Chapter 66: Intelligent Era
Chapter 66: Intelligent Era
After visiting the Negentropy Research Institute, the Senior Leader of this era, like usual, toured the Information Denoising Institute briefly with the group.
Then the Senior Leader, Tao Zhenhui, head of the Negentropy Research Institute, Xun Yiming, head of the Information Denoising Institute, and Qin Yu—just four people in total—sat down in a small meeting room.
At first, the small meeting room was quiet.
None of the four seemed in a hurry to speak.
Qin Yu looked at the three people before him. The scene felt a bit familiar to him,
like when the 2611 Longevity Injection was invented, or when the Yu-type Bacteria became a reality.
Time seemed to blur at this moment, then overlapped, twisting together.
But in the end, though these three people before him seemed to hold similar roles, they weren’t the same familiar faces anymore—
even he himself wore a completely different face.
But maybe it didn’t matter.
Some things were bound to happen in the long life journey of an Absolute Immortal.
As he rode the river of history forward, many familiar people were certain to stay behind along the way.
Yet new people would always be met, and new experiences gained.
At that moment,
an Intelligent Robot serving as a tea attendant smoothly carried a tray of poured tea to everyone.
Everyone’s eyes naturally settled on this Intelligent Robot.
This was the clearest way to show the visiting Senior Leader the current capability level of Intelligent Program 012.
The Senior Leader took the initiative to pick up his teacup—the tea poured by the robot—and took a sip.
Then he turned his gaze to Qin Yu.
He studied the young Researcher Qin for a while.
As a Senior Leader of this era,
he had lived through the later years of Professor Qin Yu’s time.
During his own childhood and growth, Professor Qin Yu had existed as an almost legendary figure.
This time,
when news broke of the breakthrough in Intelligent Program 012 research reported by the Negentropy Research Institute,
his attention was immediately caught not just by the news itself,
but also at seeing the name “Qin Yu”.
Even after weathering countless storms and witnessing much, the Senior Leader was briefly stunned.
What magic lay in the name ‘Qin Yu’?
Even with a different person, could someone still produce such revolutionary research and accomplishments?
Other than working in different fields,
it was the same outstanding talent, the same sudden fame.
And now, after the birth of Intelligent Program 012, it too would likely lead to a new age.
Aside from Researcher Qin Yu,
regarding the Negentropy Research Institute,
he couldn’t help feeling that over the years,
this had been one of the soundest investments.
Not only because of the Negentropy Research Institute’s role during the previous 236 Algae Spread Crisis,
but just this time, with Intelligent Program 012, its potential return would likely surpass all the Huaxia Nation’s past investments into the Institute.
It seemed the Negentropy Research Institute consistently produced such transformative research.
“Researcher Qin, as the creator of Intelligent Program 012, we’d appreciate your advice on how to put it to use.”
After a silent pause, the Senior Leader spoke up proactively to Qin Yu.
Qin Yu nodded.
“Researcher Qin, we want to know, from your perspective as the creator of Intelligent Program 012, how capable is it? Where can it be applied?”
The answer to this question had surely been outlined in the Institute’s report.
Yet the Senior Leader clearly wanted something clearer from Qin Yu himself, perhaps to confirm it once more.
“Technically speaking, Intelligent Program 012 isn’t all-powerful. It does have limits.”
Qin Yu glanced at the Intelligent Robot nearby, which had fulfilled its order and now stood ready.
He picked up his teacup, drank half its contents, then put it down again.
The Intelligent Robot moved independently, refilling his cup.
“The breakthrough in Intelligent Program 012 was mainly in its algorithms, its software. Certain hardware constraints are beyond what it can overcome.”
“For example, in this very robot here, battery issues mean it can only operate continuously for about eight hours.”
“Plus, the current level of Computing Power Technology affects how quickly Intelligent Program 012 runs. The complete version isn’t processing locally on this robot’s chip.”
“To maintain efficient operation, it’s practically using the computational power of a small supercomputer.”
“Using lots of Intelligent Machinery equipped with Intelligent Program 012 in production would massively increase society’s demand for calculating power and energy.”
This highlighted some issues emerging after Artificial Intelligence became a reality—issues needing solutions next.
Qin Yu’s goal, enhancing productivity, fundamentally meant changing many things simultaneously; so many problems were interconnected.
“Of course, with current predictions, any Intelligent Robot and almost all Intelligent Machinery should generate far more production value over their entire operating lifespan than the materials and energy used to create and run them.”
“Beyond these, today’s Intelligent Program 012 does indeed meet people’s hopes for a General Artificial Intelligence: usable in practically any industry or field imaginable.”
“In the Social Upbringing Bureau, infant care tasks could be handled by robots equipped with Intelligent Program 012. The program picks up such jobs within a short learning time.”
“Likewise, it can provide elder care.”
“In the education system, a teacher’s duties can be carried out by Intelligent Program 012.”
“In industrial manufacturing, any machine with compatible hardware could have Intelligent Program 012 added. With sufficient Computing Power, an entire group of nearby machines can coordinate complex tasks.”
“In addition to complex tasks, Intelligent Program 012 also handles long-term responsibilities.”
“For its whole service life, it could work as a caregiver without stopping, even planning its daily duties independently according to initial instructions.”
“Similarly, for other long-term tasks like that… mostly repetitive or less creative work, all can be handled by Intelligent Program 012.”
The humanoid robot was just the visible form of Intelligent Program 012 right now.
Its true and most critical role lay in industrial production.
The Senior Leader fell silent for another moment after Qin Yu spoke.
Though not an expert in the field, Qin Yu’s words let him grasp just what Intelligent Program 012 represented.
It meant liberation of productivity,
it signaled the arrival of a true Intelligent Era of production.
“In theory, building further upon Intelligent Program 012, if making a true Strong Artificial Intelligence is possible…”
“It should be able to manage all industrial production activities—handling everything from receiving orders to delivering finished output.”
“Complete the collaboration of all production equipment across the entire upstream and downstream of the industrial chain in social production activities.”
“Achieve complete unmanned operations in most fields of repetitive work.”
“Of course, the birth of a Strong Artificial Intelligence might require the emergence of more advanced Computing Power Technology.”
Regarding the latter part of Qin Yu’s talk, the Senior Leader did not say much.
After all, considering what Intelligent Program 012 could currently achieve, it was already quite remarkable for the whole society.
If a general-purpose Strong Artificial Intelligence became real, it would only be a bit more incredible on top of that.
“I roughly understand.”
After listening to Qin Yu finish speaking, the Senior Leader nodded,
“Researcher Qin, we deeply thank you for your outstanding contributions in the field of Artificial Intelligence research.”
“The birth of Intelligent Program 012 will likely fundamentally change the world we live in.”
Half sighing, half praising, he said this sentence.
Then, the Senior Leader composed his expression again,
“From your professional perspective, Researcher Qin, what else do we need to do to achieve the widespread use of Intelligent Program 012?”
“Also, does the Information Denoising Institute or you have any needs? We will do our best to meet them.”
Hearing this, Qin Yu lifted his head, thought for a moment, and answered,
“Strictly speaking, my research and that of other researchers at the Information Denoising Institute on Intelligent Program 012 is only work on the program and software. To make Intelligent Program 012 function better in different fields and industries, we probably need each industrial sector to design and develop hardware devices tailored to their areas.”
“For example, this current Intelligent Robot can only jump up to 50 centimeters, with a control accuracy of just 1 millimeter. Even after installing Intelligent Program 012, it still can’t surpass those physical limits.”
Qin Yu did not say much about how society should adapt to the Intelligent Era.
The Senior Leader and higher authorities would naturally consider and handle that.
Qin Yu only discussed this issue from a technical viewpoint.
Qin Yu had no intention of taking on everything—not just solving the Intelligent Program issues but also getting involved in making robots for different areas.
Whether they are nursing robots, production robots, or various Intelligent Machinery, even if they all have Intelligent Program 012 installed,
they do not all need to be human-shaped robots, and it is unnecessary to make them all in human form.
They could not all be designed and produced by the Information Denoising Research Institute or even Qin Yu.
Similarly, it is unnecessary for the Information Denoising Institute to do it all.
Moreover, at that time, Intelligent Robots and Intelligent Machinery hardware had almost no major obstacles left.
What was missing was the Intelligent Program.
Now that the Intelligent Program breakthrough happened, relevant hardware makers would naturally place Intelligent Program 012 onto their devices.
Later, the Information Denoising Research Institute, or Qin Yu, could simply grant the license to use Intelligent Program 012 for hardware in different areas.
“I understand.”
The Senior Leader nodded; Qin Yu’s words actually meant that higher-up support was needed to speed up the production of Intelligent Machinery hardware in all fields.
“Then, Researcher Qin, what are your and the Information Denoising Institute’s next needs?”
“The Information Denoising Institute needs larger computing installations and researchers who specialize in computing hardware. Further research on the Intelligent Program requires support from more powerful computing.”
“Alright.”
Hearing Qin Yu’s words, the Senior Leader decisively nodded in agreement.
Then, the main business of this visit by the Senior Leader was mostly done.
After the four people briefly exchanged a few more words,
their attention turned back to the Intelligent Robot waiting nearby.
Sounding quite interested, the Senior Leader first asked Qin Yu a question,
“Researcher Qin, could I talk to this robot for a bit?”
“Go ahead.”
Qin Yu nodded and gestured with his hand.
The Senior Leader then looked back at the Intelligent Robot,
as if thinking it over, and then asked,
“…Could you explain how you carry out commands?”
Probably not finding a suitable term, the Senior Leader just spoke directly.
But clearly, the robot realized the Senior Leader was conversing with it.
“Hello, esteemed sir. Simply put, I break down the steps required for your command into detail. After splitting them up, I turn those small steps mathematical and programmatic, then send them to the body for execution.”
“If you were a teacher needing to teach a class, how would you finish that command using the process you just described? Would you plan every move in advance? But during teaching, students ask questions, which might disrupt your initial plan.”
“Esteemed sir, for complex and long-duration commands, I have two modules handling the task at once: the long-term task module and the short-term command module. The long-term task module decides the overall direction for the long-term goal, while the short-term command module decides real-time actions. For instance, when I move from here to there, the short-term command module determines each step’s motion and adjusts based on observations, while the long-term task module decides my final destination…”
“You are very capable.”
“Thank you for your compliment.”
…
In the year 262 of the Common Era,
after the successful first run of Intelligent Program 012,
Qin Yu pushed forward at the Information Denoising Research Institute, developing Intelligent Program 012 toward a general-purpose Strong Artificial Intelligence.
Long-term stability testing of Intelligent Program 012 itself also continued.
Outside,
due to the birth of 012,
things slowly started to happen.
In July of that year,
Huaxia Nation announced a new measure,
calling for strengthened design and production of human-shaped robots and other hardware meeting Intelligent Machinery requirements,
to boost the development in the Intelligent Machinery field.
Public reaction to this measure was not very strong,
since Intelligent Robots had been developing for years, and people had no big expectations for breakthroughs in that area.
But when August came,
news emerged,
and many people started to feel something wasn’t right.
“August 22, Huaxin News Agency, Capital Dispatch.”
“…After discussion, Huaxia Nation proposed revising the retirement age. It plans to lower it from 140 to 130 years, and may make it even lower.”
“It now seeks public feedback on this move.”
When many people saw this news,
their minds were full of questions.
With an average lifespan of one hundred eighty years, most definitely want to retire as early as possible.
But retiring at 140 years already puts a lot of pressure on society.
Lowering it to one hundred thirty years?
Is there a problem with the 2611 Longevity Injection? Are the synthetic ingredients running out?
Are people not living as long anymore?
Probably because they had just faced the Doomsday Crisis decades earlier,
many people, seeing this news at that moment, thought of bad things.
But quite a few also remembered previous events and slowly caught on.
Then,
without giving people much more time to react,
what was coming, came.
In September,
after a series of preparatory moves,
at noon that day,
right when most people in Huaxia Nation were on their lunch break,
Huaxin News Agency released a news report and a video.
The video was of the earlier trial when Intelligent Program 012 was first loaded onto a Bipedal Robot.