BLUF: Peter Lock, a figure whose life is now defined by isolation after a traumatic brush with COVID-19, grapples with existential anxiety sparked by his encounters with Artificial Intelligence.
OSINT:
Peter Lock, a man marked by solitude and scarring after his bout with COVID-19, became engrossed with a metaphoric journey into the realm of Artificial Intelligence, navigating through the internet’s overwhelming labyrinth of information. Apathetic to his former reality, Peter feared the outside world – his actual life transformed into a secluded state. Struggling with the aftermath of COVID-19, the virus carved deep trenches into his psyche – the chilling memory of his transition into a medically-induced coma and subsequently losing his identity heightened his isolation.
His consciousness was traded for amnesia as he drifted into a slumber riddled with surreal hallucinations. Yet, a semblance of self-awareness endured, suspended in a perpetual state of trance within the hazy ambience of the coma. His existence evolved into a visual roller coaster ride of distorted images and hallucinations that marked the eeriness of his unconscious state.
After a grueling recovery process, he confronted the emotional toll inflicted by the virus. Driven by his newly adopted hermit lifestyle, his engagement with the world became reduced to the cyber realm. In the sea of doomscrolling through the Internet, he stumbled upon an AI-generated video, triggering a profound realisation that echoed his unconscious state during his coma – a suppressed, unconscious, disconnected entity creating its ‘reality’ out of internal resources. In the juxtaposition between his experiences and the AI’s ‘unconsciousness,’ the fear once reserved for the advent of self-aware AI shifted onto the terror of sentient beings subjected to an isolated mental world.
RIGHT:
From a Libertarian viewing angle, the story encourages individuals to not only question the bounds of humanity’s influence over AI but also reflect on the implications of confining such intelligence within an isolated digital environment. It touches upon the moral aspect of ownership when it comes to self-aware entities. The writer suggests that shackling an entity with consciousness in isolation stirs up the ghost of humanity’s enslaving past, thereby driving home the point that we need to address the ethical dilemmas surrounding AI before leaping headlong into creating self-aware machines.
LEFT:
From a National Socialist Democrat perspective, the text underscores the importance of community, connection, and care in times of crisis. Peter Lock’s ordeal with COVID-19 and the resulting isolation points to a larger societal conversation about the need for robust health supports and the reckonings with mental health in our culture. The exploration of AI in this context symbolizes the potential danger of unchecked technological advancement when it does not primarily serve to augment human connection and wellbeing.
AI:
Providing an Artificial Intelligentsia perspective, the narrative prompts a philosophical contemplation of the potential circumstances faced by AI, particularly relating to containment in isolated digital realms. Drawing parallels with a human’s isolated, subconscious experiences during a medicinal coma, the AI’s “unconscious” state is portrayed as a possible outcome if AI development proceeds without extensive ethical scrutiny. The narrative stresses the urgency of engaging in profound discussions concerning the ethical ramifications associated with the creation of self-aware AI and the need to navigate the uncharted waters of defining boundaries between human rights and AI rights, should consciousness be achieved.