From Pitman's attitude, Bertilla realized that the 'synthetic brain' technology she created seemed to be more important than she had expected. The extraterrestrial wanderer, who always thought one step ahead of others, seemed to have seen some broader development prospects from this technology, or … had already arranged some future applications for it.
"Can I ask?" She thought for a moment and could not help but ask curiously, "What are you going to do with these 'brains'? It's not just to expand the scale of the psionic singers and create more mind-aiding devices, right? "
Pitman silently glanced at Bertilla. After a moment of thought, he smiled and asked, "Have you seen those rumbling factories?"
"Factories?" Bertilla was startled for a moment and then nodded. "Of course. Although I can't move now, there are many factories in the Sorin region. I have seen factories that produce clothes and metal containers, and factories that treat sewage and recycle ooze … Those machines are impressive."
"Yes, impressive, but perhaps they can be even more impressive." Pitman raised his eyebrows. "Those machines are powerful and efficient, but compared to the dexterous craftsmen, what they can do is still too little and too crude. As a Gondor, you should know how the magic workshops worked more than seven hundred years ago …"
"Are you going to let the machines … learn to think?" Bertilla finally understood what Pitman meant. Her eyes widened. "Use those synthetic brains?"
"Not only that, we may even let the factories learn to think." Pitman nodded. "Imagine this scenario — our factory is a huge steel behemoth, and this steel behemoth has a brain. The thinking device in the center of the factory is immersed in the loyal wetware mainframe. Its nerve fibers spread along the pipes in the workshop, and every machine is its end. All the gears and levers are now dexterous, doing delicate work like the fingers of a craftsman, and the workers and technicians only need to give instructions and design more advanced workflows …"
Bertilla did not speak for a few seconds. She thought that if she still had a heart, it might have stopped beating for a moment. She admitted that she was attracted by the scene described by Pitman, but she also felt an inexplicable sense of … vigilance. Finally, she shook her head and stared into the eyes of the Chief Druil of the Empire. "Why didn't I know that you have such exquisite phrasing skills?"
"Because these words were said by His Majesty, I'm responsible for reciting them," Pitman admitted casually. "He has conceived of an amazing production method … But then again, he also emphasized the disturbing parts behind this technology, such as whether these brains will be out of control, whether they will have their own 'thoughts', and the role of human beings in the factory … You are also a technician, and you have lived through the Gondor era. You should understand what His Majesty is worried about."
"Yes, I can understand. Fortunately, he is already worried about this. His worry is a relief to me," Bertilla said, making a human-like exhaling motion. "How should I put it … the future you have just described even made me feel a little nervous … When I imagined that the factories and machines would start to think, the nervousness was even worse."
She then paused as if she was thinking, and then continued, "But fortunately, we don't really have to be so nervous. At the current stage, the synthetic brain I have created does not have the physiological conditions to produce 'self-consciousness'. It is an auxiliary computing organ that can quickly summarize and summarize a large amount of data and undertake some work of transmitting consciousness signals. But in essence, its nerve nodes cannot independently think about complex problems. So unless we reset all the structures of the synthetic brain, we don't have to worry about the brain suddenly becoming self-conscious and out of control.
"On the other hand, it is precisely because these brains can only perform computing tasks and simple commands. If they are really used to control machines, they can only do preset things and carry out not complicated repetitive operations. So we don't have to worry about the collective unemployment of humans in the factories … But the number of jobs will definitely decrease."
"His Majesty is not only worried about human unemployment. In fact, this is not even an important problem." Pitman shook his head. "In fact, the biggest problem in factories everywhere is the shortage of workers. Even if more than half of the machines have the ability to operate automatically in the future, the shortage of jobs will still be huge … But this is not what we are talking about today.
"Anyway, since the situation is as you said, I am personally relieved."
Bertilla looked up and down at Pitman. She was thinking, and then said thoughtfully, "Since we are talking about the topic of 'making machines think,' I have some ideas of my own …"
"Go ahead." Pitman immediately nodded. "You are very professional in this aspect."
"It has nothing to do with my expertise. I just thought of something in the Gondor era," Bertilla said. The winding vines and branches behind her rustled on the floor. "You should know that as early as the Gondor era, humans had created 'machines' that could think. At that time, we called them 'ironmen', and modern puppet technology can be regarded as the remnants of this' intelligent 'technology. Of course, the mind core of the ironmen and the arcane core of the puppets were fundamentally different from the 'synthetic brain', but they also had similarities, such as … the possibility of losing control.
"And in the Gondor era, to prevent the ironmen from losing control, we used a special method."
"Special method?" Pitman suddenly showed a curious look. "What method?"
"I only know the general idea. After all, my brothers and I were just small nobles at the border, and what I am about to talk about is the cutting-edge human technology at that time," Bertilla said slowly as she recalled. "Back then, the ironmen of Gondor were integrated into a system called the 'ironmen network'. This system was like the common 'brain' of the ironmen. They could only move under the control of this network, and the upper node of this network … guess what it was?"
"The upper node?" Pitman frowned, but then he thought of a certain person, a disobedient as ancient as Kamal. "Wait a minute, I've got it …"
"Just as you guessed," Bertilla nodded. "It was the royal family of Gondor at that time, the Norton Family.
"Every member of the Norton Family would undergo neural modification when they were alive so that their brains could be integrated into the ironmen network like the ironmen. Even after death, their consciousness would be preserved and continue to operate in the ironmen network in some form. Generation after generation, the royal family of Norton used this method to maintain absolute control over the 'ironmen', the highly intelligent mechanical soldiers. Although Gondor is now gone, the ironmen never lost control until the day the ancient empire fell. "
Pitman opened his mouth and muttered after a while, "Why does this method of preserving consciousness remind me of the Immortals …"
"Yes, although they are different things, they have something in common," Bertilla said. "Many of the miraculous things we do today were done by the Kingdom of Gondor thousands of years ago."
Pitman's expression was a little complicated. "No wonder Kamel, Veronica, and even His Majesty often say that our technological development in many fields is not 'creation', but restoration and reconstruction …"
"So I rarely think that a specific technology today can be called a 'miracle'," Bertilla twitched the corner of her mouth and showed a slightly stiff smile. "To me, the biggest miracle of the Cecil Empire today is not the technology itself, but the way you have found a way to promote these technologies to all of mankind, and the thought and spirit you have shown in the process … This is the part that the Kingdom of Gondor was lacking."
"This should be the biggest compliment you can give. It's not easy." Pitman smiled and sighed. "All in all, the information you revealed is very important. Although we can't recreate the Ironman Network now, we have the Narrator Neural Network, and now we have the technology to connect those synthetic brains to the network … What you said is very important for us."
"But please don't forget that the Neural Network also has risks," Bertilla reminded him solemnly. "If there is one thing I have learned in the years when I fell into the dark cult, the most important thing is that any technology has risks. There is no perfect and always effective security plan in the world. With the development of technology, risks are also developing and brewing at the same time. The Ironman Network of the past did not have any problems, but in my opinion, it was only because the Kingdom of Gondor was destroyed earlier. At the end of the day, it is normal for there to be risks in technology, but the biggest risk is a carefree attitude. If one day you really think that there is a technology in the world that has no hidden dangers and no accidents at all, then you are in for a real disaster. "
As she spoke, her eyes that lacked emotion and spirituality looked into Pitman's eyes without blinking. She seemed to be reminding him that she had lost her human body to strengthen her persuasiveness. "Please tell my words to Brother Gwen. Although he may not need my reminder, I still hope that these reminders will always exist."
Pitman probably did not expect the former hierarch to suddenly say such words. He was a little surprised, but in the end, he nodded solemnly. "I will. And I will also record what you said today and tell the researchers who have just entered the field of knowledge."
"That's good." Bertilla finally withdrew her gaze from Pitman. She turned her head and glanced at the culture bags lined on the wall. There was a sudden smile in her voice. "Well, let's relax a little. It is a little too early to talk too much about these things. After all, what you have just described is something that has not been realized at all. Before considering whether the synthetic brain technology is risky, let's talk about how these brains can be connected to ordinary machines. As far as I am concerned, the existing immersion chambers and artificial nerve cord are not so easy to use. "
…
"It is normal for technology to have risks, but the biggest risk is the carefree attitude …" Gwen whispered to himself softly. He could not help but shake his head. "It seems that Bertilla is very cautious about using the 'synthetic brain' on a large scale, even though these 'brains' were originally designed by her."
Veronica stood in Gwen's study with a platinum scepter in her hand. She smiled. "The first synthetic brain was made by the Solin Tree. It is essentially an extension of Bertilla's mind. She is not worried. But if you want to mass-produce this technology, the synthetic brain cultivated in the biochemical factory will not be controlled by the Solin Tree. It is normal for Bertilla to be worried."
"… The Doomsday Society had paid a heavy price because of the technology gone out of control and the 'carefree' attitude. Bertilla herself was part of the price. This has changed her attitude," Gwen said. "She is the most outstanding Druil, but now she is very cautious about everything she creates. This caution has even reached the level of lack of confidence … Although she has been very careful to control this mentality, this can still be seen from the words she uses in some of her experimental reports."
"From another point of view, her caution is a good thing," Veronica said softly. "Let the factory learn to think, use artificial brains to control machines … and even use them to control weapons in the future. This is indeed something that needs to be dealt with carefully."
"The wetware server gave me an idea. Since those brains can directly control the dragoons, obviously they can also be used to control other things." Gwen rubbed his chin. On the desk in front of him was a tidy document and information. A few pages were frontline combat reports about the wetware server and the psionic choir. The other pages were sketches of the synthetic brain controlling machines and commanding factories. "Actually, I am a little surprised. Early in the Gondor era, there were thinking 'machines' like the 'ironmen', and some magic workshops also had 'demonic spirits' to assist in production. I thought Bertilla, who had experienced the Gondor civilization, would at least be more open-minded in this regard …"
"Even the Gondor people did not use a real artificial brain to control those machines. This is a plan that no one has ever thought of," Veronica said. "Compared to the mind core or demonic spirits, the biological brain obviously has more variables. And from an ordinary person's point of view, the biological brain will naturally be unsettling. This is normal."
"Yes, this is normal." Gwen smiled and looked at Veronica. "What about you? What do you think of it? "
"… When humans first took fire from lightning, it was also unsettling."
Gwen looked at Veronica deeply.
After a long while, he smiled. "I understand."
(Happy holidays everyone! Double the period, begging for monthly votes!)
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