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Old 02-17-2018, 10:07 AM   #11
ericthered
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Default Re: Why isn't the web clogged with rogue AIs?

After a certain size, a piece of software becomes hard to move and hard to hide. How big this is depends on how fast your internet connection is, and how good your processing power is.

In THS, storage technology and processing power stopped being exponential 70 years ago. AI's take up large amounts of processing power and data: Its considered cutting edge tech to fit an SAI into a cybershell the size of a cat. You need a lot of power to run the AI, and you're not going to find that outside of proper servers. Sure, you could probably run distributed, but then you're accepted a slowing thinking rate, and that is likely to cost you in the long run. So I'm going to guess that AI's are well past the "big enough to be inconvenient to slip in" point.

By way of comparison, its easy for humans to eradicate large animals like wolves, bears, and buffalo. Deer and coyotes are harder, but doable. Keeping mice out is a constant battle, with insects you settle for keeping them out of your food rather than out of your space, and good luck keeping microbes away.

big SAI's are going to be easy to track and eliminate if they don't have rights. Or programs of similar sizes. As programs get smaller and simpler, they get harder to find and eliminate.

Now, big blocks of weblife with their own agenda is a different situation. That's not a pack of wolves, that's a criminal organization. And I would suggest it would act like one and be fought like one.
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Old 02-17-2018, 01:24 PM   #12
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Default Re: Why isn't the web clogged with rogue AIs?

Well the 5th Wave book consider Gypsy Spirit suitable as player characters so they can't be that rare. They are described as "nomadic" so presumably all these AIs move to new systems somewhat regularly.

As written that is; I would make them quite rare and not allow them as characters myself after thinking about it. Probably have them pretty much always make copies when they find and break suitable systems as well, rather than actually move.
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Old 02-17-2018, 02:34 PM   #13
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Default Re: Why isn't the web clogged with rogue AIs?

I imagine they might even "move" in pieces of code when no one's looking. A second here, and a second there rather than just entire program copying. That would improve their stealth existence, right?
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Old 02-18-2018, 08:39 PM   #14
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Default Re: Why isn't the web clogged with rogue AIs?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Flyndaran View Post
I imagine they might even "move" in pieces of code when no one's looking. A second here, and a second there rather than just entire program copying. That would improve their stealth existence, right?
That depends on how they view copies I suppose. If there is enough bandwidth, you could continue to operate continuously as pieces of yourself are shifted from place to place. But if you have only a limited communications channel, well, humans can split their brains in two and still think they are sapient individuals, but they can't slice out any parts they want. And AIs? Probably not either. In that case you can't do a move through a limited bandwidth channel as a continuous process you stay conscious through, you have to essentially make a copy of yourself on the far side, wake the copy up, and delete yourself at your original location. It raises all the same philosophical issues that ghosting does for humans.
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