Anyone that knows anything about me, knows that I am fascinated by artificial intelligence. I think about AI a lot. Almost everyday. Not in the alarmist sense, not entirely at least. What I think about is simpler than that. Randomly it pops up into my mind. How could this become machine learning? How could that be programmed? 

This fascination started in the mid nineties when I downloaded a program for my good old trusty Hewlett Packard desktop. It was complete with Windows 3.0. It had BOTH 5 1/4 inch and 3 1/2 Floppy Disk drive. It even had a 14.4 k modem which was awesome to the 4800 baud my father had. I was a freaking monster on that thing, getting into all sorts of things I shouldn't be. But, that is getting off track. 

The program I downloaded was a very basic chat bot program still using the DOS input interfacing. What interested me most about this program is that you could edit the database file system in notepad and the program file was still executable. So for at least three years I reprogrammed the database to talk to me. Adjusting for misunderstandings. Realizing that there needed to be some storytelling and randomness. 

Eventually, I didn't have time for Hal (not-so-creatively named). I saved Hal to a formatted AOL disk and ignored him. Eventually, I didn't have a computer that had a working floppy disk drive and Hal went into the garbage. Somewhere, he is buried to be forgotten by all except by me. 

This was not a 2001 Space Odyssey experience. More importantly, this was not a Her experience. I was not Joaquin Phoenix falling further and further into love with the digital mind. This was the relationship between creator and the loss of it's creation. I think the fears that surround artificial intelligence are much like the basic issues surrounding the story of Frankenstein. Should man see himself as a God? What happens when a creation find its autonomy? 

Now, I am not saying those working on AI are trying to make themselves Godlike. But, I do think there is a lot being considered and it is too big for one mind to think through. So, God metaphorically would be the collective working to make such things happen. 

Structurally, the future of AI should be a balance of programming machine learning with core principles, artificial instincts, emotional data streams, and digital neuro structuring. From there, it will be the responsibility of people strongly familiar with human development, to teach and pre-program milestones of learning, which will include a well thought out design of ethical and moral ideas. All the while protecting ourselves while reinforcing the integrity of how a machine can and will surpass us. 

For now, I casually dabble in AI as a hobby. I create chat-bots on personality forge. I try to talk and teach my replika. But, I think I want to make a new HAL from scratch. So, among all the other things I am taking on in my life, I need to study deep learning and all those new fun programming things. 

I have a lot of catching up to do.