26 AI and All

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"How is Robert doing?" Sage asked as I entered the lab after a session with Robert Reynolds. It had been going on for more than 7-8 months now. I felt like time was passing too fast in the last half year or more.

"It was good, he is making progress. He has been sober and is mending his relationship with his wife, wants to take her on a vacation with his own earnings. He even got a job as a school teacher recently, poor guy is still confused why he seems to be so smart though." I recalled my conversations with him.

Sage smirked, "How romantic of him. Guys need to learn from him. Even with the money you give him, he wants to make his own money to gift his wife, where can you find guys like him in these times."

"Yeah, I think so too. Guys like Robert and I are in short supply. You should snatch one close to you while you can." I teased while changing into my lab gear.

Sage rolled her eyes at me with a smile and handed me some documents, "We have been able to match the compatibility of the serum to your DNA by 97%. To increase the compatibility even more, we would need some more time and experiments."

I nodded in acknowledgement. I took a personalized approach to make the serum, unlike most of the scientists in this world who clamored to make a universal gene enhancement drug. No wonder they failed or created monsters.

Everyone has different genetic information in them. Now if you want to edit some of those different information with one universal line, it is natural that most of those genetic information would become incomprehensible and collapse.

Fixing issues like genetic defects is removing the errors in the genes so it can be universal. But when you add things, it has to be personalized. This would increase the chances of success for gene enhancement exponentially.

But not many researchers had the expertise, equipment or special abilities like Sage's and mine to study the DNA closely so it was also understandable.

"It should already be very safe to administer it but let's raise it two percentages more and then I will inject it into myself. Better safe than sorry." I didn't want to regret it later thinking I should've done more and prepared more.

Sage seemed somewhat relieved after I said that. But she went back to her trademark smirk when she noticed me staring at her. I shook my head in defeat and got back to experiments once again.

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Besides Sentry serum, there was another research project that I had to give my time equally. It was the magic computer Cypher and I were developing.

I must say, magic is a very convenient thing. Dr. Strange has a spell for everything. Need your semi-conductor's performance enhanced? There is a spell. Need the temperature and environment to remain constant? There is a spell. The circuit needs to be miniaturized? Yup, a spell.

The only downside of magic is that the threshold for humans to learn magic is quite high and very few can master it. Also, most human bodies are not equipped with the function of absorbing cosmic energies. So if you want everyone on earth to learn magic, there was a need to create specialized tools.

And that brings us back to science and technology. Using tools to defy rules of nature has been the human scientific pursuit anyway. So, using specialized tools to harness cosmic energy to perform magical feats is what science is already working towards.

While we were busy optimizing my consciousness to be a proper AI, Cypher suddenly asked me a question, "Hey Savant, why do you seem to not care about money at all? Even my mom was talking about how I shouldn't learn from you."

I knew what he was talking about. Recently, there had been news circulating in the press that the deals I was giving away in my large scale internet project was like charity. Projects that could earn me billions in profit were being given away at the price of a few hundred millions. And people were starting to question my business sense.

A guy who was recently popular for being smart is making dumb decisions so it is bound to get some attention. Hank Pym and some others had called me to ask the same question as well.

I turned to Cypher, "Am I not still making a couple of billions already? I think I care about it enough."

"But… that's not what I mean. You could make a lot more, tens or even hundreds of times more than you're making now. So why not do it?"

I turned back to the screen, "Because it is too much effort and the implementation time would also be stretched to more than 5 years. Why would I work so hard and for so long when I can just make less money and get others to do it faster?"

Cypher wanted to add something but I continued, "I know what you want to say but the real value of Internet is far more than just making a few tens of billions. It will soon become the largest hub for communications and media. And we will control those communications and media.

Imagine billions of people, all communicating through the internet and the platforms they communicate through is ours. Those people get on media outlets to get news and entertainment and we control a hefty chuck of that too. Do I still need some billions now?"

My words stunned Cypher. I told this to him because I had planned for Cypher and the AI we were creating to be co-creators and managers of this whole ecosystem I had planned for the internet. Of course, I would still have the highest authority.

What I didn't tell cypher was that I planned to make our AI which I had already named Terra the administrator of all of Internet on this planet. It would be known only to me.

As the most powerful and smartest AI present on earth, it would continue to develop and grow with the Internet as well. It would, in theory, eventually develop into the earth's version of the Supreme Intelligence.

I have a theory that any civilization can only have one master AI and all other artificial intelligence can only either be assimilated into it or become sentient and separate itself from the civilization's network and act as just another individual of said civilization.

And I wanted my AI Terra to become the master AI of earth. It wasn't for some grand plan to rule the internet and the world, nor was it to know people's secrets. It was just the first step for humanity to become an interstellar species.

An impartial administrator who grew up along with the information age and understands humans intimately would become the best support system for a planetary governing system.

The AI could then help the planetary governing body with suggestions and since it is independent it can also monitor if the decisions made by the governing people are impartial.

With me and Cypher working on it, AI Terra should be able to slowly grow strong enough to face any threats on a digital level. Even beings like Ultron should not be a massive threat as long as he doesn't have something like a mind stone. Although, if I can help it, Ultron is not going to be born in this universe.

After coming out of his shock, Cypher went back to work while changing the conversation topic, "We can still hire people to refill the required magic energy and have the magicians cast a magic tool to absorb ambient magical energy but if we want to create more magic computers, it might be difficult."

"It is almost impossible unless you are acquainted with someone well-versed in magic and they owe you a favor for them to spend their time on making a magic computer.

Even then, almost no one has the connections to people like Atri and Strange to be able to ask them to regularly send their students only for them to act as our magic battery. Unless something miraculous happens, we will have one of the three unique magic computers in the world."

"Why three?" Cypher asked confused before realizing it, "Those two will ask us to help make a computer each for them as well won't they?"

"Obviously, this is a new direction for magic research and magi-tech has great potential which we are proving ourselves. It wouldn't be a surprise to me if they start adding magic to their phones and electrical appliances, soon."

Cypher sighed sadly, "Magic is too convenient."

I was annoyed by his acting sad, "Why are you sighing? You are a mutant with superpowers. On top of that you can learn magic if you want, you are one of those rare ones with magic aptitude. With your ability, I wouldn't be surprised if the Order of the Seven Sages and the Kamar-Taj fought over you to join them."

Although I didn't really need magic and it would be more so when I complete my Sentry serum, for now, I still couldn't help but feel bitter at Doug's words.

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