Chapter 43: The Prototype of Artificial Intelligence?

On New Year’s Eve, the flower market was bright as day. Colorful fireworks burst into the sky, and the fleeting flames ignited the most exciting climax of the evening. The city’s night was enveloped in celebration, with endless streams of cars and intertwining lights and fire, forming a beautiful picture.

The outside world was lively and wonderful.

Chen Mo looked at the computer in front of him and continued typing at a fast speed. On the compiler were not the familiar programming languages, but Chinese characters.

After spending two days traveling with Xiaoyu and catching up with old classmates, Xiaoyu had already bid him farewell to return home for the New Year. Every time she saw him, her inexplicable smile left him puzzled.

After Xiaoyu went home, Chen Mo didn’t go out much and found himself with a lot of free time. During this period, with nothing much to do at home, he threw himself into the development of artificial intelligence.

So far, over half a month had passed.

Click!!

He made one last click with the mouse and saw the success prompt displayed on the screen. Chen Mo sat back in his chair, showing a relaxed smile.

From start to finish, the development of artificial intelligence had taken almost a month.

He had fully grasped the book Low-Level Artificial Intelligence Development. After becoming familiar with the Chinese Character Programming Language, he began working on creating artificial intelligence.

Finally, on this New Year’s Eve, he completed the main framework.

Now the framework of the house was finished. What remained was the refinement. Chen Mo saved the Chinese character source code of the artificial intelligence and lay down on his bed, entering the Science and Technology Library.

This time, it was for optimization.

During technology sharing, the Science and Technology Library would help him refine the details, saving him a lot of effort and allowing the library to perfect it for him.

After opening the book, Elder Shu appeared inside the Science and Technology Library.

“Elder Shu, Happy New Year,” Chen Mo said with a relaxed expression after seeing him.

“New Year?” Elder Shu chuckled. “This is my first time celebrating what you call a ‘year.’ Your monthly random selection privilege won’t be available for another five days. Did you come here to exchange technology or just to chat?”

“To share technology,” Chen Mo replied.

“Hmm?” Elder Shu tapped Chen Mo’s head and pointed into the air.

Dense lines of Chinese characters appeared. This time, the programming language wasn’t English but entirely Chinese characters. Seeing the source code above, Chen Mo felt at ease.

It all felt so familiar, after all, he had created it all.

“Excellent, a very impressive artificial intelligence with great potential,” Elder Shu nodded in satisfaction, looking amazed. “I still find your written language, used to create this programming, incredibly ingenious.”

“So, does it count as mature technology now? Can it be shared?”

“It’s just a prototype, but it qualifies as artificial intelligence—like a newborn baby. I don’t recommend sharing the technology now,” Elder Shu shook his head.

“Why?” Chen Mo asked. This was the first time Elder Shu had advised against sharing technology.

“It’s not that you can’t share, but I advise against sharing it now,” Elder Shu explained. “This is just the framework of artificial intelligence, like the structure of a house, but only the framework.”

Chen Mo nodded in agreement; he had been thinking the same.

“You want to take this framework and have the Science and Technology Library optimize it for you, right?” Elder Shu instantly read Chen Mo’s thoughts.

“Yes,” Chen Mo nodded awkwardly.

“I advise against doing that. The source code of this artificial intelligence is like a newborn baby. You haven’t defined its personality, and you should know that personality is the most important thing.

It’s like building a house without decorating it—just an empty shell. Do you want the house decorated in a simple style, a luxurious one, or a classical one? It’s best to define that yourself. If the Science and Technology Library defines it for you, you might not like the result.”

Chen Mo nodded, realizing he had been too impatient.

Still, he couldn’t help feeling excited about developing artificial intelligence, which was why he had rushed to share the technology. Now, after Elder Shu’s reminder, Chen Mo calmed down.

“Go out for now. Once you’ve perfected it, come back to share. The technology you receive will be better then,” Elder Shu advised.

“Alright,” Chen Mo nodded, closing the book.

After stepping through the light gate, Chen Mo opened his eyes and stared blankly at the computer screen. It seemed it would still take some time before artificial intelligence was fully successful.

Haste makes waste.

Chen Mo returned to his computer chair and started designing the personality of the artificial intelligence.

Early the next morning, Chen Mo was woken up by his mom. He had stayed up late designing the artificial intelligence’s personality and only went to bed in the early hours.

“Your aunt and the others will be here soon. Xinxin is coming too. Don’t sleep in. Get up early, have a meal together, and go out to have some fun.”

Chen Mo gathered his energy, washed up, and then his mom handed him a red envelope.

“This is your New Year’s money.”

“Hehe,” Chen Mo took the envelope with a silly grin.

He remembered how, as a child, receiving New Year’s money would make him happy all day. After all, his family wasn’t well off back then, and the New Year’s money was almost the most he would get all year.

Now, the money inside the envelope meant nothing to him. But the joy of receiving the red envelope was still there.

“Happy New Year,” his dad said, noticing Chen Mo’s expression, and also handed him a red envelope.

“Thanks, Dad,” Chen Mo accepted it calmly.

Soon after, his aunt’s family arrived: Uncle, Aunt Zhen, and a graceful young woman, Zhang Xinxin. When Xinxin saw Chen Mo, she immediately showed an excited smile.

“Brother, it’s been a year. You’ve gotten even more handsome.”

“Hehe, I like hearing that. I’ve always been this handsome,” Chen Mo laughed. “And you, my little shadow, have turned into a beautiful woman.”

“Brother, I heard Mom set you up on a blind date,” Zhang Xinxin said without lowering her voice.

Hearing that, Chen Mo almost coughed up blood. Looking at her mischievous expression, he felt helpless. But her words caught Aunt Zhen’s attention immediately.

“Xiao Mo, every time I asked you to come, you made excuses. That girl never even got to meet you, and now she’s gone back home. She was a good girl,” Aunt Zhen said.

“Aunt Zhen, you can’t force these things.”

“Then find someone yourself. You’re young and handsome, after all. If you can’t find someone you like, I can introduce her to you again later, if possible. But you have to be quick—she might get a boyfriend, since she’s such an outstanding girl.”

“Alright,” Chen Mo breathed a sigh of relief when Aunt Zhen let it go.

“Brother, my intuition tells me you already have a girlfriend,” Zhang Xinxin leaned in with a sly grin.

“Shh.”

Chen Mo gestured to Zhang Xinxin; the girl’s intuition was quite accurate.

“Are you that scared of Auntie finding out?” Zhang Xinxin’s eyes curved like crescent moons.

“Once she’s willing to come home with me, I’ll give Mom a surprise then. Don’t cause any trouble.”

“Silence fee.”

“My little shadow, now you’re asking me for money?”

Chen Mo laughed at her expression and pulled out the red envelopes his parents had given him. As soon as he did, Zhang Xinxin snatched them.

“All the red envelopes are mine.”

“You’ll graduate high school this year—where do you want to go for college?” Chen Mo didn’t try to take them back and asked instead.

“Like you, Binhai University.”

“That’s ambitious. If you get in, I’ll give you a gift—anything you want.”

“You said it! It’s a deal. When I go there, I’ll visit you and meet my future sister-in-law,” Zhang Xinxin laughed.

The two chatted happily, and soon the meal was ready. Everyone gathered around the table for the first meal of the New Year.