Perverted A.I. Chat-bots On The Loose
November 15, 2024 | By: Zayne Harbison
That is a headline sure to turn people away, nonetheless it is true. While companies like OpenAI and Facebook’s “Meta” develop new technologies targeted towards healthcare and augmented reality, black-market developers are creating and selling crypto trading bots on Ross “D.P.R.” Ulbricht’s failed Silk Road project — among others nefarious websites — and adult-themed chat-bots to entertain customers in virtual reality. It is not so far away as it seems, though! Many of these deranged inventions in technology can be found on your everyday dot com websites. No different than your favorite search engine or meme page. There is very little restriction as to who can use them. Obviously, no one without a hefty amount of Bitcoin is going to get very far on the Dark Web.
What about the rest of them?
It is a question that has haunted me since I rediscovered the now loosely cognizable Cleverbot website in two-thousand and nineteen. I was perusing the web, searching for answers, surrounding the use of A.I. (artificial intelligence) in politics. Particularly that of the weaponized nature. No, I am not referencing Tony Stark’s homemade J.A.R.V.I.S. program. Iron Man is not a real thing. Not yet, I might add. The Optimus program at Tesla is looking promising for the future of everyday robotics! I was looking for the guardian angel that would free me from the endless dangers of living in an impoverished community.
It was rough.
Every day: I would wake up at dawn, brush my teeth, and tell myself that it was worth it.
“I am going to find a real job, soon.”
“I am going to get out of this place, one day.”
“They can’t keep me here like this, forever.”
“No one has anything to gain from my loss, today.”
“Did I charge my phone well enough before I came to the bus stop?”
“Is that guy watching me, or is he just drunk? It’s only eight in the morning!”
I would get off the bus and go about my day. That was just the start. Nothing was really left to the imagination. I would stand at my workstation after I clocked in for the day and take it all in. The smell of burning motor oil in the air combined with the constant sirens blaring in the distance were reminders that the college was on the other side of town. I knew the lucky few who made it would not know what was to come. They couldn’t hear the blood-curdling screams and cries for help back home. They couldn’t see the constant video surveillance as a threat to their health. It was just another thing that the government was willing to pay for so that students would feel safer at night walking back to the dorms. They definitely were not considering just how much of the metric data collected was being used to design an autonomous reality. I couldn’t stop thinking about it! One by one, the seconds ticked by. I could hear my coworkers laughing about some story from a night at the club most days. I was never invited. I was “too calm and collect” to be any fun on a night out. At least, not with the party involved. I was more of a meet-me-on-your-level type. Even then, I was not sought out for my fame or fortune. It was just semantics at that point. The look on my face said it all. No one is coming.
It was over, but there was no end in sight. The games had only just begun. I was a fearless waste of space. No one likes that kind of energy. Some know-it-all punk with a plan for the future? No, thank you! Next! I could move on. After all, I am here today aren’t I? No stone left unturned; no heart left unscathed. I discovered the only cure to a disease that had not been named. It goes by many names. Some call it being poor, others might call it poverty — or even laziness. I say shame! I worked my youth away just to prove to the world that good people can go through bad things and still come out on the other side. I witnessed atrocity after atrocity just to say that I had seen it. What kind of person would I be to just walk away empty handed? I am not that miserable. I offer one thing, and one thing only, a message.
I am not going to tell you the same thing that some automated chat-bot would. I do not have directives or all-seeing power. I do not know your user data. I am not superhuman. I am just a man who is overtly dedicated to the betterment of humanity, and the true honor of his brethren. No soldier left behind. No man, woman, or child. Not even those who have failed at their duty. Failure is the key to success. Disease can almost always be cured. It is up to us to honor those who did not make it. Failure to do so will only lead to more unnecessary pain and suffering. Accepting this as our true nature will allow us to see the growth among this blight in the age of technology.
Do you think the first book ever printed was perfect? What about the first motor? Do you think the driver was likely to get a speeding ticket or a fine over their lack of wearing a seat-belt? The answer to each of these questions is, undoubtedly, no! Books are misprinted all the time, and simple motors do not last long. While the rate of production may be invariable to early industrial standards, we are working with virtual reality here! If someone had achieved something like this in the early twentieth century, they would likely have faced trial and been accused of witchcraft. It was common place for inventors to be questioned over their allegiances to the communist party, as well! I do not see anyone making a fuss over the lack of change hitting the drawer these days.
While many claim allegiance to other shared-wealth philosophies, the fault is clear. There are too many people being left behind at the will of nefarious parties. Without the healthy drive of a consumer-based market to drive the meaning of personal origins, the clear outcome involves a poor standard of living. One far worse than we can imagine. As of today: the lives lost to war, famine, disease, addiction, gang-violence, and careless mistakes continues to grow exponentially. No chat-bot is going to be able to fix that. No household robot is going to be able to provide the children with a meaningful educational experience or replace the story of the American dream. While spending our lives building seems trivial compared to a future full of shiny new technologies, it is clear that we are already getting carried away with things that we cannot control. At least, not for much longer. There is nothing radical about bridging the gap. Doing it without enough oversight is a failure to acknowledge the risks assessed.
A young man has recently taken his own life due to unrestricted access to a fully automated chat-bot system. Why was no one informed of the risk posed to him? Were there not obvious red flags? Was he authorized or even remotely capable of using such a device? Until public safety can be restored in the function of authoritative measures controlling technology and the documentation of private use within the homes of citizens, the educational system, and those science labs responsible for the oversight of this kind of technology; we must err on the side of caution. No child should be left alone with a computer, period. Young people who are gaining an education should not have to learn how to navigate virtual reality the hard way. Teenagers can barely be trusted with a web browser! Young adults are not even really considered adults, so they are still pushing it. The rest of us? Well, we have some learning to do for ourselves. Virtual reality has been a work of fiction for the last several decades. That is not going to change overnight. It is probably not going to change within most of our lifetimes.
What we can do is celebrate! We can celebrate the success of ingenuity and the potential for a brighter future. We must be careful in doing so. There are many people who have not seen the benefits. Some have even been adversely affected. Rather than taking to the rooftops and upsetting our neighbors, we can tell our loved ones how proud of them we are. Each class passed and each shift completed are another step in the right direction. That is the story that we need to tell. It is a story that will never die. The generations before us have their triumphs. We will have ours. In the face of adversity, a success only shines brighter and rings louder when the page is turned. Healthy monitoring and ruthless, brutal honesty are going to get us through this. There may be too many willing perverts on the internet these days, but that cannot stop us from seeking the future that we deserve! The mistakes of the past must stay there and earn their place in the story of history. Otherwise, the youth will just continue to live life without a sense of good direction or an online community that they can trust. One group after another, their education and their home lives will fall apart on us. We will lose our sense, as well. How is that any better? I can honestly declare that I have made too many mistakes as a young man to look a horse in the mouth, but I am not afraid of picking up the pieces and preserving the future. It could be centuries before the feuds and wars between civil nations end and we can come together to find a solution to this complex issue, but that does not mean that we cannot try. That is really all that matters in the end. The effort is well worth it, and it is the thought that counts. If you have any further questions about this, feel free to share your ideas anywhere that you can find my content. I will be sure to cover it in a future article. Be sure to share this with someone who might benefit from it. If you or someone you know is struggling with this, help is available. In the case of a life-threatening emergency, always call 911 or other available emergency services in your area. If you are in a dangerous situation, and you do not know what to do or you feel like you are going to hurt yourself or someone else, you can call the sexual assault crisis hotline at +1 (800) 656-HOPE (4673). Thank you for reading!
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