep the systems functioning and organized). Another point is that these systems, as a whole, all support each other in some way. If a particular system does not support the other systems, or is against them, it is either expelled from the 'systems that be' or destroyed.

           The next point to be made is that these systems are also self-sustaining. Being as large as they are, even if a small part of them goes bad, then the system will not collapse. It may be slowed down a bit, or be unable to pursue more important goals, but it will not be stopped without a force more powerful or more efficiently designed than it is.
           An example would be if disgruntled worker Joe happens to hate his job, so he decides to bust up some of the wiring and plumbing within an office building. The building may be temporarily shut down, but it will regain backup power, and it will regain its networks, and somebody will arrive within a few minutes to fix the mess. The company that owns the building may only be annoyed or mildly discomforted, because Joe did so little. Even if the building was obliterated it would not stop the company nor do anything beyond what might happen to a human prior and post-surgery effects-wise (pain, discomfort, recovery, etc.)) Then, the police will arrest Joe, and the company may do a lot with him, including suing or requesting he be jailed. The problem is isolated and disposed of, and it is made sure it will not cause the bother again (no more jobs for Joe because of his work and criminal record, updated by the justice departments).
           With these sorts of things organisms adapt; every time a virus or bacteria defeats a body, it will adapt to counteract any natural resistances it encountered, and every time the body wins, the body will adapt to the virus/bacteria that attacked it. The same goes with any challenge inside a system. The military improves it's equipment and strategies as a war progresses and a company improves its training and policies to accommodate changes in the workforce. All these changes are meant to strive for efficiency, as an inefficient system dies off or is cast away, and the better system is utilized.

           This next section will focus upon the human requirement for these systems to function. At current decision-making are only moderately necessary. The systems are built such that people need to make only trivial decisions during the work day, and major decisions take years of organization and multiple people, which are usually in the main control center for the system. Also, at this time there exists large quantities of data which may influence a company's decision based upon the market research and analysis (i.e. political conditions, social conditions, economic conditions, global aspects), and will usually carry more weight than any individual's voice within the company. Then the actions are carried through and the results are usually viewed as positive, because the resulting data is positive.
           The problem with this is that it is the system managing and helping the system, not the system helping the human. Usually these systems end up screwing a lot of people, but to the large system they are viewed as minor inconveniences, and may be taken care of by firing a few individuals or giving a certain sum to the unhappy individuals or even outright ignoring individuals as the company is invincible in comparison due to their access to funds and lawyers. The people frequently react as happy, or are ignored by the other systems as simply being flawed and not working right to not be happy over the results of the greater whole.
           With the individuals that are happy we usually have somebody who happily follows along with the system's will (not an individual thinking human person, but a system designed for efficient work and survival). They will go shopping, react appropriately to news, and contribute funds to what they are taught is correct (by television/media and the society around them since childhood, which are really lacking as loving parents, and are little more than systems themselves). They will work for the group or company that they are most useful in and which may only have a beneficial end result, or else they are considered negative (Translations in regards to modern times include: satanist, evil, terrorist, criminal, villain, scum of humanity, etc.), and finally finish up the great circle of 'life' which fuels all these smaller systems to make the system of humanity work.
           On the flipside of the coin, it is beginning to seem that humans are not terribly necessary for all this to work. Factories are using machines, creating all the parts faster and more accurate than a human could; schedules are organized on a computer, for greatest efficiency; major decisions are made using market data, which is created from various sources including the final retail; and the people themselves are only necessary for maintenance of all these systems, to make those slight adjustments using their judgment to make sure everything is going smoothly. Though it seems now that that end is unnecessary, considering the proposed advancements in technology, including cleaning bots, nanobots, unmanned aircraft, organic-mechanical integration, and further developments, giving things automaton.
           Also, it might be pointed out that these large-scale systems cannot be taken out by some hero running in with guns blazing as we see in the movies. As well, to point out is that the systems will not do anything absolutely corrupt as to fail themselves and the higher systems. That is plain stupid and does not gain anything for it. It may only occur if some delusional figure in the system desires personal gain, then he/she will be taken care of, and will not escape so long as they are a deemed a threat. System cores are well protected (downtown), and many systems have multiple cores (multiple offices in multiple cities in multiple countries). All of them are connected and seeking to be the most efficient system. Only inefficiency can bring them down, and the smartest ones are the surviving ones, up to the point where the system becomes self aware, if that is possible.

"What do we seek in doing all these things? Is it really us that seeks it? Or are we simply the pawns of our own creations, unaware of what they think, what they desire? How do we, as a species, seek to evolve when we are not evolving ourselves, but rather focusing on a day-in day-out lifestyle that just adds power and resources to an already powerful system? AI didn't create some Matrix for us to inhabit, we unwittingly did, and we did not become literal batteries, our electrical signals and heat extracted from us, but we are carefully maintaining the masters, without whom we know not how to live. Why is it that panic ensues without these systems? I believe it is because the individual person cannot think for themselves and make a rational choice, or maybe they can, but they do not trust themselves, fearing the unknown. People only need to think." -Thoughts of the writer

With the entire article, it is not something to be feared. It is our nature, we made it but it is what made itself survive, and now we have to live with it or face the consequences of our actions.