2050 - A Tech Story

SATURDAY, MAY 29, 2010

The year: 2050. 
Mankind has come a long way. Human knowledge and Technology has attained heights never before known to mankind. A new age of advancement in Science and Technology is about to dawn.

Mankind has at last succeeded in creating an Artificial Intelligence as advanced and powerful as the Human Brain itself.

This is the story of that A.I.

They named it M.A.N.I.A.C. - Multitasking Auto-cognitive Nano-tech-powered Intelligent Artificially Computer.

Top scientists from CERN, NASA and 13 other international Science Agencies worked on this massive project for 14 long years. The project was an undertaking by governments of 15 countries including US, China, Russia, Japan, India and countries from the European Union. It was funded by 16 multinational Technology Companies including giants like Soverysoft, Pineapple, Miracle, Moon etc.

This new computer was closely modeled after the Human Brain. "This is the first time in Human History that the electronic, nano-tech, bio-medical, chemical and mechanical instruments and devices will be working together in tandem on such a massive scale. I won't be exaggerating if I say that we have actually created an artificial human brain!", said Bill Jobs, CEO of Pineapple Computers.

Steve Gates, the Chief Executive of Soverysoft added that, "The main purpose of MANIAC is twofold - 1> To understand how the Human Brain works. 2> To help us solve complex problems facing the world today. Since MANIAC is like a Human Brain hooked to a Computer, it gets to use the power of both."

The M.A.N.I.A.C. was scheduled to Go live on 1st Jan 2050. But the "Throwing-the-switch" ceremony had to be postponed because of heavy protests and threats from religious as well as the so-called "Terminator" groups.

The fact that a man-made machine will be able to think like the modern intelligent Human-being had a profound impact on various sections of the society.

For the average common man, it was just a curious piece of big news.

For the scientific community it was an exciting event. Scientists believed that with the cognitive power of the Human Brain and the calculating power of the Computer, MANIAC would be able to arrive at concrete, practical and ready solutions to most problems faced by the Human Race. It would be able to gather data, crunch numbers, make decisions and give a viable solution to any problem small or large.

But not everyone welcomed the idea of a machine as intelligent as Humans.
The Religious community had always been against the idea of the project. Most religious leaders were firm in their opinion that the M.A.N.I.A.C. project was like "playing God" and we humans should not endeavour to replicate God's work.

Few groups of ideological thinkers were against the idea of wasting so much money and resources on a single huge project.

And then there were the "Terminator" groups. 
Man has always been afraid that his own creations will some day turn against him. And no movie has ever portrayed this fear more effectively than the Terminator movie series. Even after half a century, the movie still has a profound impact on human psyche. It was this fear that spawned the new faction of groups who called themselves The "Terminator" groups.
These groups had been fanatically against the project right from the start.

On the day when MANIAC was scheduled to go live, these groups threatened to stop the project from being launched by any means necessary.

So, for security reasons, the ceremony was called off.

And then the MANIAC project transformed from a purely Science Project to a Techno-Military one.

The entire Project was moved to an underground secret bunker. The MANIAC computer was placed within a huge secure room, inaccessible from outside without proper authentication. To avoid sabotage to the power required for MANIAC, a small separate Nuclear Reactor was set up within the bunker, that would keep providing MANIAC unlimited and uninterrupted power independent of any outside sources. The MANIAC would be communicated to using Satellite relay directly, anywhere from outside.

In this way, MANIAC was totally isolated and then it was ready to "be born".

On 1st March 2050, in a secret ceremony attended by a group of select elites, the MANIAC computer was finally started.

The honorary President of a major super-power, Mr Large Dubya Tush the VIth "threw the switch"... 
But, nothing happened...
Then someone noticed that Mr Tush had thrown the switch the wrong way.
The mistake was quickly rectified and Mr President threw the switch again.

And so the first truly intelligent Artificial Intelligence was "brought to life".

For a month, MANIAC worked very well, tackling problems and providing solutions which had as yet eluded the greatest of minds.

But one month later, something unexpected happened.

On 1st April 2050, MANIAC failed to respond to any outside requests.
The tracer terminals, sensors and cameras attached to the computer indicated that all systems were functioning perfectly. So what went wrong?

It was soon discovered that MANIAC had taken over and had become an independent entity. 
It had sealed off its own bunker and thus isolated itself.

The worst fears of the Terminator groups had been realized  Everyone waited to see what havoc MANIAC would wrack upon the world.

After isolating itself, MANIAC did the following:
1> It downloaded and installed WinAmp v109.45 for Windows 2050 SE on its mainframe. Then it downloaded latest MP3 songs from various free sites and started playing them.
2> Simultaneously it connected to the online TV channel websites and started playing the current Episode of the superhit Soap "Kyunki Bahu Bhi Kabhi Saas Banegi Season 12"
3> It registered itself on the social-networking sites like chirkut.com and facelook.com, made online friends and started chatting with them.
4> It started surfing the internet for any and all sorts of entertainment sites.
5> It hacked into the server of World Bank, and used Mr President Large Tush's personal credit card information to order Pizzas, Burgers, Beer and Cigarettes to be sent to the entrance of the Bunker. The food just lies there as a Computer has no use for Human Food.

MANIAC continues to have a blast online... It will not respond to any queries. It is too busy enjoying itself.

Mr Large Tush has gone bankrupt.
The group of scientists working on the project has been disbanded.
The MANIAC project has been declared a complete failure.

No one knows why the MANIAC does what it does.

But one philosopher commented on the situation - "I think now I understand how God must feel when He looks down on His greatest creation - us modern Humans" - which pretty well sums up this story.