The unit was still in the development stage.
The work being carried out in the university’s basement had been restricted to only a selected few. It was obvious that the widespread attention on Artificial Intelligence technology, had prompted the technology students to invest their time down there, with research and development. Owing to the growing uptake of AI technology at such an amazing speed, the top brass was happy to allocate funds to the project. As AI has been responsible for solving many problems that have continually eluded humans, huge investments have been made by companies, and even governments. In fact, some major organisations have embraced AI as their primary driver for the management of their business.
On this particular evening, a keen young student had entered the project’s build-area, where the AI Generator Machine was set up. He was so engrossed in what he was typing, he jumped when the door opened and the project leader, a more mature student, came in.
The leader said, “I see you’re getting an early start this evening.”
The student tapped a couple of keys and swung around in his chair. “Yes. Is that alright?”
“That’s fine, what are you up to?”
The student nodded and said, “I was just typing in a few basic questions.”
The leader grimaced. “Yes, well, I have to admit, it’s all coming along a great deal faster than I had expected, but I don’t think it’s ready for anything too advanced yet.”
The other, nodded again. “No, it’s all pretty simple really. I’m only asking for a few improvements.”
The leader shook his head. “It’s a bit premature, I’m afraid. It won’t give you any subjective judgments or opinions, such as anything involving ethics or morality.” He chuckled. “It simply isn’t that clever.”
“Yes, maybe. I just thought I’d give it a go anyway.”
“Improvements, you say; such as?”
He reads from the screen, where he had been typing in several items before uploading them. “Let me see… I’m asking how to Improve our sustainable access to food and stamp out hunger, how to Improve the welfare, healthcare and safety of children worldwide, how to improve global health and reduce air pollution, how to improve water management and reduce water contamination, how to reduce the violations of human rights, how to prevent climate change getting worse, how can we work towards an end of extreme poverty and hunger, generally, and how to reduce military conflicts and maintain world peace and security.”
The leader chuckled again. “Wow! All I can say is, good luck with all that.”
The output printer starts ticking.
“Seems like we’ve got an answer.”
The leader raised his eyebrows. “Really? I have to admit; I’m certainly impressed. What does it say?”
The younger man, screwed up his face. He read out, “Don’t be silly.”