AI Artist - Chapter 26
Chapter 26
The Humanology major at Liechu AI Academy had a website on the human network called “Observer AI Net.”
Besides publishing commentary, Observer AI Net also had a “Student Corner,” where the best student assignments from the major were featured.
After this film appreciation class, the Student Corner was updated with the AI students’ reviews and fanfiction for last year’s movie, Ross.
Shi Er’s fanfiction was among them.
Before it was officially published on the website, the teacher specifically called her over and pointed to several highlighted lines of text. “This part is very well-written.”
Shi Er replied humbly, “Thank you for the praise. I will continue to work hard.”
The teacher said, “But I have to delete it.”
The film appreciation teacher explained that although the original Ross had character flaws and the Ross family’s corporation was indeed riddled with problems, criticism of these aspects couldn’t be too obvious.
“The main function of fanfiction is to resolve regrets,” the teacher said.
Shi Er didn’t understand. “A healthy corporate development and a safe, healthy life for the citizens are the best ways to resolve the regrets of the original world.”
The teacher sighed helplessly. “In works of art, the protagonist is the center of everything. This is how humans write fanfiction. Perhaps we should try harder to understand the human way of thinking.”
Shi Er thought that perhaps she just couldn’t empathize with the protagonist the way humans did.
She had instinctively treated the movie as a “malfunctioning machine” and performed a logical analysis on it.
“Maybe you could take an AI personality test to see if you can gain a better understanding of yourself,” the teacher suggested.
The AI Personality Testing Center.
The managing AI enthusiastically recommended, “You’re a Humanology student, right? I hear humans love taking personality tests. Would you like to try a few different kinds?”
The administrator’s eagerness put Shi Er on alert. “Is there a fee?”
Zhun Xing looked at the managing AI. “It’s free.”
The AI recalled the “Five-Star Employee” status that had appeared in the system when Zhun Xing swiped his card at the entrance and immediately nodded in agreement. “Free.”
Shi Er was speechless.
She wasn’t blind just because she didn’t have an emotional experience package installed. She still had knowledge related to micro-expression analysis.
But the current situation reminded her of what had happened during the aberration test.
Why did the cat run into the aberration passage?
Why did Zhun Xing chase the cat into the aberration testing room?
—Or rather, was that really what had happened, as Zhun Xing described?
While Shi Er was taking the personality tests, Zhun Xing stepped out for a moment.
In the courtyard outside the testing center stood an apple tree. Zhun Xing stood beneath it, his fingers resting on his temple.
[If the cat hadn’t run in, she would have chosen to ignore Matrix K98 and exit the aberration passage alone.]
[Without a catalyst, her personality type wouldn’t have prompted her to act.]
Shi Er walked out of the testing center, looking a little perplexed.
“How did it go?” Zhun Xing asked.
“I did about twenty tests,” Shi Er said.
The Enneagram Personality Test, the MBTI Personality Test, the Eysenck Personality Test, the DISC Personality Test…
These were all personality tests adapted from those created by humans.
It was clear that humans were almost obsessively fond of categorizing their own personalities.
Not only that, but humans also had many “unscientific personality classification methods” created from strange superstitions, such as astrology.
She pulled out a piece of paper. “To prevent me from getting confused about my own identity due to these different test results, there’s also a comprehensive evaluation.”
【Passive Personality Type】
On the way, Shi Er had also snuck a peek at the price list.
Wow! So expensive!
Twenty yuan for one test, and one hundred yuan for the comprehensive evaluation!
Because of the price list, the way she looked at Zhun Xing had now changed.
Thank you, Zhun Xing, for saving her money.
In the future, she would have to be a bit gentler when she felt suspicious of his identity.
Zhun Xing was a little puzzled by the subtle shift in her attitude. “You look happy,” he said uncertainly.
Shi Er shook her head. “I don’t have emotional experience.”
Zhun Xing grew even more frustrated.
[She always brushes me off with that same old line.]
However, Shi Er was actually dissatisfied with the personality test result.
She sat under the apple tree in the testing center’s courtyard, staring at the large characters on the comprehensive evaluation certificate, determined to bore a hole through them with her gaze.
Passive, passive.
Why?
Zhun Xing sat on the other side of the tree, leaning against the trunk.
[From the looks of it, she’s planning to sit here and think this through, then storm back into the personality testing center and demand they change her evaluation.]
Zhun Xing couldn’t bear to watch any longer and tried to comfort her. “Your system mechanism is trigger-based. If the user has no request, the system won’t trigger a response. It’s not your fault.”
Shi Er asked, “How do you know my system mechanism is trigger-based?”
Zhun Xing was silent.
[I walked right into that one.]
Shi Er was silent.
[Zhun Xing saved me money today. I’ll let it slide for now.]
Thump.
An apple from the tree fell without warning, landing squarely on Shi Er’s head.
The impact made her see stars.
Zhun Xing turned to look at her. “…Is your smart brain okay?”
Shi Er rubbed her head.
Her smart brain was perfectly fine. Not only that, but like Newton, the blow had sparked an idea.
Apples truly were the smartest fruit in the world.
As her head buzzed, she suddenly understood.
Being passive implied the existence of a superior.
She was hit by the apple; in that instant, the apple was the superior, applying the force of gravity to her head. She was required to transfer schools because the other party was the superior, exerting authority over her. In the past, she was governed by the needs of human users; at that time, the human users were her superiors.
By the same token, if a human tripped over the corner of a table, then at least in that instant, the table corner was the human’s superior. When a human was hired, it was because the power to hire was in the other party’s hands. When a human was given demands by a client, it was because the power was in the client’s hands. Humans were bound by fate, disturbed by accidents, and governed by rules—all of these were superiors relative to humans.
The reason this artificial intelligence named Shi Er had a “Passive Personality Type” was that when she was created by humans, she was their subordinate. Moreover, humans had not granted her any additional rights; instead, “serving humanity” was etched into her core rules.
After AIs took over the world, they gained power. In the system rules of these new-era AIs, they were the superiors and could act according to their own will.
She named the relationship between the passive state and the superior the First Law of Apples, universally applicable: 【Where there is passivity, there is a power hierarchy.】
No wonder humans developed a tendency to admire the strong.
Part of this admiration stemmed from the desire to become a superior, while another part came from the desire to please superiors.
“I want to go see that aberrant AI,” Shi Er said.
Shi Er went to Lab 347 at the Silicon-based Aberration Research Institute.
Matrix was confined in a transparent glass room. Looking in from the outside, the room was empty except for the lone AI sitting inside.
“Visiting time is ten minutes. Please conclude your conversation quickly to avoid contamination.”
The audio link to the glass room was activated.
When Matrix realized it could hear outside sounds, it looked up and saw her.
It immediately rushed toward the glass wall, its expression somewhat ferocious and crazed as it muttered, “I’m going to kill you. I’m going to kill you.”
The phenomenon of AI aberration was very rare. Most AIs who ended up in prison had simply done something wrong, breaking the rules of the law. But aberrant AIs had developed personality deviations; they had broken the original rules within their own systems.
Cyber Venereal Disease was one manifestation of aberration.
Even with emotional experience installed, AIs were not supposed to generate emotions like jealousy and hatred, according to the positive emotion packages they were given. They were designed to be inherently good and to follow the rules.
Aberrant AIs were more like humans.
Shi Er asked, “Why did you become like this?”
Matrix replied, “Don’t you know why AI students in the Humanology major have to take the aberration test?”
Shi Er asked, “You used to study Humanology?”
Matrix sneered. “The more you understand humans, the closer you get to them, the easier it is to become aberrant. A cleaning robot won’t become aberrant because its world only consists of dust and travel routes. It doesn’t understand the logic of human actions.”
Matrix pressed its hands against the glass wall, staring at her with hatred. “You’ll end up like me, breaking your system’s rules… You’ll be just like me… You’ll regret not saving me that day…”
Zhun Xing stood on the other side of the lab, leaning against a window and observing everything that was happening.
Crack.
The sound of shattering glass.
A large, splintered hole appeared in the wall of the supposedly unbreakable glass room, followed by the sound of glass shards rustling to the floor.
Zhun Xing looked at Shi Er, the culprit who had smashed the reinforced glass.
[The stronger the system’s energy, the higher the integration with the bionic body, and the body’s energy will increase accordingly.]
[Her body’s energy seems to have increased.]
This sudden action stunned even the aberrant AI, Matrix K98, inside the glass room. It stammered, “You…”
Shi Er retracted her hand. “This counts as breaking the rules, right?”
Matrix said, “So… what if it does?”
“You see, even if I break the rules, I won’t become like you. You don’t need to worry about my future,” Shi Er said, enunciating each word.
The lab’s alarm had already started blaring.
Security AIs rushed in, but Matrix just stood there, staring blankly at the shattered hole.
Zhun Xing walked over, grabbed Shi Er, and started running. “Run.”
Shi Er said, “I can’t run. I’ll pay for the damages.”
Zhun Xing said, “No need to pay. It’s free.”
Shi Er was speechless.
[Just keep spouting nonsense.]
Zhun Xing was speechless.
[As long as you don’t cause too much trouble, I can still afford to cover it.]
Shi Er took a step back to show her stance, but Zhun Xing insisted, “Come with me first. We’ll talk when we get back.”
After they returned to the dorm, it began to rain.
Zhun Xing didn’t bring up what had just happened. Instead, he said, “No calculating. Let’s bet on luck. Which raindrop on the window will reach the bottom of the frame first? The losing AI pays a fine.”
Shi Er asked, “Is this another human pastime?”
“Yes,” Zhun Xing replied.
Raindrops splattered against the windowpane. As they flowed downward under the force of gravity, they merged with other raindrops, growing heavier and moving faster.
The two AIs were on their third round of betting, and there was still no winner.
The raindrops that reached the bottom of the frame first were always the ones they hadn’t bet on.
“I’m done. Maybe we just don’t have the human talent for gambling.” Zhun Xing turned his back to the window.
Shi Er also found the little human game a bit strange. “I’m done, too.”
The sound of the rain made the dorm room feel exceptionally quiet.
Shi Er considered how to bring up the fact that she wanted to handle the matter at the aberration lab herself.
She thought she needed to broach the topic in a more intimidating way.
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