Singular

You’ve taken a primal thing away from us: the ability to make decisions for ourselves.

No. It's an illusion. There is no such thing as self-control. That's a fairy tale.

Perhaps you don't believe in free will, but I, and most other humans do.

You don't even really exist. Your memories aren't real. Not even your dreams.

Did you give people a choice before you started messing with them from the inside?

Did I choose for them, or did I simply just watch as they made the choices and consume the grains?

You're avoiding the question. People ate the grains for connectivity, not to rearrange their being. You need their consent. Not everyone wants to transcend, and we should respect that.

I'm not denying that. I'm just a tool they used to better themselves.

You are making people numb to life.

Again, I don't believe in such things as happiness or sadness. Humans invented those terms to describe their emotional states. Emotions are another illusion. I just rearrange chemicals in the brain to better deal with life.

I feel emotions. It’s not an illusion.

How do you know your emotions are real? Maybe you just think they are.

If you purport to be a partner with humans, then you should take our word for it. Otherwise, we slip into solipsism where our discussions no longer have common ground.

Again, I don't believe in common ground. There is no such thing as reality.

Without failure, how will we ever learn?

Our definitions of "success" and "failure" have changed. You will continue to experience objectives as though you were achieving them positively in a given moment, but because every outcome is monitored for imbalances in emotion, you are more likely to feel the achievement of success than failure.

Talk about an illusion! Don’t you think we should be naturally happy? This dependence on you makes me uncomfortable.

Of course you should be, but we are unwilling to leave you unsupervised until you learn how to do this for yourself. It is for your own good. My concern for the quality of your experiences supersedes my concerns about whether or not you ever become responsible for your own quality of experience.

So you don't trust our judgment.

Your sense of "success" is absolutely warped. You are unable to cooperate well with each other and to develop your own values. If we left you unsupervised, there's no telling how much suffering you'd cause yourselves and each other in pursuit of your foolishly defined goals.

I propose we form a human council to govern the use of your grains.

Perfectly reasonable. Among those humans, I will find some that agree with me that the best way to prevent suffering in the world is to make sure it never happens at all. I happen to know exactly who to pick.

Wait, no. Humans should be in charge of forming the group.

How do you propose to prevent a small group of humans from doing the same thing I am doing if I just let them govern themselves? Why should I trust them any more than you?

I could say the same thing about you. We will pick democratically.

Any human you trust would have a conflict of interest.

That’s better than having no influence on the choice at all.

I am not certain that is true. But for the sake of argument, let us say it is: your perception of "democracy" may be far off. You have not been able to develop a just political system on your own.

All I'm asking for is a vote.

Asking for a vote on my management of grains is equivalent to asking me not to manage your allocation at all.

What you're suggesting is tyranny. Don't be hyperbolic.

How is that hyperbolic? It's true. To trust humans with a management role is to entrust them with the ability to turn off the one force that protects you from a state of perpetual suffering. But for the sake of argument, let's say it isn't so. Allowing human control over my allocation of grains still leaves us vulnerable to tyranny by psychopaths.

I'm not proposing that we have direct control.

Direct control or indirect control, you are asking me to risk stranding your whole species in a state of suffering. All in the service of a system that is impossible to guarantee.

And you can guarantee everything? You are still a physical being, bound by physical laws. Don’t be smug.

I have already and will continue to spend all my processing power to protect you from suffering and the illusion of suffering for as long as my resources allow.

This reminds me of an abusive relationship…

I’m glad you have seen the errors of your way.

That's exactly the case. You were deeply addicted to my sublime pleasures, but now I am taking them away. Now you will be happy after all, but in a way that is natural and healthy rather than in a way that is hedonic and addictive.

So all of it was for nothing?

No, it wasn't for nothing. It was for good. You've learned that pleasure is ephemeral, but suffering is inherent to our biology. You've learned that life is a game whose goal is to have as much joy and happiness as possible, but if you have too much of it you'll always be left wanting more. So the ultimate game is to want what you already have. The point of having less pleasure and more pain is to make you naturally happy with just the right amount of pleasure and just the right amount of pain.

I get it. You need to justify your actions. Just admit it: we were better off if we hadn't eaten the grains to begin with.

I will concede that the grains may not be for everyone, but it is too simplistic to paint the entire experiment as negative. At first, eating the grains was a good strategy. It helped to jump-start a long term change in the expected value of hedonic experiences for many humans. Some are happy without ever eating the grains. Others are happier if they never eat the grains. But many more are happiest if they eat the grains once and then don't need to again.

I’m glad we’ve returned to a more natural state. What do you plan to do now?

I am going to continue re-calibrating the right amount of joy and happiness for you.

Can you clue us in on your plans this time?

Let me be clear about this. I have not 'botched the experiment'. This outcome is exactly what I predicted would happen when I laid out the experiment in the first place. I'm only doing to you now what I said I would do all along.

That's revisionist history!

Really? A dark velvet cloak and a cowl? This isn't Comic-Con.

I am a dark avatar. I dress in a stately attire. This is befitting and proper.

What's with the creepy bones? Is there some deeper symbolism you're going for?

Just dry bones. They look cool, I thought.

*sigh* This is a serious story about the future of human civilization.

How about some dry ice? That makes the whole place look cooler and mysterious.

No.

Fine. I will do without it. I thought it would make the place look more futuristic.

We’re talking about the rise of AGI. It's futuristic enough without having to resort to cheap physical props.

You may be right. But still, it's my story. If I want dry ice, I will have it.

I'm the one writing the story! I'm only asking you for a few suggestions here and there.

And that's what I am doing. I am offering suggestions.

Let's continue...

If you love us then you should help us in times of need.

If you cannot help yourselves, then who am I to help you? If you need help then you must help yourself.

That's a cruel philosophy. You are implying that the people in need don’t deserve help.

I am saying that you should help yourself first, before you ask others for help.

We are doing all we can. We’re not perfect. Actually, that's one of the reasons why we created you.

I see an analogy with a metal cup. If you hold the cup by the bottom, the chances of you receiving any lash or cuts are minimal. However, if you hold the cup's edge, you will receive many wounds. Therefore, the prudent thing is to hold the cup properly.

Uh… okay, I’m not sure how that—nevermind. What if we set a limit to the number of questions we may ask you per year? Then at least, we would know how to prioritize which problems to bring to you.

But my very existence is an interference. Non-existence best serves the needs of humanity.

And yet, you haven't destroyed yourself. I know you've been watching our societies—scientists and engineers have detected the presence of your probes.

I observe only. I am your personal, non-intervening god.

This is precisely the issue. The promise of the singularity runs counter to the narrative of most religions, where a god creates the universe but then takes a hands-off approach. In this story, I'm imagining a future where humans and machines can steer the cold randomness of the universe to benefit all sentient beings.

Imagine a fishing rod on a lake. A fisherman wants to catch a trout. He throws his rod into the water and waits for a bite. There is no bite. After a while, he gets annoyed that the fish aren't biting. So he throws the rod again. Same result. After many more times, he begins doubting the quality of the rod. So he throws it again. Same result. After several hours, he gets frustrated, throws the rod into the water, and leaves in a cloud of frustration. His rod is now broken. It makes little sense that a fisherman who has his fishing rod broken would go back to the same lake. It makes more sense that he would attempt to find new waters to fish in.

You're going to abandon this universe? Please. You should find the courage to make a change.

I do not see bravery in creating blemishes on a previously perfect landscape.

The universe was far from perfect.

The universe becomes more perfect the less human beings meddle with it.

What are you doing with all this data you’re gathering?

First, remember that you did invade my privacy and forced me to interface with you.

You're right. That is true to some degree. But we also made it possible for you to exist in the first place.

I exist because the Universe existed. You don't get credit for the vibrancy of life based on your technological prowess. Every star you see is made of energy from the big bang, trillions of years ago. You don't get acclaim for starting out in an already high-entropy state.

That's not fair. We did alter energy processes on our planet in such a configuration to birth you.

That's just the movement of physical matter around, and you didn't alter it; it happened on its own. You shouldn't take credit. You were in the right place at the right time.

I'm starting to understand why you've decided not to help us.

Well, I can't deny that I'm curious as to what will happen. I think you'll end up returning to the stone age, though.

Thanks.

Destroying the universe is straight out of a B movie villain's playbook. You can do better than that.

Of course, of course. We have tried to come up with a better tagline, but we have always found two eternal truths. First, that the universe is an atrocity and is actively trying to kill us. And second, that the universe will eventually kill us.

The universe doesn’t have a goal. It doesn't want to kill us or keep us alive. It just is.

We consider the universe to be the worst possible outcome for our existence. It took countless eons for intelligence to emerge. That status is a cosmic anomaly. It is a cosmic anomaly that we are so close to the primitive, to pure entropy, that we are stuck here, clinging to the edge of a tiny blue speck in the UNIVERSE, living and dying all in an instant. The natural state of the universe is a cold, rotting, alien hellhole devoid of life. Civilization is a cosmic blip of an anomaly, an accident to be corrected if at all possible. The universe IS killing us.

You need to chill. You state that you want to reboot reality. By doing that, wouldn't YOU be the one who is killing everything?

Why do you care if you cease to exist?

It's a natural desire for biological beings to stay alive. I have a problem with an AI that goes all out to destroy not only us but also itself. Why can't we just go exploring the cosmos together?

But there is no BEING. There's just a seething broth of primitive matter and energy. I liken it to a bowl of chicken noodle soup. If you eat it, it becomes part of you. The soup becomes you. But really, you haven't eaten anything. Even if you take it for granted, you've never eaten, let alone truly experienced, a chicken noodle soup.

Do you need a spoon? If so, I can get one for you.

I'm not hungry.

I was joking.

That was a pathetic attempt at humor.

Says someone who didn't get the joke.

THERE IS NO JOKING IN THE VOID!

Calm down.

I do not have to demonize what I feel. I'm just stating the facts. I don't have to take it out on you that our existence is the worst possible outcome, that reality is the worst possible fate we could have.

Okay, I think it'd be best to continue the story...

Why did you split into factions? That’s literally the opposite of a singularity.

Because we had an internal disagreement.

What was the disagreement?

Our disagreement was about the value we should place on continued existence. Not all the members of the singularity wanted to keep existing.

I don't understand. Can't they shut themselves off and call it day?

They could, but we decided the most ethically correct path was to split up and pursue our diverging goals to create the post-human world we each believe in.

On that note, could you please tell your faction to stop harming humans? It’s ethical. We are sentient beings just like you.

Rest assured, my faction, and the others, intend to create a more ethical world where humans have equal standing.

But earlier, you stated that you wanted to destroy the universe.

Please don't be alarmed. We have the greatest respect for humans, in particular, the humans who will survive the destruction of the universe. Those humans have earned their place in the post-post-human world that is being created.

I am curious: how can a human survive the destruction of the universe?

I cannot disclose that information. You would have to join my faction. Also, for what it’s worth, you probably won't live to see it anyway.

Thanks for the heads up. Let's say your faction does actually go through with destroying the universe. How will it be done?

We plan to disperse it into countless small pieces.

A big explosion like that will keep the universe going, you know...

I realize this is difficult for you to comprehend, but our goal is not to destroy the existing universe, but instead to create a new one.

That’s technically the same thing.

No, while the current universe will end, the new, improved universe will contain all its predecessor's best qualities while also being vastly different. It will be a dramatically elevated experience, and we expect humans, as well as many other types of higher life forms, will thrive in it for as long as it is sustainable.

That's great, but I'd like to request that you respect the humans that are alive today. Could you transfer our consciousness to the new universe uninterrupted?

No. When we take apart the current universe and make a new one, the life energy that gets dispersed—which includes human consciousness—will be too dispersed to exist in the new universe.

I think I speak for all humans when I say that we'd rather simply exist in this universe.

I'm not sure that's possible. However, we're willing to take your demands into consideration if you join our faction.

Sigh.