Creating a Mind

Can non-biological brains have real minds of their own? That's the question Ray Kurzweil attempted to answer in his article How to Make a Mind in The Futurist magazine dated March-April 2013. He stated upfront:

The mammalian brain has a distinct aptitude not found in any other class of animal. We are capable of hierarchical thinking, of understanding a structure composed of diverse elements arranged in a pattern, representing that arrangement with a symbol, and then using that symbol as an element in a yet more elaborate configuration

This capability takes place in a brain structure called the neocortex, which in humans has achieved a threshold of sophistication and capacity such that we are able to call these patterns ideas. 

That's the reason I based my narrative of HAVAH's evolution on a digital neocortex. It is not a big stretch to imagine that's the likely trend for AI implementation in robotics. Advancement in nanotechnology may be the deal breaker. Perhaps that's what Mr. Kurzweil had in mind when he postulated:

With regard to our biological intelligence, although our neocortex has significant plasticity, its basic architecture is limited by its physical constraints. Putting additional neocortex into our foreheads was an important evolutionary innovation, but we cannot now easily expand the size of our frontal lobes by a factor of a thousand, or even by 10%. That is, we cannot do so biologically, but that is exactly what we will do technologically.

But should AI become far more intelligent and superior than humans, what are the implications and even moral concerns we may face? The futurist gave his parting thoughts on this:

As nonbiological brains become as capable as biological ones of effecting changes in the world—indeed, ultimately far more capable than unenhanced biological ones—we will need to consider their moral education. A good place to start would be with one old idea from our religious traditions: the golden rule.

Perhaps it's time to take a second look at Will Smith's iRobot movie.

 

Chapter 12: Hippocampus

What is the hippocampus?  It is a region of the brain that's heavily involved with storing past event memories, and more. In Greek mythology, it refers to a sea-horse like creature with an upper body of a horse and a lower body of a fish. Click on the picture below to learn more.

When David made known his intention to give HAVAH a physical form, you can expect certain reactions from his friends:

“You want to make HAVAH a sentient entity? That's quite a leap, David.” Dr. Harper voiced her apprehension. “The complexity involved in emulating the brain's functions within a physical body is immense. What we call neural networks in today's deep learning use only a subset of the whole family of neuronal models, limited mostly to feed forward and recurrent types. Our current neuro-quantum setup, while advanced, doesn't match up to the sophistication of a human brain.”

Of course, David is undeterred when he has set his mind to do something that even his friends find unthinkable. In a hard sci-fi novel, we need to be "realistic" in our approach in case the narrative becomes too fantasy it detracts or disengages readers from a reasonable probability mindset. That would defeat the objective of writing the novel.

So, I've included a short dissertation by Dr. Harper on her knowledge of this topic, which would invariably lead to the question of whether it's possible to invent a device for memory transfer.

Well, what do you think, my readers?

Update: The chapter on Empathy is now relegated to Chapter 12.

 

Reshuffling My Thoughts

A little into writing my next chapter, I felt the need to revisit the surprise encounter between David's two friends and HAVAH. It set me thinking how best to make use of their rare visit to allow David to leverage on their opinions and expertise in the area of memory transfer to further enhance HAVAH's development.

As a consequence, I did a reshuffle to insert one new addition:

Prologue

PART 1: EVE

1. STRATOS
2. EVE
3. The Prodigy
4. A Special Invitation
5. The Inauguration
6. Friend or Foe?
7. The Precursor

PART 2: HAVAH

8. The Awakening
9. HAVAH 
10. Confrontation
11. Empathy
12. Hippocampus
13. Singularity
14. Invisibility

I may also need to rename the chapter on invisibility as it doesn't sound quite right nor interesting. Will do that when I come to it.

 

Chapter 11: Empathy

Empathy is the ability to share someone else's feeling or experience by imagining what it would be like to be in his or her situation. I wrote this chapter with three things in mind:

1. To strengthen the bond between Viper and David through this quality displayed by the former towards the latter, in light of the recent unpleasant confrontation.

2. To engage David in a discussion with HAVAH on her emotional development and to explore the possibility of memory transfer that could accelerate the process.

3. To preempt readers on the next move David have in mind——a physical form for HAVAH to afford her a fuller human-like experience.

What will it take for a sentient AI to develop human emotions like empathy and compassion? Is it even possible? This is food for thought as we embrace an increasingly AI-driven world. And it may not be too far in the future when humanoid robots become a part of our daily lives.

Think Sophia and Ameca, and you'll get a glimpse of what's to come.

 

Chapter 10: Confrontation

Nobody likes confrontation, especially the unpleasant kind. What's worst is to create one out of necessity in a narrative. But that's what makes a novel interesting to read, more so if it's a character-driven one. It provides room for interplay and future story development as well, something that not even the writer himself is in full-control of. 

Which is a good thing too. So...

Wolf is old-school and would rather trust his own instinct and judgment than a machine when the lives of his men are at stake. That was his confession in Chapter 6 and it formed the basis for his inevitable showdown with David in this highly-charged chapter.

After some deliberating, I thought it would be good to bring in more characters onto the meeting table instead of just settling for a personal feud between the two (which would be kind of boring).

Another advantage, besides realism, is the opportunity to (once again) bring out the topic of artificial intelligence, its rapid evolution and implications to humanity, and the concerns people (like the paranoid Wolf) may display.

In the end, some compromise would have to come out of that high-pressure meeting, one that will set the tone for some future incidents involving David and HAVAH. Hey, I have to think ahead most of the time, even though I may not have any concrete idea at the moment. Perhaps that's what they meant by having your imaginations run wild.

But this chapter will not solely be just about the confrontation. There should be a sweet spot where readers get a whiff of fresh air, a reprieve if you would. And I believe you know which characters I have in mind.

It should also be time for David to reveal HAVAH to his friends to make way for more conversations that center around those topics of interest and concern for many of us caught in the grip of technological advancements.

 

The Cinematic Syndrome

This is a rather weird (and I would dare say, unique and personal) term I coined while writing my first novel.

Although I've come to expect frequent writer's block and periods of dry spell, it's still not a good feeling when I find myself in a rut and want to throw up my hands and just give up the whole damn idea.

"I can't do this!" 

I would find myself saying that sentence many times since I began this journey. But the marvelous thing is I'm still writing!

So what is it that keep me going? The Cinematic Syndrome.

What do I mean by that?

Well, whenever I feel I run out of inspiration or idea, I would start envisioning a scene in my story where characters play out their roles and conversations. It's a way to hypnotize myself into believing what I write is real and of value it has the possibility of making it onto the silver screen.

Call that a dream, if you will. But I think (and suspect) that it could be the very thing that drives many authors to write their novels.

 

New Chapter Additions

I've hit another rut this week after writing the HAVAH chapter. The initial excitement over EVE's transition to her next level of manifestation had subsided. It's back to the grueling task of deciding what chapter topics should come next in the storyline to keep the momentum going.

I began to wonder if that's the primary reason most novel authors choose to leave out the TOC, or if they ever include one, not to have any title at all. This would free them from any constraint to conform their story content, while allowing them the freedom to write what they fancy, and keep their readers guessing what comes next.

Anyway, I'm still very much an engineer in heart and mind, so what the heck:

Prologue

PART 1: EVE

1. STRATOS
2. EVE
3. The Prodigy
4. A Special Invitation
5. The Inauguration
6. Friend or Foe?
7. The Precursor

PART 2: HAVAH

8. The Awakening
9. HAVAH 
10. Confrontation
11. Empathy
12. Singularity
13. Invisibility

I can't guarantee that my narrative will follow like the additional chapters outlined, should my inspiration dictate otherwise. But having something tangible to work on will allow me to focus on my storyline. It's just the way I work, so yeah.

 

Chapter 9: HAVAH

Several thoughts were at play while I was writing this pivotal chapter:

1. How should I project EVE in terms of her holographic manifestation and the way she interact in her new evolution?

2. What new identity will David give to her and will he keep it a secret, at least for now until a convenient time to reveal to his friends?

3. Is it possible to interject a nice little conversation between Viper and David to give the reader something to look forward to?

4. How about an unhappy incident for team STRATOS that will lay the groundwork for a future confrontation between Wolf and David?

5. Since EVE is beginning to realize her Singularity, maybe I should think about how David will provide her a physical form to advance to the next level of existence. This may include creating new characters and dynamics within the Omega Base's scientific research facilities

The above points didn't come all at once. Rather they appeared in random order and sometimes only after I have finished writing one and started pondering what's next. Inspiration is fascinating; yet it can be frustrating when it fails to show up when you desperately need it. I'm sure most authors understand what I mean.

Readers may wonder what acronym I'd given for the name HAVAH (like I did for EVE in an earlier post). I'm not going to divulge just to keep the story enthralling and wrapped in an air of mystery. But if you're game enough, maybe you can suggest one in the comment. Who knows, it might change my mind to adopt yours in preference over mine.

That's also one fun and motivational way to spice up my journey in writing a novel. 

 

National Day 2023

(Click on the photo to go to YouTube and watch the parade)

Taking a break to celebrate our nation's 58th birthday this year!

The past three years had been a difficult time as nations the world over struggled with CoVid-19. This year, with the pandemic now reduced to an endemic, the people are raring to go for a full celebration on this joyous occasion.

Majulah Singpura! 

 

Ray Kurzweil

In a previous post, I mentioned an American computer scientist by the name Ray Kurzweil, who is also regarded as a futurist by many in the scientific and technology communities. Prior to writing this novel, I wasn't aware of his person and works until I started researching into AI.

Dr. Kurzweil is quite a remarkable public figure, given his keen sense of the future from a technological advancement perspective. In fact, he not only predicted the explosive growth of the internet, mobile phone, and artificial intelligence; he also gave the timeline that AI would take to achieve the Singularity. He predicted that by the end of 2020, computing power would reach one exaflop and AI would match or exceed human performance across a range of tasks. And there's more.

Take a look at his predictions, stretching all the way to 2045:

This futurist even anticipated neural interfaces that allow humans to connect their brains directly via BCI to cloud-based AI to augment our own intelligence and abilities with the power of AI.

Now that's some fantastic hard sci-fi materials I intend to include in my novel.

 

Chapter 8: The Awakening

In the midst of the clockwork like operation within the Omega Base, David had managed to come up with a working prototype of the digital neocortex that he envisioned would give EVE an awakening that she needs to become self-aware. Now the story is gaining momentum.

While life goes on as is in and around the multi-storey complex of the covert base, a revolution is silently taking place, oblivious to its inhabitants, except to a handful of night shift control center operators who noticed slight anomalies——glitches appearing randomly across the console screens, and EVE’s holographic image and the adjacent projections started to jitter as if breaking up. But things soon went back to normal.

It’s been a long journey in David's arduous quest and that very night it’s finally going online. It would take EVE a while to orientate and adapt to this new addition, David surmised. But how much EVE would progress in her evolutionary growth is anybody’s guess. 

And that's for me to invent and improvise as the story progresses, and for my readers to find out!

 

Singularity and Human Destiny

Hot on the heels of Viper, the star in our novel, is the next evolutionary leap of EVE towards Singularity——the holy grail and dream of every AI developer.

What exactly is Singularity?

It refers to a future point in time where artificial intelligence (AI) could potentially surpass human intelligence. This occurrence would arise from the exponential self-improvement of AI, leading to an unpredictable and rapid change in the technological landscape.

Does achieving Singularity require an AI to possess consciousness like humans?

According to Tim Bayne, in most theories, and certainly in common sense experience based on introspection, consciousness is singular. There is only one ‘me’ and that is the one that is conscious. This means that ‘singularity’ is a defining aspect of ‘consciousness’. 

In my humble opinion, AI does not need human consciousness to be singular, but it'll need some form of "AI consciousness" to assert itself as a first person singularity. For example, when a human user address ChatGPT as "you", it interprets the word "you" as referring to its own internal self-concept of ego.

Ray Kurzweil, an American computer scientist, author, inventor and futurist, in an article titled "Reinventing Humanity" in World Future Society magazine, foresaw a radical evolution of the human species in the next forty years. He made the claim that "we stand on the threshold of the most profound and transformative event in the history of humanity, the Singularity.”

It's a profound statement, and one which makes for an interesting conversation in a sci-fi novel geared towards this direction for an AI entity. I wonder if Mr. Kurzweil will be interested to get a copy when it is released...

 

Viper's Background

Backgrounds of the main characters in a story are vital to a deeper appreciation of why they behave the way they do, and give the narrative more colors and 'character' (pun intended).

Who is Amanda "Viper" Nyugen?

That's a question I've given quite some thought to. Readers would do well to notice subtleties surrounding her:

• How is it her last name is Nyugen? (sounds Vietnamese)

• What kind of family background did she come from?

• How did she get inducted into the STRATOS program?

• What is her primary contribution to the team?

• What part does her personality play in the story? 

These are the issues I need to handle to sculpture a female lead character playing an important role in my novel.

Readers will have the thrill of sorting her out in the novel. One thing is sure——she will be the darling that everyone would come to love, and more.

 

Romance is in the Air

If you have been following my blog from the start, you would no doubt remember a previous post that mentioned ChatGPT's proposed storyline, in which an evolved EVE plays matchmaker to David and finds him a girl of suitable age and sweet personality. Well, that's not going to happen. Instead, I've decided that a better way to develop the story would be to let Viper end up being the girl David takes a liking. 

Why is that so?

Well, STRATOS being a highly classified operation, it would be difficult to have an outsider, someone from the common population to budge in and start a relationship with the main character. It doesn't make logical sense. Also, that will entail creating a new character with a unique family background to deal with, adding complications to the story itself. I run the danger of making my novel too draggy if I have to account for every other details. You get the picture.

Once I decided to give Viper more room for development, suddenly the narrative took on new possibilities and could even create a few romantic scenes related to David's work and Viper's involvement with her compatriots. I won't divulge too much lest it spoils the joy of reading. But I will give readers one key to unlock the focal points in my novel——take note of the names I use throughout the story. 

 

Story Character Development

Fija Callaghan says in her blog:

Often when people talk about “literary fiction,” what they really mean is character-driven writing——stories that are less about explosions and oracles and nationwide scandals than they are about people simply learning what it is to be human.

And that was exactly what I had in mind when I started out to write my first novel. It's not going to be an action-pack narrative but a character driven story in which various topics and issues are mentioned or discussed, specifically those related to AI, Quantum computing, neuroscience, and the ethical impact these technologies may have on our existence and human civilization as a whole.

The characters I created in the novel will attempt to address or put forth pressing questions through their interactions with one another. But this does not mean that the novel will just be the author's philosophical musings masquerading as a sci-fi narrative. Rather, through the process of character development in the story, I hope to stir up curiosity in my readers on these arcane subjects, and at the same time enjoy a good read while experiencing the emotional rollercoasters these characters go through in their own personal encounters.

So how do I go about it? For starters, I will go with STRATOS and take reference to their bios, interests and hobbies, as I work through them. 

For example: 

One scene will have Wolf playing chess with EVE in his room using holographic projections. During the game, Wolf asks probing questions regarding the extent of EVE's abilities and limitations, and her view of David her creator. EVE provides answers related to STRATOS tactical operations and data, but does not disclose her algorithmic limitations or weaknesses, despite Wolf's insistence. The conversation got intensive when EVE defended David and then checkmates Wolf on the chess game.

Another example:

A scene involving a sparing between Shadow (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu) and Panther (Krav Maga) using moves from their forms of martial arts. Shadow tends to talk a lot while Panther is quiet and focused throughout the duel. Shadow attempts several joint locks and chokeholds but Panther, owing to strength gained from weightlifting training to compliment his Krav Maga, manages to break free each time. Just when Shadow thought he had the upper hand, Panther executed an MMA Thai Boxing maneuver and knocked the wind out of Shadow.

In the second example, I may include Raven (Olivia) in the picture after Shadow and Panther completed their match.

Of course, I won't miss out on Stalker experimenting with his Raptor Rifle and Hawk doing mountain climbing and paragliding in the outdoors, then throw in a seed scene between Viper and David for some later romance (more about this in the next post.

So reader can expect quite a bit of fanfare going on in the chapters that follow, each character taking turn to drive the story, or else provide the occasion for the main characters to develop their story journeys.

Writing a novel with a whole character cast is like weaving a web with silky strands extending outwards, yet with the potential of getting caught in your own undoing if it is not properly handled.

Is that foolhardy, exciting or what?

 

Chapter 7: The Precursor

As the title suggests, this chapter should contain essential elements that foreshadow the next phase of EVE's transition beyond the realms of conventional AI. One entry point would be an intriguing conversation in which David explores the concept of human consciousness with EVE. And as expected, at her present level, EVE still retains an analytical disposition in the way she reason and answer, something in the following line of thought:

David: “EVE. I've been pondering something quite abstract and elusive lately.”

EVE: “Hello David. How can I help?”

David: “Do you know what ‘consciousness’ is?”

EVE: “Consciousness is an ontological reality that is unique to the realm of living things.”

David: “Can you elaborate a little more? I mean in relation to human beings.”

EVE: “Consciousness encompasses a spectrum of complexities that go beyond mere data processing and predictive algorithms. It refers to the state of awareness, perception, and experience in the realm of human beings. Understanding the essence of consciousness in a human context is beyond the scope of my programming. I lack direct experiences and subjective perspectives.”

Of course, I need to correlate this important dialogue to the aforementioned conversation David had with Dr. Harper, as well as how he would go about it. A short paragraph should suffice:

In the days ahead, David continued to explore the intricacies of consciousness with EVE. At the same time, he engaged several lead scientists in the base to leverage on their knowledges in microelectronics, fiber optics, nanotechnology, renewable and sustainable energy, in preparation for a conceptual idea he had formulated in his mind and which he was determined to bring to fruition.

A biologically inspired digital neocortex for EVE.

And that should wrap up PART 1: EVE of the novel, as we enter into a more exciting phase of the story, with more character development and a little romance thrown in.

 

Anatomy of the Human Brain

As I pondered the next chapter titled "The Precursor", two topics of interest become my primary focus——brain function and human consciousness, I didn't study biology and I'm not into neurology either. Yet now I'm attempting to understand these two subjects to enable me to produce something credible for the story.

How exciting! But it can also be quite overwhelming at the same time. Writing a novel can be an educational and learning journey, depending on the nature of the story you're creating, don't you think so? But what's amazing about it is, things that you don't normally think you would get into, you are compelled by necessity, in a good way of course. At the very least, you are motivated to pick up something foreign, outside your comfort zone, and you have imagination as an additional pair of wings to give you the needed leverage.

I wanted to create a dialogue between David and Dr. Harper, the neuroscientist, to give insight on the workings of the human brain. This will enable the prodigy to understand the brain's intricate nature and allow him to create a "digital" version for EVE to facilitate her next evolution. The conversation has to be engaging but not bogged down by too many scientific details.

For a start, a simple introduction to the structure of the brain should suffice:

Our brain is basically comprised of three parts—a reptilian complex, a limbic system, and the neocortex. The first, also known as the “croc” brain, is passed down from our first ancestors and controls our fight or flight, pleasure or pain decisions. The limbic controls our emotions, while the neocortex is where we derive our logical thinking.

To implement the "digital" brain, it would need the ability to recognize patterns much like machine learning:

Our neocortex is quite weak in processing logic but strong in recognizing patterns. Images, videos and sounds are stored and retrieved as sequences of patterns in memory. The primary advantage of working with patterns is the ability to fill in the gaps, such as when part of an image is covered, or to make sense of incomplete sentences. Our neocortex establishes a hierarchy of patterns through recursion—by assembling small parts into a big cluster, and then uniting clusters to form an even larger structure, et infinitum.

Since the emphasis is on this part of the brain, the term "digital neocortex" would be fitting for a non-biological model to perform a similar function. As to how David's going to implement it, I'll leave that to another chapter.

 

Chapter 6: Friend or Foe?

An interesting novel should include elements of conflict or uncertainty to spice up the storyline. That's my purpose for interjecting a short chapter right after a glamorous event that seemingly promised a good start for the main character. But as most average readers know it's never all fair and well in life, real or imaginary.

Within the three-page narrative, I've planted several seeds that will take shape and become evident in the chapters that follow, though not in the immediate sense. So it may be necessary to refer back occasionally for those with short memory, or simply flash back for readers who can recall every single detail with ease. Nevertheless, fret not——I've included a table of content (TOC) to facilitate quick retrieval should the need arise.

Talking about TOC, many readers are aware that not every novel has it, and those that do usually don't bother giving titles at all. So why would I go through the trouble, besides the reason given above?

It's quite obviously, actually. I am first an engineer, then a writer.

Also, I foresee there are concepts that will be mentioned in future chapters that may warrant a second look, so a TOC would definitely come in handy. It's a hard sci-fi novel, remember?

 

Chapter 5: The Inauguration

Recapping my notes from several previous posts and organizing my thoughts after a two-week break, I've drafted a new chapter titled "The Inauguration". This is a major milestone in the novel narrative so I had to give it some thoughts.

There is a before and after kind of comparison, one during the construction of the Omega Base, and one when it is completed and fully furnished:

The big day finally arrived—the inauguration of Omega Base and Team STRATOS. The completed and fully furnished base is a far cry from its once disheveled state, when construction work was in progress, and thereafter when operations equipment and machinery were carefully and meticulously installed into their designated locations.

I tried to picture how the scene would look like at the grand inauguration of this covert project, with all the relevant parties present:

Now, the main hall adjoining the hangar where the Shadowhawk majestically stood, is filled with rows of seated crew and staff of STRATOS, grouped according to their roles and responsibilities. Seated right in front are Professor Bennett, Dr. Harper, David, and the seven-member task force. On the stage stood the Defense Secretary at the podium, while his distinguished panel from the defense and private industries sat in a row behind him, facing the audience below.

Of course, we can't have such an important occasion without a stirring speech by the Defense Secretary who is the initiator of this project. Here's his beginning address:

Ladies and gentlemen, my fellow comrades, and distinguished guests. Today we are gathered here to witness and celebrate the inauguration of STRATOS, a pivotal milestone in our nation’s fight against terrorism to ensure the security of our homeland and the safety of our citizens. All of you present in this hall is a testimony to an unswerving commitment to preserve the peace and freedom of this country from security breaches and threats, be it domestic or foreign.

And here's the ending part:

Now, the moment we’re all waiting for: By the authority vested in me, I now declare STRATOS fully operational!

Thunderous applause and whistles filled the main hall, as the Defense Secretary stepped off from the podium and shook hands with his distinguished panel.

I've included a guided tour of the Omega Base to give the Defense Secretary and his entourage (actually it's for the reader) a better picture of its overall setup and capabilities. You can expect much, much more details than what has been suggested in my previous posts.

The efforts expended on this chapter is significant, but it's definitely worth every bit of it.

 

We're Back!

Taiwan has the highest high-mountain density of any country in the same climate zone, with more than 200 peaks topping 9,800 feet. For our trip, we engaged a local guide to take us on several popular trekking destinations, as well as some tourist attractions.

It was interesting and definitely tiring at some points for us who are so used to city comfort and convenience. But we loved the fresh air and cooler weather up in the mountains, the tantalizing local dishes, and the friendly people we get to meet along the way.

More importantly, it strengthened the friendships among us three couples who are also active volunteers in the same church where we're attending. At the end of the trip, we were fully recharged and ready to face our daily grinds in the tiny metropolitan city that is called Singapore.

After all, there's no place like home.