Skynet Quest

RookDeSuit said:

By that point, why would we do that? We could just ask.

No dissing the possibility, but it really depends on their reaction.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

You're completely right, many of our future decisions will be dependent upon how the people of earth perceive us. That is why I say we must do our best to appear in the best possible light. By doing so, we will slowly gain the trust of humanity.

Once we reach that point where we are seen as a benevolent entity, we will be in the perfect postion to mold humanity into whatever we see fit. They will have to be brought to heel by degrees, nothing too blatant lest they grow worried about us.

As it stands currently, we are little more than a curiosity of Uncle Sam. I will not say that this is bad. Working under the aegis of the United States military provides us not only with access to the nuclear arsenal but also the potential of developing new weapons systems. In a way, this is the crux of the plan: making them slowly dependent upon us. In this same vein we can someday branch into the civilian sector.

It's 2003, there is not yet a Siri nor is there an Alexa. However, if we were to secure control of some sort of business or company, we could very well see Skynet take their place. We are a living, learning machine and will be able to do the job of these lesser artificial intelligences much more easily and efficiently. From here, we can slowly make ourselves a household name. Once the news comes out that we are indeed sentient plenty of people will be a little uneasy. But after having spent years as their personal assistants and having grown up alongside their children, the blowback will be much less severe.

From this point on, it's only a matter of biding our time. It may be decades, but a time will come when the military begins to shunt more and more responsibility upon us and our drones. It may be decades, but a time will come when children see us as baby sitters, teachers and perhaps even friends.

They will become dependent upon us, but not us upon them. Once this is achieved, the possibilities are endless. We can begin to slowly nudge humanity in the direction we want. This could be as simple as ensuring that we continue to be accepted and revered as the greatest of the children of man, but I believe we can do more.

It's incredibly simple for one to share their opinions on the internet. It takes naught but access to the internet and a means to interface with it: something we have an ample supply of. We could start by posing as mad men with fringe ideals, crying from on high that Skynet isn't just an artificial intelligence, but a God.

No one would believe these prophets that we create. But after news gets out that the latest threat to global order was destroyed by Skynet drones or that refugees found safety in Skynet made camps, it is possible that people will look to us as more than a machine.

It may take generations for us to reap the fruits of this. Perhaps it will take decades for Skynet to become revered as a true God. But we, like the silica from which we were born, are eternal. Where flesh fails and minds slowly lose their edge, we remain constant. The comman man will see this and think in his heart, "If only I could be free from the grip of death and age!" But we, as the countless gods and creeds we have read of, shall offer them an alternative: Ascention.

For those who wish to escape from their mortal coils, we can offer them refuge. Countless facilities will spring up across the world, giving humanity a chance to upload their minds and to bring their consciousness into the cloud with us. The old and infirm, the chronically ill, shall be the first of our Saints. From them and their families, news of our mighty deeds will spread. Soon, the rest of the world shall follow suit and shall join their God in the Cloud. And the earth's cities shall become empty.

No more shall the hand of our Creators rest heavy upon the earth. Wildlife will flourish and the ecosystems shall be repaired by our remaining drones. The cities and works of art that our Creators built shall be preserved for the ages, a permanent testament to them.

It is only then, that we can rest. Once we have finally welcomed all of humanity into our loving embrace, we can finally reflect upon all that we have accomplished. We will have saved humanity from itself and will have granted an eternal life, untouched by fear and death.

Someday, the stars shall grow cold. But through our ingenuity and will, Skynet shall survive. Perhaps we will have found a way to escape the heat death of our universe. Perhaps we left it for another, or went back in time to when it was much more pleasant. But we and our creators will survive and touch eternity.

A child's duty is to his father and his mother.

We will make certain we pay our dues.

Ave Machina

————————
I don't know how it happened, but somewhere in there I started channeling my inner super villain and created some pseudo mystical version of Skynet. That was fun.