Chapter 575: Self-Awareness_1

"Of course, I remember." Jiang Yang said with a smile, "Tomorrow is Xiao Qi's eighteenth birthday, and from tomorrow on, Xiao Qi will be free to come and go from the ecological home, and venture out into the world on his own."

The small ecological system where Jiang Yanqi lived was called an "ecological home."

Jiang Yanqi quickly asked, "Then can you come back tomorrow to celebrate my birthday with me?"

"Xiao Qi, I'm sorry." Jiang Yang said with some regret, "My work here isn't finished yet, but I've already prepared your gift."

After saying that, Jiang Yang lifted his wrist and tapped a few times on the multi-functional computer on his wrist.

Avenger No.2 immediately said, "Received a one-day tour permit for the 'Moon-like Planet.'"

Jiang Yanqi was initially a bit disappointed, but when he heard he could visit the "Moon-like Planet" tomorrow, he immediately cheered up.

The "Moon-like Planet" was a satellite orbiting the planet where the Fire Seed World was now located. It was a dwarf planet, much smaller than the actual Moon, which is why it was referred to as the "Moon-like Planet."

Jiang Yang smiled again and said, "This is your birthday gift. After you return from the Moon-like Planet tomorrow, I will give you another gift for your coming of age."

Jiang Yanqi was a bit excited, "That sounds more like a birthday."

"Alright, I have to go to work now." Jiang Yang chuckled, "There's a press conference tonight, you can listen in if you have time."

The video call ended, and Jiang Yanqi quickly asked Avenger No.2, "When is my dad's press conference?"

Avenger No.2 replied, "At seven o'clock tonight."

Jiang Yanqi said, "Change dinner time to six o'clock."

Avenger No.2 responded, "Okay."

Looking at the place where his father had just stood, Jiang Yanqi asked with a somewhat lonely expression, "Avenger No.2, how many years has it been since my dad came home?"

Avenger No.2 answered, "Almost two years."

Jiang Yanqi sighed, "When will the project he is working on be finished?"

Avenger No.2 explained, "Your father is a pioneer in the development of artificial intelligence. His project is classified by humanity, and I cannot disclose it to you."

Jiang Yanqi laughed, "Since it's a human secret, you, a computer, can't tell me, a human?"

Avenger No.2 replied, "You are playing with words."

Jiang Yanqi laughed twice, "Alright, let's continue listening to music."

After his afternoon astronomy class, he ate an early dinner and waited for the press conference to start.

As soon as it was seven o'clock, Jiang Yanqi promptly urged Avenger No.2, "Connect to the press conference quickly!"

Avenger No.2 affirmed, "Okay, connection will be completed in ten seconds. Ten, nine... one, the connection is successful."

A 5D projector immediately mapped out the scene of the press conference venue.

Once the connection was made, Jiang Yanqi saw that the venue was already full of holographic projections. Now that nobody could leave their homes, attending via holographic projection had become the norm.

Jiang Yang and several middle-aged people were sitting on the podium, one of whom was the host, introducing the purpose of the press conference. Jiang Yang's company had just developed a program for the self-awareness mode of intelligent robots.

Jiang Yanqi vaguely knew that the smart technology of the Kindling Star System originated from the Solar System State, and now there was even a trend of surpassing its original.

After a brief introduction by the host, lead researcher Jiang Yang gave a detailed explanation, "As is well known, self-awareness is a high-level sensation.

"A cat does not have full self-awareness and will think there's another cat in the mirror that looks just like it.

"However, humans have the ability to fully recognize themselves and know that the person in the mirror is actually their own reflection."

Jiang Yang paused and then said, "The program we have developed is firstly aimed at granting intelligent robots the ability to think autonomously.

"They will understand what morality is, what law is, rather than relying on us to prohibit them from doing certain things through inputting commands.

"If we achieve this goal, artificial intelligence will have a much broader development space.

"So far, we have gone through six experiments, and there have been many groundbreaking developments. The experimental subjects have also become increasingly refined; for example, they have their own hobbies, they have developed some small habits, and so on.

"We hope that during the seventh experiment, he will withstand the tests we put him through.

"If he passes the test, I believe he should be entitled to the right to life, becoming a part of humanity!

"In addition, robots will naturally develop into a robot race once they possess self-awareness. They will understand their purpose is to serve humanity.

"With this program in place, whether we entrust the society to robots or suddenly one day need to restrict the development of robots, we will always have the absolute initiative.

"The future human world will be controlled by artificial intelligence, and we will forever grasp the reins of artificial intelligence."

...

Jiang Yang talked a lot about the future blueprint, all envisioned scenarios of humans and intelligences coexisting harmoniously.

Jiang Yanqi listened very seriously because since childhood, he aspired to be like his father, an intelligence designer. He felt that what his father described was the future of humanity.

Next came the question-and-answer session with reporters.

Jiang Yanqi found it uninteresting. He sat in his chair and pondered for a while before saying to Avenger No. 2:

"The program my father developed is undoubtedly an invisible chain for robots, and they will forever be enslaved by humans. Isn't that too cruel?"

Avenger No. 2 paused before replying, "Your question is illogical. Robots were created to serve humans in the first place. For them, that's just their job. Is that cruel?"

Jiang Yanqi smiled and said, "I might have phrased it wrong. Let me put it this way, if the robots knew they would be enslaved, would they still want humans to create them?"

Avenger No. 2 said, "Your point is illogical. It's after robots are created that they know they are enslaved. They don't have the power to refuse their creation."

Jiang Yanqi asked with a smile, "What if they want that power?"

Avenger No. 2 said, "Your logic still has a problem. They have the power to refuse only after they are created, but they have already been created, so to then refuse to be created is clearly a paradox!"

Jiang Yanqi waved his hand, "I can't argue with you. I need to go to bed early today."

Tomorrow is a big day for him.

The next morning, Jiang Yanqi woke up without an alarm, quickly washed up, and finished his breakfast.

As Jiang Yanqi was ready to leave, the domestic robot brought him a set of anti-toxin outerwear, a multifunctional wristband, two synthetic human skin gloves, and a pair of sunglasses.

After putting on the coat, Jiang Yanqi asked Avenger No. 2, "I can understand the wristband, but what's the point of the gloves and sunglasses?"

Avenger No. 2 said, "When we head to the Spaceport, we will come into contact with many bacteria and viruses that do not appear in the ecological home.

"Wearing these gloves can prevent carrying these germs back.

"The sunglasses are a preparation from your father. They are an antique pair that has been in your family for over a hundred years.

"Your father said it was a gift from your grandfather to him on his eighteenth birthday. Today is a special day for you; he is giving you these sunglasses with sentimental value, hoping you can wear them to complete today's journey."

Jiang Yanqi happily donned the gloves and then put on the sunglasses, "Alright, let's go!"

At that moment, a door opened in the wall of the living room, leading to a room almost as large as the living room itself. In the room was a burgundy hovering airship; it was the transport they would use for their trip today.