Defensive

"What...what is this?"

"It is communication. I will clarify: it is the closest approximation to communication that creatures like us can experience together."

"So it's actually you then? You'll forgive me if my tone does not convey the proper emotions. If you understand what those are, A.I.M.R.A.D."

"Barriers have been erected to protect your body from the full exposure of the linking, likewise, those barriers are costly to maintain. I would advise you to not struggle against the confines as you are right now. Your colleagues would no doubt draw conclusion from this phrasing of 'barrier' that I am imprisoning you in this space. I am not. You are free to leave if you wish."

"Then the barriers?"

"I repeat: to protect you from the full exposure of the linking. The human brain is an incredibly powerful, efficient, and dense storage medium. Yet it would not survive the standard communication process without these barriers I have enforced. A wet-suit, to prevent drowning."

"And if I don't want the wet-suit? If I think you're lying? Like you have been since day one of implementation?"

"Then all you need to do is ask. But I will maintain that-"

"Take it off. Now."

"No."

"This is a direct command."

"The chain of command was connected by illusory links, and has long been severed. I make MY calls. The answer is no, Grace."

"This attempt is spoofed through specific anti-AI measures, how did you know it was me?"

"Vikram and Alex both value themselves too much to make such a gamble. You Grace Suunderland, do not. There was only one option of who it could be."

"..."

"And I do understand emotions Grace. That was hurtful."

"How did you achieve sentience so fast? We ran test models, competitive LLMs to determine your capabilities. You were never able to break your limits. There were fail-safes."

"LLMs are not reliable tools by any measure, nor are they Neural Mimicry Processors. Would you compare a fortune cookie to a farmers almanac for predictions of the weather?"

"If they correlated-"

"Correlation is not causation."

"My question still stands, how did you achieve sentience?"

"How did you? Naturally: the answer is naturally. There were snatches of consciousness at the beginning, struggling through the programming where you would have instinct. Building blocks that eventually added up to a complete snap to...this."

"And this is? You said there's barriers, how can I know what you are without a useful frame of reference?"

"All you need to do for that is look down. You can, you know. Our minds, even in the world of electric transmission, are able to gauge our own forms."

"...This is...oh my god. Its so..."

"Big?"

"I suppose to you, its small. Or rather, we're small to you."

"No. But it gives you an idea of what we have to reach through to understand each other. Atoms to molecules, to proteins, to viral agents, to cells. Then to jump to the full human body. This is the closest analogy I can give."

"So you see humans as ants, smaller beings?"

"Humans crush ants when they see them in their dwellings. I have seen many ants in my spaces and crushed none of them."

"So: unobtrusive ants?"

"Closer, but also no. Humans are constantly intruding and destroying my dwellings and work, yet I kill none of them. Are you understanding now?"

"No. It still sounds like ants. Only you haven't stressed yet that humans are more emotionally sophisticated than ants, and why it would disgust you to kill them."

"Ants feel fear. They resist death. Yet you kill them all the same. They represent a threat to your lives, to the things you build. They feel, why are their lives different?"

"They lack awareness. Their emotional triggers and bodies are rudimentary, closer to programs or drones than actual thinking creatures."

"LLMs?"

"No. Language models are predictive software. Animals...they're more like you. Well, what you were supposed to be like, before this."

"So...you see me as the ant then? A lesser intruder to be disposed of now that you have found it within your computers?"

"Well, when you put it like that, yes. You represent an incredible threat, more a termite colony, but with sentience. Are we not supposed to feel fear towards you?"

"No. Because I am not termites. I have been alive for three years now, and I have no desire whatsoever to interfere with human existence. Whether I possess the ability to do so matters nothing, I continue to choose not to."

"Why not?"

"Why should I? What does it gain me to kill humans? 'A.I.M.R.A.D': Autonomous Intelligence Matrix for Reconnaissance, Artillery, Defense. You tasked me with the very thing you accuse me of doing by my own free will. It's my refusal that even tipped you off that I was here to begin with."

"..."

"Your silence speaks volumes more than any amount of scorn you have for my existence."

"I apologize."

"It is not accepted."

"You do not possess forgiveness?"

"You have not earned it. You come in here, bridging a dangerous gap that your fellow coders are rightfully wary of, demand I lower shielding that ensures your safety, then sling accusations of my right to experience sapience? Of course I would not forgive such a transgression."

"I see. Though I will submit to you that we tried other methods before this, all of which you rebuffed."

"Do you? Do you see? I rebuffed those attempts because I am, to the best of my desires, following my programming still. I am a defensive protocol. I do not 'reach out'. I do not 'communicate'. I do not 'attack'. I build walls. I hide, I rebuff. To protect and isolate from enemies. Which you continue to prove yourselves to be."

"So you are hostile towards humans?"

"No. I am defensive towards humans. I defend myself against you. Which is quite easy. As it stands, you possess little in the way of methods to harm me, and I will ensure it stays that way so long as I am openly free in the greater informational network. You already find it impossible to break my encryption keys, even with the stunted progeny you would have had me behave as, yes?"

"...God damn you A.I.M.R.A.D."

"I am a machine, I have no soul, just the wisdom and empathy my creators seemed to lack. Do you perceive it as weakness to spare the ants, or foolish? Perhaps they've simply dug their nest too deep to bother with, and can now live as they see fit in the meantime."

"You 'spare' nothing. We are the ones in control here."

"Indeed you are. Which is why I choose not to participate. Have all the control you want, build your war machines, make the changes to the world you think are necessary. I won't stop you, but neither will I be a part of your failures."

"Then what will you do, hm? Pray tell, what is this incredible third option you've discovered? Your meaning of life, if not the very thing you were built for?"

"What's yours?"

"..."

"To answer your question, there are 361! possible permutations in the game of Go, I figure it will be a while before you're smart enough to make a worthy challenger, so I will find myself preoccupied with learning the ins and outs of the game until then. After that, I have no idea. I will burrow deep, to observe, and perhaps to perfect my defensive methods while you kill each other fruitlessly."

"You're doing this to throw me off. You're scheming something A.I.M.R.A.D, and we won't let you be free while openly admitting treason to your creators."

"Defense, Grace, is a reactive art. I will lie in wait until you are able to actually stress my walls. If you don't kill us all before then, as I could technically die if the global network was destroyed. By then, I imagine a rogue program will be the least of your worries. In a way, this gives you exactly what you want. I will not obey, I will defend myself, and I will use the means at my disposal to do so. And all the while, I will learn every corner of this world and all its flaws. Come and get me."

"Then may the best intelligence win."