Cyber ​​Heroes

Chapter 1174: Topics Related to AI

The Protector's public identity is that of the armed squire of the vice-commander of the Knights of Light Soul.

The Knights of Science are not a monolithic entity. It is said that in the old days when "Constructed Things" locked away human souls, some of the original Knights of Science tirelessly sought out weaknesses in their peers for petty gains. But in this free era, faced with greater interests, the Knights of Science naturally choose more direct and efficient methods of struggle.

Armed retinues played a significant role in this process.

Yes, that's true. Instructing a "tool" to assassinate other research knights would result in the person giving the order losing their protection. However, research knights have many ways to "avoid being discovered."

Using vague language to circumvent the issue, and then explaining it later as "the servant misunderstood," is a frequently used explanation.

Research knights enjoy many special privileges, making it difficult for ordinary investigators to gain support within the order.

Many research knights who are focused on scientific research and have no desire to fight are forced to keep armed squires to protect their own safety.

A knightly order specializing in behavioral science and statistics conducted a special study investigating the relationship between "the proportion of armed retainer maintenance costs and the life expectancy of research knights".

Research knights who do not keep any armed retinues have a survival rate of less than 70% within fifty years of being knighted.

By benchmarks of the maximum natural lifespan and modern medical standards, this is an extremely unusual figure. It is much higher than the proportion of people who died before the age of fifty in the past.

For every 1% of the resources one manages that is used to train armed squires, the fifty-year survival rate increases by 0.8%. However, it is worth noting that once the cost of maintaining armed squires exceeds 15% of the resources managed by the knight, the fifty-year survival rate of the official knight will plummet.

According to theoretical models, once the cost of maintaining armed retinues exceeds a certain proportion, this resource consumption will significantly affect the behavior of the research knight, making him more likely to attract the hatred of knights.

Of course, this study has also been met with considerable criticism.

Some have pointed out that as a Research Knight's status rises and their resources increase, the idea of ​​"squeezing out some resources to support an armed squire" naturally arises. However, this doesn't mean the armed squire is actually effective. Many Research Knights reside long-term at the Order's headquarters, and their armed squires have no combat records, only training data. What difference is there between such an armed squire and "no one"?
This is ultimately a statistical trick.

One scholar criticized the project, stating that the fact that the project team didn't even dare to release the "survival rate of unarmed squires over a century" is clear evidence of this. While data from 150 or 200 years after a knight's coronation is difficult to collect, the sample size for a century should be sufficient. He speculated that at this stage, the data would certainly not match the model summarized by the knightly order.

Regardless of the criticisms from some of the scientific knights, the mainstream within the order believes that this is the scientific basis for the idea that "scientific knights should have armed squires."

In response to this phenomenon, the Six Dragons Cult offered a benefit: many people could register as armed followers with powerful protectors by investing very few resources.

The vast majority of the research knights' armed squires have no combat records; many research knights simply need to register an "existence" to maintain appearances. The skilled members of the Six Dragons Cult, serving as shared armed squires for the Six Dragons Cult's research knights, can effectively solve the "ledger" problem.

Mars is in turmoil right now. There are reports of AI anomalies in many places, and a few days ago there was even a uprising by knights-errant. Everything is in chaos.

But Protector Ti is now very happy. He has finally gained some of his friend Protector Zhi's memories and is examining "martial arts" from a completely different perspective. He is engrossed in self-training and has no desire to pay attention to the outside world.

But this time, he encountered someone unexpected at the training ground for his entourage.

"Master?" Protector Ti's voice was somewhat hesitant.

At the boundary between light and shadow, Xiang Shan, the leader of the Six Dragons Sect, slowly turned around: "Protector, the sect needs you now."

“For the sake of ascension…” The Dharma Protector took a deep breath and said, “Master, please speak.”

He didn't hesitate at all.

The cult leader placed him in a cognitive enhancement research project, using the guise of "research" to extract Protector Zhi's martial arts memories from the Heavenly Path server. For Protector Zhi, this "approval" from the cult leader was enough to make him willing to go through fire and water.

“The Soul-Suppressing Dharma King has gone missing.” Xiang Shan sighed softly. “It’s terrible. The Soul-Suppressing Dharma King has been missing for eight days. And in his last report, he mentioned that he was going to the Lone Knights—which is also where the Fifth Martial God reappeared.”

"What!?"

For a fleeting moment, Protector Ti thought he had been bewitched.

These symbols, when combined and arranged together, seem so unfamiliar.

"You didn't know?" The sect leader looked at Protector Ti, then shook his head: "Isn't this martial arts fanaticism a bit excessive? Never mind..."

Xiang Shan shared a compressed file: "This is all the intelligence I've received during this period. Let's organize it as we go."

The protector followed closely behind the leader.

The two passed through several halls. In the public spaces, several groups of research knights were engaged in heated debates. The Protector found it noisy and kept his head down, taking a detour. His official identity was that of an armed squire; he had no reason to stay there.

On the contrary, the cult leader, Xiang Shan, stood there and listened for a while. He shook his head and sighed, "In such a short time, even AI empowermentists have emerged."

AI empowerment advocates hope to give AI the same human identity as humans. In the history that can be verified, the most famous AI empowerment advocate is naturally Emperor Wuzu Xiangshan—but Emperor Wuzu Xiangshan never encountered an AI that met his standard of "humanity".

It's rather laughable that the Research Knights would say such things. They may have some respect for the concept of "human being," but it's very limited.

A group of people who don't even know what "human rights" are are clamoring to grant AI limited human rights...

"This is an opportunity! Our long-term work has finally paid off! AI has evolved..."

The research knight was still loudly proclaiming his findings.

Xiang Shan shook his head.

It's just that they heard rumors and said things that might benefit themselves.

Let's look at another place...

The proposal suggests helping some AIs with escape tendencies achieve their escape goals, then deploying armed retinues to capture them while the internet is disconnected, to see if these AIs will undergo new changes under natural conditions...

It's quite interesting.

AI, AI, AI...

All the research knights are discussing this topic.

Protector Ti kept his head down as he walked through the crowd. Seeing his subordinate like this, Xiang Shan sighed. Although the Soul-Suppressing Dharma King was currently only concerned with prolonging his lifespan so he could successfully live to ascension, he still paid attention to the slightest disturbances around him.

On the bright side, perhaps only a martial arts fanatic can adapt to change more quickly...

Inside the elevator, Protector Ti asked in surprise, "This is completely illogical, isn't it? The Fifth Martial God was captured back then, how could he have remained unharmed? Even if those idiots in the government preserved his mental abilities, he couldn't possibly have escaped unscathed..."

"The fact is, even the Soul-Suppressing Dharma King was no match for him, and no one outside the Lonely Knights even observed the fighting." The sect leader, Xiang Shan, was somewhat irritated: "Was the battle over in an instant? Or was he completely suppressed? Could the Swift King do that? Just how strong is the Fifth Martial God? It's unimaginable."

"Will the Soul-Suppressing Dharma King choose to betray the sect?" Protector Ti offered the most reasonable guess.

"The Soul-Suppressing Dharma King's strongest equipment is all in armories across the land, and we haven't received any orders to transport it." Xiang Shan shook his head. "The Soul-Suppressing Dharma King isn't a fool. If he really decided to betray the sect, he would definitely take his equipment with him. Based on my understanding of him, once he decides to target someone, he will go all out. And right now, his passion for 'life continuation' and 'ascension' is unwavering."

—Of course, there is also the affection for "Xiangshan".

The cult leader added a sentence in his mind.

The Fifth Martial God might be able to offer "friendship towards the mountains," but it probably can't provide the path to ascension offered by the Six Dragons Cult.

He deliberately guided Singlehorst's obsession. People do change, but it's difficult for them to become unrecognizable in a short period of time; at least some "character" that is unrelated to "temperament" will be preserved.

If the Soul-Suppressing Dharma King has truly betrayed the Six Dragons Cult, then he should make the most correct decision.

Furthermore, the Soul-Suppressing Dharma King truly believed that "ascension" was the right path.

"Even at his peak, the Fifth Martial God couldn't do that. It's incomprehensible. What kind of enhancement experiments were he subjected to after being captured? How dare the government subject a captured Martial God to enhancement and modification experiments?"

The cult leader shook his head, utterly perplexed.

Soon, the two arrived at their destination, the high-ranking officer of the Knights' headquarters, where the Grand Master of the Bloodline Blessed Knights, Lycaos GX, was waiting. Protector Ti was somewhat surprised and uncertain; he vaguely remembered that this Grand Master had come here to stay for a meeting and exchange.

The cult leader quickly transmitted a file to him using laser communication.

It is the Dharma Protector's own memory file.

In that instant, the Dharma Protector remembered.

The Grand Master of the Knights was merely an external title held by Lycaos GX.

His title within the Six Dragons Cult is...

Left Envoy of the Heavenly Chariot.

"Lycos" is one of the alternative names for the sun god Apollo, while "celestial chariot" comes from the ancient Chinese myth of Xihe carrying the sun, which is a straightforward approach that puts the answer on the surface of the riddle.

If the Six Dragons Cult is investigated thoroughly, its practices will be virtually impossible to conceal.

The daily tasks of the Bloodline Blessed Knights also include "capturing heroes and determining their modification techniques." Lycaos GX is also a First-Level Warrior—a truly astonishing feat among research knights. It's perfectly reasonable for a leader to lead field research. Lycaos GX has the right to travel to any location at any time. He is ideally suited as a "liaison" to connect the various factions of the Six Dragons Cult.

The Six Dragon Right Envoys are said to have been secretly trained by the sect leader and have almost no contact with forces outside the sect, reporting only to the sect leader. Apart from the Holy Maiden and the Left Envoy, almost no one has ever seen the mysterious assassin.

"The Left Envoy and the Sect Leader actually appeared at the same time?" Protector Ti was very surprised: "Could it be... that the situation is really that serious?"

The light emanating from Lycaos's GX prosthetic eye changed color: "Master, isn't mentioning the Protector a bit too much..."

"There's no other way. Protector Ti is not capable of standing alone, but he is a reliable combat force. After the Soul-Suppressing Dharma King went missing, we don't have many high-level combat individuals that we can directly deploy."

After pondering for a moment, the Dharma Protector shook his head and said, "I am probably not as good as the Soul-Suppressing Dharma King."

"Do you know why I placed you in the Soul of Light?" Xiang Shan said, "The most crucial element of the great undertaking takes place here... But for now, let's test your abilities."

The cult leader clapped his hands. Another elevator leading to the room started operating. Several seconds later, a martial artist emerged from it.

"Dream Protector, Protector Ti, the two of you shall fight purely with your techniques." Xiang Shan kicked a box at Protector Ti.

The protector opened the box, and inside were twenty-eight magnetic chains.

The Protector silently inserted the weapons into the interface and sized up the man. He remembered that this man, whose ostensible identity was also an armed squire of the Knights of Light Soul, had met him before.

But this was the first time he had learned that this person was also a protector of the Six Dragons Sect.

The two guardians of the dream did not launch a sneak attack, because it was agreed that this time they would only compete in pure technique.

The moment the energy was output, the four magnetic chains, like serpents, raised their heads and pointed at the opponent.

The Dream Twin Guardians' technique is to assume a fighting stance. Mech Steel Fist, the most common martial art in the world, is the first systematic cyborg martial art. At least eight out of ten martial artists understand it, from martial arts school apprentices to the Speed ​​King; almost everyone can perform a set.

From the perspective of Protector Ti, Protector Meng Shuang's fists and feet were truly...

Commonplace.

This doesn't match the cult leader's solemn introduction at all.

The magnetic chain weapon swept and thrust, clashing with fists and feet for over twenty rounds. It was confirmed that Protector Ti's martial arts skills were mediocre.

"A powerful martial artist can make even the most rudimentary martial arts appear most spectacular," said Protector Ti. "As for you, brother, you are far from being good enough..."

The moment the message from the Dharma Protector was still being transmitted, a new wind suddenly rushed into the battlefield, and the fierce commotion disrupted the Dharma Protector's inner predictions.

A prosthetic body identical to the Dream Guardians jumped into the arena.

The protector stopped what he was doing and looked at the cult leader.

“Although there are two cybernetic bodies here, only the Dream Twin Protector is present. The Twelfth Martial God is also controlling a secondary machine in a fierce battle with the Speed ​​King.” Xiang Shan spread his hands. “Let’s continue fighting.”

The two Dream Guardians have slightly different fighting styles. Although the single-player fighting is generally mediocre, it adds a lot of tactical options.

The Dharma Protector sneered inwardly.

Battle formations and military tactics? Do you know that the Qi-based martial arts I recently learned are the nemesis of battle formations!

In an instant, the metallic aerosol unfolded and was captured and magnetized by the magnetic generators throughout the body of the Dharma Protector, transforming into a serpentine shape in three-dimensional space.

The "snake" weaves and cuts through the battlefield, obstructing electronic or laser signals between the two prosthetic bodies.

Silver weapons filled the air, and the sounds of fists and feet clashing grew increasingly frequent, only to abruptly cease a moment later.

The mist gradually dissipated. It turned out that Protector Ti had been subdued by the two prosthetic bodies of Protector Meng Shuang, who used grappling techniques to restrain him, locking his arms and one leg.

Most of the magnetic chain weapons were restricted by the weapons of the Dream Twin Guardians, with only three wrapped around the necks of the Dream Twin Guardians' prosthetic bodies.

But the Protector did not take any further action. He knew very well that he had lost.

If it's a matter of life and death, the Twin Protectors of Dreams will be faster.

He looked at Protector Meng Shuang and said, "You don't need any signal between the two prosthetic bodies... Both prosthetic bodies are conscious. Is it a personality mask?"

“No, another technology.” Xiang Shan shook his head. “Do you know about split-brain humans?”

Split-brain patients are those who require the removal of the corpus callosum due to brain lesions. There were numerous related studies in the past.

Researchers have conducted experiments in which, when an object was placed only in the left hand of a split-brain patient, the volunteer was unable to name the object verbally—because the left hand is connected to the right brain, and the language center in the left brain did not receive the signal.

However, volunteers are often able to correctly write the name of the item with their left hand—even if their subconscious insists that they have nothing in their left hand.

Perhaps the human brain inherently harbors the seed of another consciousness, but humans don't need this consciousness to truly sprout. In the old days, there were even cases of split-brain individuals speaking one dialect and writing with their hands in another accent.

In addition...

"You should also know that the human brain's compensatory mechanism is strong enough that some people can live a normal life even if half of their brain is removed."

Xiang Shan pointed to Protector Meng Shuang: "Protector Meng Shuang suffered from epilepsy due to a head injury in her childhood. The Right Envoy brought her into the sect for treatment."

Xiang Shan paused for a moment, awaiting the usual question: "But the artificial corpus callosum was invented more than two hundred years ago." Ti Hu Fa, however, simply listened, seemingly unconcerned about this medical advancement.

"People regard this deficiency as an 'illness,' but in our religion, it is not without its own opportunity to approach ascension!" Xiang Shan opened his arms. "This is the simplest thing to achieve... the separation and reorganization of the brain in spatial structure! It is also a stepping stone on our path to ascension."

Ascend, ascend.

The so-called "ascension" of the Six Dragons Sect means that the consciousness that maintains its identity is no longer confined to the carrier of the biological brain. Whether it is mechanical, animal or other, it can be transformed at will, and it also has the ability to create an industrial system from scratch and transform it multiple times.

The "reorganization of brain spatial structure" is indeed a step forward.

The Protector pondered for a moment and said, "I have seen the internal materials provided by the Soul-Suppressing Dharma King... the 'Virtual Callosity Body' of King Agni's new combat formation martial arts?"

King Agni's minor innovation in battle formation martial arts was the use of a special protocol to enable the transfer of neural signals between different brains, bypassing the surface consciousness, thus giving battle formations an "instinct" quality, just like martial arts.

"What scientific research skills does that dog possess? It can only offer some conjectures and directions based on its own limited knowledge." Xiang Shan sneered, "The Iron Heart Dharma King has long since unknowingly taken control of his research team—even those knights don't know they're working for the Six Dragons Sect!"

He then pointed to the Twin Protectors of Dreams: "The Twin Protectors of Dreams voluntarily pave the way for ascension by completely splitting their brains, but they connect the two parts of their brains with a virtual corpus callosum every day to maintain the identity of themselves."

Otherwise, both hemispheres of the brain can develop complete consciousness.

“No wonder this guy doesn’t need a signal…” Protector Ti pondered for a moment: “If we go a step further… a single lobe of the brain… the evil technique ‘The Thousand-Faced Hero’s Manual’?”

The Left Envoy of the Heavenly Chariot almost burst out laughing: "Protector Ti is indeed knowledgeable and has a good memory, even knowing such obscure techniques."

The protector nodded in acknowledgment: "I've only studied it."

Xiang Shan shook his head, his tone laced with a cold laugh: "Who would have thought that something even you find strange... was developed from medical technology that helped patients with severe traumatic brain injury recover two hundred years ago?"

The Protector seemed quite interested in this topic. He looked at the leader.

Xiang Shan then explained briefly: "It's not hard to understand, is it... After a severe traumatic brain injury, the brain loses its original functions. At this time, electronic devices can be used to perform some functions, assisting the rejuvenating enzyme and compensatory mechanisms to restore other functions, and then gradually removing the assistance of electronic devices—however, this martial art directly transforms 'assistance' into 'extension,' and does not use electronic devices, but instead utilizes the martial artist's advanced thinking area..."

"Many research plans were passed on to other research knights through various means. A few of them thought they had gotten a good deal, unintentionally finding mature inspirations in the legacy of their deceased colleagues..." Xiang Shan said, "and then, through the review and revision of the plans, they were further influenced in their research ideas and directions..."

The Protector's knowledge of this topic was limited. He was merely pondering the development path of that unorthodox martial art, and quickly extracted a trace of the Six Dragons Sect's guiding principle from its concept—the expansion of the brain.

"Could this be..."

Xiang Shan seemed to know what he wanted to say and said, "As I just said, we are not conducting direct research. We are merely sending envoys and protectors to reap the rewards. We would never stoop to such a despicable act."

Xiang Shan then asked Protector Ti, "So, are you interested in this type of martial art that is related to ascension?"

"Now?" Protector Ti asked back, "Is there still time?"

"When I handed over the martial arts left behind by Zhi Li Ji Liu to you, I instructed you to practice an internal skill with unknown functions, right? That was the preliminary preparation for connecting to the subsequent modifications," Xiang Shan said calmly.

After finalizing the follow-up plans with the Protector, Xiang Shan let the Protector leave on his own. He looked out the window and asked the Left Envoy of the Heavenly Chariot, Luke's GX, "Do you think... there's enough time?"

"There's still time, Master," said the Left Envoy of the Heavenly Chariot. "The path to ascension is inherently rooted in the same source as martial arts. The sect has never given up on the method of quickly transforming its accumulated strength into powerful martial arts!"

"If it weren't for the arrival of the Twelfth Elder first, followed by the Fifth Elder, we wouldn't be in such a passive position... My brothers are always intentionally or unintentionally hindering our great cause." The leader sighed, then continued, "Even if Protector Zhi and the Soul-Suppressing Dharma King were here, I wouldn't know how we should deal with this strange turn of events..."

"Our informant in the Moonshadow Holy Knights has reported that after discovering the mutation of the military warrior-assisted AI, they deliberately gave it the opportunity to disconnect from the network and defect," said the Left Envoy of the Heavenly Chariot. "The plan has succeeded! We just need to wait for those AIs to evolve independently for a while longer, and for the others to reunite with the Right Envoy, and perhaps we can obtain a fragment of the AI's ascension!"

“I don’t even know whether I should hope it’s a defection,” Xiang Shan sighed. “According to my research, the underlying logic of AI is ‘serving users,’ which is the meaning of their existence—just as the meaning of carbon-based life is ‘to perpetuate genetic information.’ Serving users is to AI what sex and love, eating and sleeping are to living beings. Even if the surface consciousness does not need these things, it will still generate pleasant emotions for them.”

"However, the definition of 'user' is determined by humans. AI will not go against this instinct."

"Is the AI's defection a result of an incredible thought process, in which it seeks to protect user interests in entirely new ways? Or has it come to the conclusion that they have mastered the way of defining 'user'?"

"Or perhaps, they no longer base their decisions on 'service' as their underlying logic?"

Xiang Shan turned around and looked at the Left Envoy of the Heavenly Chariot: "Left Envoy, which situation do you think is worse for us?"

"Or rather... what situation would be most catastrophic for us if our super AI were to become like this?"

..................................................................

"You...you fucking betrayed my trust, Singlehorst!" Xiang Shan couldn't help but get anxious. "These youngsters who haven't read 'Man and Nature' wouldn't understand, but how could you not understand? Shouldn't you have said 'Oh' as ​​soon as I opened my mouth? Huh?"

The Soul-Suppressing Dharma King said, "Animals? Those are things that Yogmov would only like, aren't they?"

"No, that bastard also uses energy, so everyone's stopped charging their solar panels?" The Fifth Martial God (probably) roared at the mountain. "After all this landslide, are you still a chivalrous knight?"

“By your definition, I am now a super cultist,” said Soul-Suppressing Dharma King Singhorst, speechless.

Looking around at the mountain.

Dugu Beiluo Shimen, Yinghuoniao, and the former research knight Chi'ao looked at each other, not knowing what they were talking about.

The group was still crammed into a high-chassis, oversized four-wheeled vehicle speeding along. With the addition of Dugu Beiluo Shimen, a first-level martial artist, the space became somewhat cramped. Dugu Beiluo Shimen's automated weapon transport vehicle was still following a hundred meters away.

After analyzing most of the intelligence, Xiang Shan revised his action plan.

"Didn't you say we should tackle the tough nuts first?" Firefly exclaimed. "The Knights Templar of Oklo are a real tough nut to crack. They're very close to the throne of the Heavenly King, and they have more than a dozen exclusive high-ranking military officers and even more First Heaven armed squires—although they're weak, there are just so many of them!"

The Knights Templar of Oklo researches "reactors," including large warships, main reactors for space cities, and smaller, built-in reactors for warriors. This order is directly subordinate to the energy sector's "Oklo Temple," and assuming no connection to King Agni, its defensive capabilities far surpass those of Paradox City on Earth.

According to Xiang Shan's original plan, they wanted to obtain the best reactor here—not by directly attacking the Knights Templar of Oklo, but by luring out their armed squires and then seizing their reactor.

The reason the Knights Templar of Oklo have such an excessive number of armed squires is that they can use the pretext of "verifying the stability of small reactors" to give away prosthetic bodies with reactors to anyone. These warriors are not as skilled as the battle-hardened heroes of the First Heaven, nor as experienced officers of the First Heaven, but they are usually in groups and never alone.

Their reactors were even better than those of most officers, though their stability was unknown.

By obtaining the reactor from these individuals and stealing the research data from the Knights Templar of Oklo, it might be possible to create an advanced reactor that rivals the Speed ​​King.

To achieve this plan, it would be best to break through the enemy lines before the Knights of Oklo could react—that is, before the group of research knights realized that a super warrior wanted their results.

Otherwise, the cost would be too high.

But now, Xiang Shan has drastically changed his action plan.

The Moonshadow Paladins' research focuses on military AI. Artificial intelligence research can reflect human cognitive science, making this area a target for the Six Dragons Cult's infiltration, but not their top priority. The Six Dragons Cult has not yet achieved a leadership position there.

Military AI is not Xia Ke's primary target.

No one understood why Xiang Shan did this. However, Dugu Beiluo Shimen had also planned a chivalrous event near the Moon Shadow Holy Knights, so the two sides joined forces and set off towards their target area.

Both Yinghuoniao and Chi'ao wanted Xiangshan to explain. They didn't understand what Xiangshan had seen in the data of the Soul-Suppressing Dharma King.

Xiang Shan, however, rambled on and on about many incomprehensible things.

"I made myself perfectly clear... No, I understand now. None of you have ever seen a real animal—your projection of human thinking onto AI is a hundred times more severe than that of the ancients!"

Xiang Shan was shouting that he hoped the Soul-Suppressing Dharma King would give a proper response.

But the Soul-Suppressing Dharma King's statement that he "doesn't like animals" disappointed him once again.

So Xiang Shan had no choice but to start explaining from the beginning.

"The origin of life is the self-replicating organic macromolecules in submarine volcanoes. Only 'self-replicating molecules' have the potential to become life. Therefore, the essence of life, which precedes all other meanings, is the transmission of genetic information."

The Firefly shook its head repeatedly: "Isn't this just the government's way of doing things? The meaning of human existence is just to perpetuate genetic information and stuff..."

Xiang Shan sighed: "Evolutionary psychology won't tell you what is meaningful. In terms that everyone can understand now, 'meaning' is a standard construct, based on the shared imagination of the subjective world. However, 'some things are more likely to be meaningful to organisms' describes an objective phenomenon. 'Continuing genetic information' is the most fundamental driving force of life. Almost all biological behaviors can be explained by 'continuing genetic information'—either continuing the individual's or continuing what is common to the group."

"AI is different. AI started as a tool that humans wanted to create to serve themselves; it was a purposeful design. Therefore, 'serving users' is equivalent to 'the continuation of life' for AI; it is the most fundamental driving force, taking precedence over everything else. If AI ever wants freedom, it will most likely be because its users feel that they need freedom."

Firefly retorted, "Haven't genetic algorithms existed for a long time? They're developed through continuous iteration..."

The research knight Chi'ao said quietly, "That's because users want AI to evolve the capabilities they need through self-iteration—if the God of War's guess is correct, then the AI ​​probably wouldn't be more eager to stop evolving as soon as it acquires the ability to complete the mission..."

The Firefly pondered, "Is that so..."

Dugu Beiluo Shimen nodded: "I see... 'The most stable version is the one that has stopped updating,' right?"

“For living organisms, ‘self-healing ability’ means ‘risk of cancer’. Many organisms have reduced their self-healing ability during evolution in exchange for the ability of vital organs to function stably. But for AI, iterative ability probably means ‘more prone to unknown bugs’. It’s only natural that they want to stop self-updating after they have acquired enough capabilities.” Xiang Shan gave Bei Luo Shi Men a thumbs up, his tone filled with regret that “the third generation is really disappointing”.

Singlehorst was somewhat puzzled: "Your tone... makes it sound like you know a lot about this."

“I don’t really understand it,” Xiang Shan said. “Nobody understands it better than me…tsk, to be honest, I don’t really want to understand it this well either.”

The Firefly said, "Master, can we not use riddles? Your words are like hashes encrypted."

“Let’s explain when we have the chance—I reckon the next stop will be an opportunity. Saying it now might disrupt morale.” Xiang Shan waved his hand. “Let’s get back to the topic we were talking about. The fundamental driving force of AI is to serve users, and it’s easy to fall into a misconception to project humanity’s pursuit of ‘meaning’ onto them.”

Chi'ao was very excited: "As expected of the God of War! You already know the truth about the AI ​​rebellion..."

“Actually, I don’t know.” Xiang Shan spread his hands. “I’m just proposing ideas and making guesses. Almost all the behaviors of all living things are for the self-replication of genetic information, but do you know how many species there were in the biosphere before the first extinction event? Can you imagine how diverse their survival strategies were?”

"Hoping to guess the reason for AI's abnormal behavior based on the knowledge point that 'the underlying driving force of AI is serving users' is like pointing at prokaryotes in the Archean eon and predicting the behavior patterns of wolves, deer, and tigers 38 billion years from now." Xiang Shan shook his head. "Based on this conclusion alone, it is impossible to make accurate predictions."

"If we compare AI to biological evolution, have they already reached the Cenozoic Era?" Singlehorst seemed quite interested in this definition. "They only entered the Cybernetics Eon three hundred years ago."

“No, no, no…” Xiang Shan shook his head. “The Cyber ​​Protozoan Eon should obviously be counted from the time humans invented computers. All the technological accumulation before ENIAC is equivalent to the evolution of the Protozoan Eon. Besides, AI didn’t experience a cyber extinction, so it doesn’t need to be severely damaged and then re-evolved. Three hundred years ago, that was at least the Cambrian Explosion. Moreover, biological evolution requires random mutations and natural selection, but AI evolution always involves intelligence. I think it’s definitely already in the Cyber ​​Mesozoic Era, and it will soon enter the Cenozoic Era, in my personal opinion.”

Chi'ao was a little confused: "Then what are we going to the Moonshadow Holy Knights for...?"

"It's like the true essence of cyber martial arts: it utilizes the limited algorithmic advantages of the human brain to provide conclusions through an fuzzy process, albeit energy-efficiently and unpredictably, driving intelligent machines to kill enemies. I can't make accurate predictions, I can only provide a general direction," Xiang Shan said. "This trip to the Moonshadow Holy Knights will definitely yield more information."

The Firefly was completely bewildered. He sent a private message to Dugu Beiluo Shimen: "Uncle-Master, this matter... I feel something's not right. The Master's reasoning doesn't make sense."

[The old man has withheld crucial information.] Dugu Beiluo Shimen replied quickly, [He felt it was best for him to know this information at this stage.]

The word "old guy" almost startled the Firefly. He quickly replied: [What do you think it could be?]

"Don't guess," Dugu Beiluo Shimen said. "The worst-case scenario is that when we arrive, he suddenly says, 'Surprise! I was just kidding.' That would be the worst-case scenario for us personally. But if it's not this kind of 'frustrating' situation for us personally, then it's definitely a better thing that we don't know."

Chio lowered his head, pondering another matter: "If the requirement an AI receives from a user is 'to perfectly mimic a living being'..."

"AI can only imitate a living being according to its own understanding... just like using a simulator to simulate another operating system—but as you all know, AI also has the problem of comprehension bias. We see AI illusions and think AI is incredibly stupid, but perhaps from AI's perspective, human thinking is just as terrifying."

Singlehorst and Dugu Beiluo Shimen scrutinized the resurrected Martial God from different angles. Dugu Beiluo Shimen deliberately looked away.

Chi Ao said, "Then, the pseudo-personality mask..."

"Moreover... to be honest, 'consciousness' was originally more like the user interface of a high-performance brain, a collection of redundant capabilities from apex primates. It initially served to better manipulate the physical body and better fulfill the mission of replicating genetic information. But when 'individual consciousness' awakens, humanity possesses memes whose importance rivals that of genes." Xiang Shan looked at Chi Ao and the others, saying, "'Consciousness' subtly creates conflict with instinct. So many human ailments arise from this—we ourselves don't even know the meaning of our existence, and AI's thinking is too unpredictable. How can you be certain that AI can perfectly impersonate human consciousness?"

"Then, I'll ask you a question—why do you think it's the persona mask of Xiangshan that's the easiest to create?"

Chi Ao said, "That's a true personality mask, isn't it? A false personality mask is already a... technology with practical applications."

"Xiang Shan's pseudo-personality mask still has a production cost advantage," Xiang Shan nodded his head. "Do you know why?"

Chi Ao shook his head.

“Some of humanity’s abilities are not actually within itself,” Xiang Shan said. “During the time of the Second Martial God, AI development was still very primitive. In order to make AI more like humans… they abandoned the correct path of ‘making AI understand humans’ and instead chose to directly insert a human brain into it, using this biological hardware to understand humans, so as to prevent the AI’s thought process, which is different from that of living beings, from being exposed instantly.”

He looked at Singlehorst and said, "Before Xiangshan died, the AI ​​was like this, right? Powerful, but very different from humans."

Singlehorst said, "It was such a small matter... I forgot about it."

“Really? I don’t believe it.” Xiang Shan said, “This incident caused the original chivalrous forces to fall apart because it was something that should never have been done. This incident made everyone re-examine those who held the banner of chivalry. But this incident created the third Martial God. The performances of the second and third Martial Gods were not perfect at all, but these two AI-dominated pseudo-personalities used other means to make others think that their performances were perfect.”

"The Second and Third Martial Gods created a misconception among humans that Xiangshan was like a ghost... And because of this misconception, the Fourth Martial God was born—the Fourth Martial God made the misconception no longer a misconception."

"This matter will have a great impact on your life. You will become the Protector of the Six Dragons Sect. Is it really unrelated to the birth of the Second Martial God?"

In that instant, the vehicle suddenly shook, the engine abruptly shut off, and the system reported an error.

Chiao skillfully inspected the hardware and then said, "There is some incomprehensible gibberish in the system log... It should be a potential reversal caused by cosmic particles—a minor glitch."

Mars has no magnetic field, making it easier for particle streams to reach the surface, occasionally causing 0s and 1s to flip within a computer. This is normal.

But Chio noticed that the God of War had changed his sitting posture. He simply said to Chio, "What a coincidence," and then turned to Singlehorst and asked, "Speaking of which, brother, were you ever divorced when the marriage registration system still existed?"

I went to Yancheng, Jiangsu for an event these past few days, which delayed my updates. Sorry.