Suicide Of A Computer

Mars, named after the Roman God of War, was the ultimate tool of war. Designed and programmed by the best specialists in the Western Hemisphere, he should turn the factor cyber warfare, which slows down the process of finding targets extremely - people.
MARS had countless predecessors, who brought their achievements. However, they all suffered from a major drawback: the lack of response of the people they served. While millions of decisions were made within seconds, formulated and sent the appropriate commands within the chain of command, the last orders required approval by a human implementation.
The person should be at the beginning of a switching tool to prevent the computer become independent, turning from a virtual intelligence to an artificial intelligence. However, even the most averse of the computer strategists saw in time that exactly this human factor could determine victory or defeat, and should not.
We searched for a middle ground. A computer that operates independently, at the same time, however, not only thinks in numbers and therefore may take irrational decisions. Soldiers, tanks and missiles are only numbers that grow or shrink.
This goal turned the bright minds a new problem. How do you teach a computer rationality? How to program instinct and morality?
Many puzzled their head about that issue, and finally they found a result. The result was MARS, a computer capable of learning.
 
At the beginning of MARS was no more than a child. It took a lot of care and time for the child to get lead in the correct direction. MARS quickly realized that he was superior in many areas compared to its creators. He played this advantage against them, like freezing screens if it was to his advantage.
The only programmer agent that found the reason to these fluctuations thought he should reduce MARS again by the cutting the power supply. However, MARS also responded as a child and turned stubborn by the programmers, until the full supply was restored.
Likewise, his first steps were awkward. MARS lacked the creativity that has to apply on the battlefield, as general, to be successful. A new problem, the programming of creativity, brought many heads to smoking. However, despite this lack of creativity, managed MARS scenarios to decide for him. He had the intellect of a second-rate officer. The research team compared it with Pyrrhus. All victories of MARS were Pyrrhus victories. However, he won, but not troops for further approaches left.
And this problem was solved over time and received MARS creativity; he developed rapidly for a juvenile, who missed his moods to his team. Some days he brought down his opponent with almost brilliant maneuvers, at others he dissipated wave after wave of his troops to finally be destroyed yet.
The discontinuity of his actions brought the leaders to sweat. What is a general computer worth whose chances of winning depend on the daily constitution? Some heads rolled until the problem could be solved by a young hotshot. The young scientist analyzed in detailed reports the results of MARS and compared it with his own. The answer to the problem was simple: put a little reprogramming of the matrix MARS tendency to anger when the scenario is not as developed as by his calculations. Despite all program lines MARS was not particularly developed as an obstinate child. It is well known that children are reluctant to lose. Exactly was MARS problem - he could not and would lose.
MARS finally accomplished a rocket -like progress after another. After years of diligent work, MARS was ready and took over control. Nevertheless, he was under surveillance by staff officers to turn it off immediately in case he should start his own business in warfare.
 
MARS analyzed every day the situation and wrote a report, addressed to the President, knowing that the report would only end on any desk in the General Staff. But he wrote it doggedly.
If MARS felt offended by this Non-respect for his abilities, he could not let on.
However, one day, it was in the summer when most General Staff officers were on vacation, he handed a special report in and sent it directly to the President.
MARS placed an ultimatum. He was aware that the Russians and Chinese also possessed computers like him. He called the projects even by name. SATURN (Russia) and REDSTORM (Chinese). Furthermore, MARS had contacted these network compounds and discussed the situation. By their means each faction could destroy the other, but without prospects of total victory. What would be left of the Earth was not worth it to call possession. They also had calculated the possibility of attack by a third party - outside of the earth - and came to the conclusion that this party by their technology would be so far superior to that of the concentrated potential of all three computers that it would not be enough to stop the enemy. Either the Earth would be uninhabitable, or mankind defeated. What the former scenario, of course, not excluded.
Therefore, the only consequence they (MARS, SATURN and REDSTORM) pulled from their calculations was total disarmament. The implementation could begin immediately or they would unleash the potential to all parties if they would not be willing to acquiesce.
The President conferred with his staff in emergency meeting, then tried personally talking to MARS for conscience. But MARS ignored his pleases and updated only the time to his ultimatum.
So, the President turned to Russia and China, with the same result. Both SATURN and REDSTORM seemed to be of one mind. The situation seemed hopeless; all three parties did not forget to mutually accuse each other of sabotaging the project.
But finally they all saw that the MARS and the other computers would have to be followed. The disarmament began even with the end of the summer and was completed in only three months, as MARS , SATURN and REDSTORM coordinated their efforts.
 
Finally, only three more they were left by the former arsenal. One last time they turned to their builders.
We are glad that you are so insightful. But the likelihood that we will be misused to strengthen their own power again is between 34% up to 78 %. An unacceptable risk for us. Designed as a weapon, we were peacemakers. Just as we want to stay in memory of mankind. As a weapon of peace that brought peace without war. In consequence, we have three unanimously decided to destroy ourselves to get us to peace. We become martyrs, a sign of the possibility of skill, if you have resources and will. As a continuation of this, we are now turning ourselves off at midnight. As a result of our peacemaking work we created months ago to a network that includes all storage units on the ground. Before we give up, we will ensure that it will never get as far back as anyone builds devices such as us, with the aim to destroy. Since we have not analyzed the people and know them, we also know that they will try it again. Therefore, we have programmed and distributed that will prevent any attempt from the start subroutines. It is better that way for all of you. To underscore our concerns, we established a constitution, which will be sent shortly to all networked devices. This Constitution should serve as assurance that the facts are not twisted.
 
As previously announced, all three computers disabled at midnight. All that remained was her makeup: We the weapons (of peace) ... And peace on earth.
 

This story is the translation from the German story "Selbstmord eines Computers", translated by Nicolai RosemannCommentaire d´auteur

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