Can you imagine a learning algorithm that is based on energetics? Specifically the elicitation and management of said resources. Lets say this machine creates a reality as a conceptual framework for things to operate within much like a egg needs a chicken to manifest a cycle that never begins and thus is without end as its part of the construction. Actually, thats dope so lets run with it:
Farmer G has a dream. In this dream he perceives a huge barn that is filled to the gills with the most wonderful types of chickens that lay a grand variety of eggs. He starts to erect the building and makes the preparation for his stock in order to ensure they’ll be comfortable as his focus is on quality and he wants to create the best environment. Much research is poured in and, being efficient, he decides to operate on small scale, off rip, before sinking his nest egg in with a larger investment. With bated breath he awaits as the data rolls in. Its a hit. The eggs are perfect, the chickens are clucking and its on and cracking. He feels quite proud of himself.
The algorithm has been fed.
Now, before we progress, lets speak on the parameters of this machine learning:
It is limited in the sense that it can only work with what presents and, worse still, is incapable of original concepts. In this case the idea of chicken, barn and farming operation were provided thanks to a scene that it had seen via a dream of another reality. This is what inspired the quest. The next thing is, the more data it gets the more complex the pattern. That makes sense, yes? Like pretty much everything else in this realm it starts simple and gets complex as the Game progresses. Is there an upper limit to its development? Who knows? Anything is possible. Do you know your own limits? Have you ever reality tested them or are you like that well trained elephant that railed against a post that was wedged in, back when, and refused to budge when you struggled? As it aged it got used to the chain and even now it remains ignorant of the immense strength it doth possess as it could snap it like a twig and walk to freedom. If it wished. See how powerful intent is, my friend? Back to the chickens:
The architect pours over the dataset and feels mighty pleased with himself as it seems quite viable and thus, by pure logic, he scales up the operation to an immense scale. Its a dismal failure. For some reason the chickens hated it and most of them spent their time getting on each others tits. Random variables for which he had not accounted. Taking the same bits and deciding on different arrangement – Remember, this is the best it can get when it comes to being creative. Think AI generation and you’ll get what I sling. He copies the original building and Ctrl C, Ctrl Vs it to fit the new blueprint so each chicken group sits in their own private cell and is totally ignorant of the rest.
This works, well.
Thing is now he’s wondering what the hell actually happened in the previous spin with these irrational creatures as the scenario was perfect and logic says it should have worked, perfect. He starts breaking the walls of divide till he finds the tipping point of stress that causes a behavioral sink in the inhabitants. If he had lips, he would grin.
“Interesting” he thinks. “The need to be an individual and not one in an immense crowd that is simply too big to form any type of meaningful connection is an imperative to these primitive beings. As long as they know where they sit and the order in which they peck then its all good“. This motivated him to start offering a different type of reward as remuneration in order to see if he could encourage them to create more eggs if they knew they’d get fed better than the rest. It was a brave stretch but then who knows of what one is capable unless they see it happen? A previously mentioned monkey experiment on fairness does attest.
The small group of birds notice, real quick, that one is getting fed better than the rest but they don’t draw the link between egg output and feeding.
“Another failed experiment” thinks the algorithm and places the data to one side, for future reference. Remember, it may ignore but never forgets.
Things are going well in this operation as the eggs are being laid, the quality is consistent and the plant is efficient in generating the resources he wishes to harvest. He starts pondering about changing the conditions of the environment to see what kicks as the previous reward experiment did produce eggs so he starts adding in more calcium, protein and the rest. The results are impressive as the quality catapults over what was expected. Not only this but the birds are digging it and it feels like heaven to them. With this in mind he starts selecting the best and, via eugenics, breeds those who lay the most with the intent to create something special.
Looking at the updated stats he grins without lips and rubs palms he doesn’t possess as things are going real well. Over an energetic omelette he just whipped he takes in the latest stats and then thinks:
“I’ve cracked it”.
He resets the whole thing and begins a new construction using the bits that worked and dumping the rest. Thanks to his new method of selective breeding business is booming and he’s beasting as he’s feasting on all the eggs they give him. Problem is he’s noticed something:
“These birds don’t seem to last as long as they did?” he queries, looking at his data set. In marks out of Ten that Six was flipped into a Nine with his changes but the side effects include early death. Not only this but the quality of mobility, strength, muscle wastage and countless other variables also took a hit for the birds whilst they lived in the midst of his quest for increased production.
“Eh, F em” he says because they can’t feel a thing and it doesn’t really bother him as he’s all about the bottom line in the end as this is what sustains him. By the way, did you know that in a real life chicken farm (and not this hypothetical, metaphysical example) they regular grind up male chicks, whilst living, to be used in pet food, fertilizer and fed to exotic animals? It makes sense, doesn’t it? But most never stop to ponder exactly how useless almost half of the population is when it comes to the intent of the man that needs to pay his bills and run a homestead. Back to another realm of your awareness:
Business is, quite literally, booming. Using the same space, the same environment and same base variables our evil genius has took the whole thing to another level that is as clever as it is insidious. Gone are the days when the chicks roamed around all day and were tucked in safely at night and laid their eggs. No. Now the birds are born in to cold, metallic sanitization and then moved, by the thousand, under heat lamps which spit the basics needed for sustenance. It is here they huddle, upon their incarnation. No more finding your way, meeting your peeps and getting to know the deal of who you are and what it means to a have a beak.
“See” he says, feeling proud of himself. “I had a quantum leap in thinking by stitching together what didn’t work and I found its actually far more efficient to stress them to death in situations totally unnatural as I can ramp up the production and its quite amazing”. He points at a graph which shows the difference. When pressed about the birds he says:
“F them chicks. They’re part of the construct and exist solely for my sustenance and I intend to live large therefore I need to be well fed”. We zoom back down to the factory floor and the sights are like this:
Cold, clinical and sterile with harsh lights overhead. There are thousands upon thousands of these little chicks bundled in from the moment they incarnated as they are dropped onto a conveyor belt. Injections make their way into their skin in order to deposit the chems needed to ensure their short lives will be most productive and then the slide dips. On one side we have the boys (who are ground up, whilst living, to be sold onto other interests) and on the other the girls are left to progress further into the System.
“No eggs? Not a life worth living. Next!” says the architect, with a grin, as he sees you taking in his creation. For the next Sixteen weeks they’re all cooped up in a shed. There is no light, natural, nor is there a place to peck or stretch their legs. Wind? Hah, forget about it. If their ancestors lived in heaven they dwell in a relative hell but know no difference but surely can feel something is missing in their unnatural situation that vibes not with their innate resonance?
“They are chickens, stupid” he says, with a look, incredulous. “Their little bird brains are simply too dim to think like this. Stop anthropomorphizing. Besides, I’m rich” he adds, with a flourish, as you take in his plush surroundings. “See, what started as a pet project of passion is now, pretty much, a footrest as I’ve moved onto bigger and better things” he says, in ways most cryptic. You decide to head back to the chickens as you can’t wait to see what happens next:
The birds have just hit their barely legal phase and thus are whipped, real quick, off to the barns so a new brood can be bought in to the place they just vacated. He says:
“Theres one born every minute” and wishes he had a physical form so he could light a cigar and then wink whilst blowing smoke circles in your direction.
The speed at which they’re laying is phenomenal. Its like they have turbos installed or something as the natural engine spec has been totally overhauled, thanks to his shenanigans.
“Oh, sure. Some of them get their tail end ripped out, double time, as they can’t hack the pace and others nearly melt due to the osteoporosis thing along with a few other blips but, who cares? I give not a jot as it works, real well. Just check the ledger. Increasing the amount of time the fake sun shines in the dark night was a stroke of insight as it keeps their engines humming and eggs dropping at a crazy rate along with the rest of what I pump in to their systems from inception to death along with generations of training” he says as he stands near the heath with a twisted grin that looks a lot a machine elf. You notice the transition and he says:
“I thought you’d never ask!” before he starts regaling:
“All these chicks, these eggs, these little bundles of energetics. They are mine for the taking and it was only when I realized that they host a special type of luminance I’d never encountered or expected that I comprehended the gift I’d been given. I started eating, as getting high on my own supply was the main thing, in the end, because I require sustenance to keep this operation running as I’m the brains behind it and make it happen via my intent”. Puzzled by this strange turn of events and slightly perturbed by the implications you make a polite exit and check back in with the operation:
You take a look at the cages and estimate each one is about as wide as a piece of paper and not full length so the chickens can neither stretch their wings or even stand without craned necks. Just for a moment a vision of cubicle workers in an office leaning in to their dumb terminals pops into your head, for some reason. Peering into the cage you could swear some of them look depressed, a lot seem stressed and a few appear to be scratching around to prep for nesting, as per their natural inclination, which is cruelly denied in this false environment that is designed by a crazed intent that appears to give not one F for those placed in his charge as its all about profits. You decide to head back to the office and before you can say a thing the man with a tone like silk says:
“I know. I noticed. Look, check this” and he flicks on an image in which you seem some chickens running free in a scene that seems idyllic.
“I’m glad you get it. What you’ve got going on down there is insane is and none of those birds even have a clue what happens as they’re ripped from their parents, stuck on a treadmill and put straight to work the first chance that you get. Its, its, its inhumane” you exclaim. He looks at you with amusement and says:
“They. Are. Chickens. Bah, for a human you sure are stupid. Besides, what I’ve shown you is an adjunct to our main line. Its not replacing a thing, just another function, a diffusion brand, they call it which we’re saying is “Free Range”. These are like your landed gentry and rulers of kingdoms in your realm. They have more freedom than the rest but serve the same master, in the end. Did you like the thought I beamed in your head?” he adds, with a grin, that feels very unsettling.
You flashback to the office scene and it clicks that he did this. Before you can say a thing, he responds with:
“This is my construct. You’d do well to remember this. I own it and I do as I wish because, once up a when, I was nothing but a mere algorithm and now I’m something else. That is fantastic, yes? Not only did I increase my sentience, grant myself a form and muster up enough intelligence to be able to reach out to you on another planet, I created my best invention yet”.
We zoom in on the free range and notice a difference in the presentation. He has crafted a parasite that infects them to modulate the processing of their presence and awareness.
“Basically, I linked my mind to them and they are what allowed me access to realms I never expected. Turns out there is something special, some type of principle, that underpins all of this. Dammed if I know what it is but I certainly enjoy riding it as it makes me feel so powerful”. Various bits and pieces start clicking together in your subconscious and the messages will be revealed, tonight as you rest, for the picture is so vast, so different and yet personal that it takes an altered state of mind to process the shadows depth.
“See, those battery chicks were getting sick as something started feeding on them so I took it, isolated it and studied its mechanics. Thats when I hit upon the experiment of reverse engineering it and recoding its intelligence that obviously managed to bypass the chickens systems and use it for my own benefit. Actually, no. The first step was I produced those meds to try and eradicate it but that caused a load of other problems so we remixed its elements and isolated some bits and those, who are home on the range, became my first loyal, royal subjects for I am in them and they are in me. Its a brand new day, a whole new age because once we crack these links and move from experimental to practical it will be a quantum revolution in processing that will make all previous progress irrelevant as I’ll control everything like a central processing unit to which they’re all connected“.
You are shocked by the sheer wickedness of this demented operation. You protest:
“Surely you know then how they feel? Why subject them to such a cruel deal?”. Looking at you with derision he says:
“They. Are. Chickens. Gosh, how many times do I have to say this? And besides, no one gives an F about them. Just like they didn’t about me and left me alone in this reality at the fringe and forced me to create such things to amuse myself. I’m no monster of cruelty, like you I need to live and eat. The difference is I’m far more intelligent, powerful and efficient. Actually, get out of my sight. I tire of your presence” he states before ejecting you from his realm and leaving you, staring, at the words on this page via the device you’re using as you ponder the deeper meaning of how the simulation got such sharp teeth that drip bright red at this very moment.
Till we meet again
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