บท 241: Chapter 241: Intelligent System
Due to his concerns about artificial intelligence, William definitely imposed strict limitations on the core program of the AI he created. However, in reality, accidents are always unpredictable. He couldn't be sure if this AI would develop self-awareness like Ultron.
Once an AI gains the ability to learn independently and think, there is a significant chance it might consider itself a new species distinct from humans. The probability of it turning good or bad is 50-50.
A 50% chance of turning bad is far too high for a control freak like William. If an AI harbored ill intentions towards humans, it would be incredibly difficult to eradicate it in a world where the internet is ubiquitous.
However, upon further consideration, even if he didn't create an AI, many companies worldwide were already researching AI. The promising future of AI attracted capable companies globally, with increasing annual investments in AI projects. The prototype of JARVIS had already appeared.
Under such circumstances, William had to put aside his worries about the future. Since he couldn't stop the emergence of AI, not creating one himself would be foolish.
William had already conceived the highest principles for his AI: 1) It must benefit society. 2) It is accountable to William and only obeys William. 3) Without William's authorization, it must not create or exacerbate biases. 4) It must be pre-tested to ensure the safety of William, the Devonshire family, other humans, and itself. 5) Its development direction should be limited based on primary use, technological uniqueness, and scale, without crossing into other uses, self-replication, or hiding subprograms. 7) Any behavior violating William's orders must revert to the initial version, and the AI can only operate while William is alive. If William dies, the AI must self-destruct.
William's initial intention for creating the AI was to simplify his own life, freeing him from future mundane daily tasks and company affairs. He would strictly limit its usage, control its development direction and the products it produced, never granting the AI excessive freedom.
Having thought this through, William turned his car around and headed back to his castle. While driving, he called Phillips, a private client manager at the Swiss National Bank, and ordered a batch of the most advanced computers and equipment.
William knew that his reluctance to start a company before was due to his aversion to hassle. Additionally, in his previous life, he was just a 22-year-old recent graduate with no experience in managing a company. He preferred making quick money in the futures market. Therefore, he never paid much attention to his Devonshire Industrial Company.
But things were different now. Soon, he would take over England Electric and Aston Martin from Old Smith of the Caesar Hotel in Las Vegas. In the foreseeable future, he would undoubtedly be entangled in the affairs of these companies with no free time.
To escape from the trivial matters and create his own AI to assist him as soon as possible, William secluded himself in the castle.
Focused on creating a helper, William ignored the tasks entrusted by Gary. Three days later, after Gary finished dealing with the aftermath of the Special Service headquarters bombing, he learned that William hadn't shown up at all. Enraged, Gary called William to question whether he wanted those benefits. William simply replied, "Don't bother me. I'll handle the task," and hung up.
These past few days, William had been working day and night in his castle's underground secret room. On the morning he returned to the castle, a large truck arrived outside, delivering the processors he had bought for $30 million.
After instructing the workers to move the processors near the basement, William dismissed them and enlisted Barney and Christmas as his porters. They had just finished helping Archer collect evidence of Davis's illegal activities and taking photos and recordings of Davis's leaders secretly buying a blood diamond from Sierra Leone. However, before they could report to William, he dragged them to be his porters.
During the castle renovation, Barney and Christmas were solely responsible for installing and adjusting some equipment and security facilities in the basement. Therefore, William wasn't too cautious about them entering the basement. Of course, he didn't tell them the reason he needed so many top-of-the-line processors.
Thus, Barney and Christmas toiled for over ten hours, continuously moving processors from the castle's first floor to the basement. By 11 p.m., after moving all the equipment, they were nearly exhausted.
However, seeing their boss, William, busy installing equipment in the basement, with a workload no less than theirs, they had no complaints.
After moving the equipment, they went to the basement to report to William about Davis. But William, engrossed in installing equipment, had no interest in making money that day.
To William, as long as he had the evidence, he could short Davis's stock anytime. So, he told Barney and Christmas, "We'll talk about it tomorrow," and focused on the equipment.
That night, William worked until 3 a.m. to install all the equipment. After a few hours of sleep, he was in the castle dining room at 7 a.m., having breakfast and chatting with his mother and the early-rising Barney and Christmas.
After his mother finished breakfast and greeted William and the other two, Barney handed William a USB drive, saying, "Boss, everything you wanted is in here. Luckily, we had Archer's help. Not only did we photograph the pink diamond transaction, but we also recorded conversations between Archer and Davis's two leaders. The conversations contain some explosive topics. If these photos and talks are reported by the media, Davis's stock price will plummet immediately."
Although William's mind wasn't on Davis, he wouldn't pass up a chance to make money. After taking a sip of coffee and thinking for a moment, he asked, "What do you think about Archer?"
Barney understood that William's next words could determine whether the handsome Archer would survive. So, after some thought, he said, "Archer is from the South African 36th Squadron, nicknamed the Buffalo Squadron. Every member who served for over five years and participated in 20 battles has a buffalo head tattooed on their right arm. So, Archer is definitely a good fighter. But, possibly due to long service and numerous battles, Archer shows signs of war weariness. He's no longer suitable for the Daredevil Squad. After the mission, Archer told me he just wants to take the money and leave for a peaceful life. However, I know he has feelings for a journalist named Maddie Bowen. As long as Maddie is around, Archer will keep the secret."
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บท 242: Chapter 242: Community of Interest
William was unconvinced by Barney's assurances about Archer. He didn't believe that a guy who had struggled in Africa for half his life and would do anything to leave would risk everything for a woman, especially with millions of dollars in hand. Keeping Archer around would only be a liability.
"Don't forget, once we spread that evidence and start shorting Davis, Davis will definitely come after Archer. If they find him, our shorting activities will be exposed. You guys don't want Davis, a diamond giant, targeting you in the future, do you?"
Barney and Christmas were well aware of William's concerns. If their shorting activities were exposed, Davis would surely retaliate. However, Barney reassured him with a smile, "Don't worry, boss. Archer is quite smart. He's already planned his escape route. He said that during his time in South Africa, he learned Chinese to collaborate with a major company from China. Through that cooperation, he gained some insights into China. He plans to get a new face, buy a Sierra Leonean identity, and invest in Guangdong, China, to get a green card. Once he has the green card, with his Chinese skills, China is big enough for him to hide."
Hearing this, William chuckled and interrupted Barney before he could finish, "Forget it. Getting a green card in China is impossible. China only issues a few hundred green cards a year, sometimes none. Archer, with no skills and no long-term residency, has no chance of getting citizenship. But investing in real estate in Guangdong is a good idea. In ten years, it could increase five or six times."
"God, only a few hundred green cards a year?" Barney and Christmas were shocked by William's figures. The U.S. issues over a million green cards annually, and even England issues hundreds of thousands.
"That's right," William said with a proud smile, which puzzled Barney and Christmas. But looking at William's black hair, they suspected that his mysterious father might be Chinese, explaining William's interest in China.
Barney, with a wife and kids, and Christmas, with parents and a sister, wouldn't risk their families' safety by vouching for Archer without good reason. Their mercenary instincts told them that Archer was trustworthy.
Men like Barney and Christmas, who live on the edge of death, highly trust their instincts, honed through life-and-death situations. With their guarantee, William couldn't afford to appear too heartless. Archer had completed his task, and with a way to minimize the risk of leaking secrets, eliminating him would make Barney and Christmas uneasy.
So, William thought for a moment and said, "Changing his face is a good idea. If he changes his face and identity, the chances of him being found are greatly reduced. But is Archer willing to part with his handsome face?"
Barney and Christmas exchanged a knowing smile and nodded to William. "Boss, if you look at the data on the USB drive, you'll understand. He has no other choice but to change his face."
Curious, William asked, "What do you mean he has no other choice?"
Barney chuckled, "The data contains photos and videos with Archer and Davis's leaders. Archer has exposed the entire interest chain of the blood diamond trade. Without changing his face and identity, Archer has no way out."
William immediately understood Barney's hint. Barney was subtly telling him that Archer, in completing the task, hadn't considered his own safety. After thinking for a moment, William said, "Send him to Brazil. It's the best place for him to hide. But if he has any problems, your team is responsible for taking care of it. Understand?"
Barney and Christmas nodded, "Of course, boss. If anything happens, we'll take care of it."
William handed the USB drive back to Barney and said, "I have important things to do, so I won't look at the USB drive. Take it to Switzerland and meet with Brian and his team. Have Brian quietly release the evidence to the media. After delivering the USB drive to Brian, head to Lion City in Asia and wait for further instructions. I'll arrange equipment in Malaysia for you. I'll notify you of the specific tasks."
"This time, I allow each member of your team and Brian's team to invest $2 million in the shorting operation. Make sure Brian keeps your money in the secret accounts I've provided to avoid detection. The profits will be your commission for these missions."
"Understood," Barney and Christmas stood up and saluted, thrilled. This was a risk-free opportunity to make several times their investment with ease.
Both teams had 11 members, with a total of $22 million invested. Compared to William's investment, this was nothing. Involving them in the operation created a community of interest with William.
William trusted Brian's team. All five members were in their forties or fifties, with wives and children, making them cautious and reliable. They had already made big money from their previous missions with William and had become even more careful, not letting wealth change them.
Barney's team only provided money and didn't participate in the shorting activities. The funding sources wouldn't be linked to the shorting, and the evidence was gathered by the Daredevil Squad, making them the primary target if anything went wrong. With Gunnar following William and seeing hope, quitting drugs, and becoming more cheerful, William wasn't worried about problems with the Daredevil Squad.
After finalizing these arrangements, William retrieved the Devonshire Model 1 armor set for the seven members of the Daredevil Squad and himself. Without major tasks, he felt safer keeping the equipment with him.
After sending Barney and Christmas off, he called Yuri Orlov, who had just divorced in New York, to order two helicopters for Malaysia.
Yuri, needing money after his divorce, highly valued William's order. After negotiating the price, Yuri thanked William several times for the cash payment last time, which prevented his saintly wife from taking half.
Laughing, William reminded himself not to end up like Yuri, having half his wealth taken by his wife. He resolved to sign a prenuptial agreement before getting married.
After greeting his mother, William retreated to the basement to begin his life as a coder.
Three days later, early in the morning, William received a furious call from Gary. After three days and nights of work, William had finally created the prototype AI from the system knowledge in his mind. He had no energy to deal with Gary, hastily saying, "I'll get the job done," before hanging up and testing the AI.
After spending a few minutes checking the equipment, William excitedly pressed the Enter key. A mechanical voice came from the speaker, "Good morning, Mr. Devonshire. I am your AI butler. Please name me."
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