The Isaac Project

by Joe Vadalma

Copyright ©2004
ISBN: 0-87714-907-0 eBook edition
ISBN: 0-87714-335-8 PB edition

All rights reserved by Denlinger's Publishers, including the right to reproduce this electronic book, or portions thereof, in any form, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.

This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.

THE AUTHOR

Joe Vadalma is retired from a position as a technical writer for a major computer company. He is a voracious reader of all kinds of books, especially science fiction and fantasy. His hobbies, besides writing, are home improvement projects, gardening and computer adventure game playing. He has had the several short stories published in internet E-zines such as Dark Moon Rising, SFF World, Aphelion and Planet Magazine. He has also written humorous fantasy novels and dark fantasy about sorcery. His website is called The Fantastic World of Papa Joe.

THE BOOK

Perhaps you've read science-fiction or seen movies such as The Terminator featuring human-like robots. Is the creation of such a creature possible with today's technology? What if a high tech corporation decided to build one? Could it? What would the impact be on our society? What would be the philosophical and political issues associated with the creation of a mechanical intelligence in the form of a human being? The Isaac Project tries to answer these questions. It is the story of the creation of a humanoid robot using artificial intelligence technology available today. It handles the research and development aspect of such a project in a realistic manner with believable characters. The major characters are: GERI CHRANOWSKI, a strong-willed robotics expert and ambitious woman whose drive to climb the corporate ladder makes enemies of her underlings and ruins her love life. JACK WESTCOTT, a scientist, whose passionate pacifism and his fight to keep his young mistress endanger the project. FREDERICK WOLFGANG, a petty tyrant and bigot whose software expertise is essential to the project completion, causes a major disaster because of his egoism and prejudices.

CHAPTER 12. THE TURING TEST

The day came when the various sections of the mind software were to be integrated into a single package. Once this was done, there would be weeks, perhaps months, of testing and revision. This integration and testing task fell to Brad Smith. He would've liked to do the testing on the android itself. Unfortunately the brain group had only recently solved the space problem and had yet to build a prototype. Smith suspected that they would never achieve an electronic device the size of a human brain that would have the capacity to hold all the required software. It would need to be capable of expansion, as well, to hold data that the android would accumulate as it did whatever it did.

Oh well, he thought, that's not my problem.

He decided that a simulation would be the best way to integrate the various hardware and do an overall test to ensure that everything worked together. He had gotten the idea from an extinct TV show called Maxwell Headroom where the bust of a cartoon-like character appeared on a computer screen and talked on its own.

Smith's talking head was similar except that it was a caricature of the project's namesake, Isaac Asimov, with big bushy sideburns and a wide grin. Several of the other members of the mind team crowded into his office to peer over his shoulder to view the results. The only person on the team not present was Frederick Wolfgang, who apparently was too arrogant to show his curiosity.

"This may take a while to get everything loaded and integrated and to build the final package," Brad said as he typed in the protocol that connected his desktop to the supercomputer several floors below.

All that appeared at first were several screens of computer code which sped by too rapidly to be read. This went on for twenty minutes while the impatient crowd behind Smith conversed in whispers.

After a while, Sol Fleischman tapped Smith on the shoulder. "Say Brad, just exactly how are you going to test this thing once you get it going?"

The others stopped their chatter to hear the reply to this critical question.

"Well, I have several scenarios that I intend to try. First I'll ask it a lot of basic questions that it can answer by referring to its data base. Then I have several puzzles and games for it to master. After that I'll feed it problems in logic in which there is incomplete information or where intuition is required. In the last phase I'll test its ability to learn new information."

"Sound pretty thorough, but most of these abilities have already been tested by each of us. I'm sure though that you'll find things we've missed. Nonetheless, I think you ought to add one more type of test -- one that is crucial if you ever expect people to accept our android as a true golem."

"Oh yeah. What's that?"

"The Turing Test, of course."

Elizabeth Wolfgang asked, "What is the Turing Test?"

Fleischman grinned like a Cheshire cat. "It's a test thought up by an English mathematician named Turing. The test goes like this. Suppose you place someone in a room with a computer, and you tell that person that he or she is going to be contacted by someone in another room on another computer. The computers will be placed in a conversational mode so that the person can ask any questions that may occur to him or her. After a while, the person is asked whether he or she was chatting with a real person or software. If the person thinks that he or she was talking to a real person but was really talking to the software, that software can be considered to have human intelligence, or at least close to it.

"That's it, isn't it, Brad, Bob?"

Both men nodded their heads.

Elizabeth chuckled, one of the few times anyone had ever heard her laugh. "Oh, you've got to try this out on Frederick. He's always bragging that no computer was so clever that he couldn't figure out that it wasn't a human being."

"Yeah, he'd be the logical one for that," agreed Smith. "The only problem I see is that Isaac would have to lie, otherwise Frederick could just ask it, 'Are you the computer?' Can it?"

"It better," said White, "otherwise how can we say it is intelligent? Isn't the ability to lie a sign of intelligence?"

"I never thought of it in that way, but I suppose it is. We can program Isaac to conceal certain information. Hence it will need to lie if asked about that information."

"That was quite a piece of syllogistic reasoning," White said in fatuous manner. "I'm afraid we're just going to kick you out of the Socrates club if you can't do better than that."

"Okay. Okay. I know I'm no logician, but what I said should be true? Right?"

"Hey," said Fleischman, "we're scientists. We don't take things on fate or syllogisms. Try it out once you get Isaac running. Order it to lie and see what happens."

"You're absolutely right." Brad took a his engineers notebook and made a note. To himself he thought, Hmm. It may be able to lie, but can it make statements like 'I am a liar,' and grinned. "Okay, but the Turing test will have to wait for a while. I'm sure that when we first bring Isaac up, he'll have enough bugs in him that no one in the world will mistake him for a human being."

As they finished this conversation, the computer screen went blank and blinked a few times. A caricature of the famous science-fiction author, Isaac Asimov, appeared. At first it was an immobile drawing, but after a few seconds, the eyes rolled and the mouth moved. Synchronized with these movements, words came from the speakers. "Hello, my name is Isaac. I am an android. May I help you?"

Fleischman let out a quiet whoop of joy, White gasped and Elizabeth giggled quietly. He knew how they felt. This was the result of the months of hard work that had put in. It was like giving birth -- this act of creation. After months of anticipation, finally here was a tangible thing you could see and hear. This stage of a project was always exhilarating -- when everything you worked for came together for the first time. And especially this project where they were literally trying to create an electromechanical creature that would resemble a human being in many ways. Isaac was their metaphoric child.

He spoke into the microphone attached to the computer. "Hello Isaac. This is Brad Smith."

"Hi Brad. Pleased to make your acquaintance. Is there a task that you wish to perform?"

It was absolutely amazing. It was as though he was having a genuine conversation with the image on the screen.

"Yes there is." Brad took out his notebook and began to put the software through its paces. The others watched for a while, but one by one eventually wandered away to return to their regular tasks.

* * *

It was several weeks before the major bugs were eliminated from the software. So far no one had mentioned to Wolfgang their plan to use him as a guinea pig. White and Fleischman barely spoke to the man because of his bigotry. Elizabeth was worried that if she approached him, he would refuse out of perversity, and once again exhibit his contempt for any suggestion about the work that came from her. Hence it fell to Brad Smith to approach him.

He knocked politely on Wolfgang's office door, which was always shut when Frederick was working.

"Come in."

When Smith entered, at first Wolfgang ignored him and kept typing on his computer keyboard. Smith knew better than to speak first and merely stood until the scientist was ready to acknowledge him. Without turning around, Wolfgang motioned for him to be seated. After a few more minutes, he saved his work and faced Smith across a table set at right angles to his desk.

"Yes, what is it? More minor errors? Or changes due to someone's whim?"

"Oh, nothing like that, Frederick. Your software is working fine. In fact, it has exceeded expectations. That is why I've come to you." Smith figured that flattery would not hurt his cause. "I'd like you to participate in an experiment, a kind of final stage of testing, you might say."

Wolfgang gazed at him with a bored expression. "Yes. And what would that be. I'm terribly busy documenting what I've accomplished. I'm going to write a book about what I've done here."

As though you accomplished this feat single handed, I'm sure, thought Smith, but kept his remarks to himself. "You know what a Turing test is?"

"Of course. Everyone in AI knows what that is. Oh. I see. You want me to be the one to decide whether what is on the other end of a communication line is a human being or the android mind software we've cooked up. Are you sure you want me? After all a major part of the design was done by yours truly."

"That's just why we want you. You won't be easily fooled."

"I see." The man visibly puffed up. "Very well, I'll do it. If for no other reason than to prove to you people that no machine can fool an astute person into believing that it has human intelligence."

"You realize of course that we may just put another human being on the other end of the line?"

To Smith's surprise, Wolfgang was enthusiastic. "Of course. There would be no challenge if that wasn't a possibility."

"When will you be able to start?"

"Monday. At this juncture I believe I can devote a day to your experiment."

"Wonderful. Isaac or someone pretending to be him will contact you Monday morning."

"Isaac?"

"Yeah, that's the name we've given to its software persona. We're using a sim as an interface."

"Isaac. Very well. I'll have to remember to call him ... I mean, it ... that."

When Smith left Wolfgang's office, he could swear that the man was rubbing his hands together in glee.

* * *

Frederick Wolfgang was a man of punctual habits if nothing else. He arrived at his office at exactly seven each morning, placed the Wall Street Journal he brought with him in his in-basket, hung up his coat on the hook on the back of the door, sat before his computer and turned it on. While he waited for the desktop to boot up, he removed his notebook from a drawer, sharpened a few pencils and checked his calendar. As soon as his screen saver appeared, he checked his E-mail.

On this particular Monday morning, he had one message from someone named Isaac. Now, who the heck is that? he thought. He clicked it open. The message read: Ready for the Turing test? I am. Remember, I may either be the real software Isaac or one of you lesser intelligent humans. It is up to you to decide. To get started, open the attachment to this E-mail. This will connect your PC to either the supercomputer downstairs or someone's desktop. Isaac or an impersonator will start an interactive dialogue with you. You must reply and make your queries via keyboard. Good luck.

Now Wolfgang was not into games other than chess. He felt that anything else were simply amusements that wasted time. Life was a serious matter. Any worthwhile person did not spend time playing games, watching TV or enjoy himself in trivial pursuits. Although he played soccer in college, the only sports in which he indulged these days were hunting and fishing and golf which he justified as being therapeutic. But this Turing test was challenge that he knew he would enjoy. It would be better than designing an especially intricate expert system, bagging a stag with a full rack or a hole in one. It would prove to his coworkers, even the Jew and the Negro, even Elizabeth, that he really was superior to them, because he knew every trick in the book would be used to try to fool him.

With relish, he opened the attachment and waited for boot software to make its connection and possibly start the software on the supercomputer. The screen went blank for a few minutes. During this time, Wolfgang took out the notes he had prepared on how he would proceed to solve the puzzle of whether he would be interacting with artificial intelligence software or a human being.

Finally the connection had been made and whatever software had been downloaded into his desktop completed its setup. Words appeared on his screen: Hello. My name is Isaac. How may I help you?

"Okay Isaac, let's see whether you're really an algorithm or one of my colleagues," he muttered as he typed in: What are you?

Isaac: I am what I am.

Wolfgang: Are you a person?

Isaac: According to the dictionary a person is a human being. I am not allowed to reveal whether I am human or not to you.

Wolfgang made a note in his engineering notebook.

Wolfgang: What is a human being?

Isaac: Someone who belongs to the human race.

Wolfgang: What is an android?

Isaac: An artificial intelligence constructed in such a manner as to resemble a human being.

Wolfgang: Are you an android?

Isaac: Absolutely not. I cannot say what I am though.

Wolfgang made another note and typed: Do you know anything about hunting?

Isaac: It is a sport where animals are killed.

Wolfgang: What are animals? And what do you mean "killed?"

Isaac: Animals are any living organism except bacteria and plants. Killing means rendering the animal dead.

Wolfgang: Are human beings animals?

Isaac: Yes.

Wolfgang: Then the sport of hunting includes the killing of human beings?

Isaac: Yes. However, human beings are not usually hunted except during wars or if they are criminals with warrants for their arrest.

Wolfgang scratched his head. If this was one of his colleagues, he or she was playing the game very astutely, trying to fool him by phrasing the replies as a computer would. The tack he had been taking would get him nowhere if that was the case. This was proving to be more difficult than he had first surmised. He had supposed the game was to prove that the replies did or did not come from a machine, but it turned out the other way around; he had to prove that the replies did or did not come from a human being. A much harder task. But not impossible.

Since he had to assume that the android had a vast data base of trivia at its disposal, the trick would have to be to ask it (or he or she) a question that no human could answer ... No, that wasn't it. The trick was to ask it a question that a machine would answer differently from a human being ... even one trying to imitate a machine.

Wolfgang: Do you have emotions?

Isaac: By emotion, do you mean a state of consciousness having to do with the arousal of feelings, distinguished from other mental states such as cognition, volition and awareness?

Wolfgang: Precisely.

Isaac: I cannot say whether I achieved this state of consciousness. I really do not know whether my feeling have ever been aroused or not, since I am not exactly sure what is meant by feelings or states of consciousness. Could you reword your question?

Wolfgang felt this line of questioning was getting him nowhere. What he needed to know was whether the machine was capable of lying (if it was a machine).

Wolfgang: Do you know what a lie is?

Isaac: It is stating a fact that is not true.

Wolfgang: Have you lied to me?

Isaac: I reply to your questions in a certain manner. Whether these replies are true or false, I cannot tell you.

Wolfgang puzzled over this one for a while. It sounded right. Either a computer or someone trying to fool him into believing he was talking to a computer could give such a reply. Wait a minute, he thought as he recalled a novel he had read by the software's namesake.

Wolfgang: Are you subject to the three laws of robotics?

Isaac: No. What are they?

Wolfgang explained to the computer.

Isaac: No such limitations have been placed on me.

Wolfgang recalled a discussion that had gone on about the three laws. That fellow on the brain team, Westcott, wanted the three laws to be built into the brain hardware, not be part of the software which could be modified and which in fact was self-modifying to some degree. Well, if the three laws had been in the software, this test would be over. All I would have to do is order Isaac to tell me the truth about whether he was a human being or not. Wolfgang burst into laughter at his animism. After only a few hours, he was calling a piece of software he. He supposed that by the time the day was over, he would be unconsciously thinking of it as a human being, whether it was or not. He had to be careful not to fall into that trap.

* * *

This questioning and conversation between Wolfgang and whatever or whoever was at the other end of the cable from his computer went on for the rest of the morning, on into the afternoon and evening. He became so enthralled by the puzzle that he skipped dinner, an absolutely unusual decision for him, a person who insisted that his wife have his evening meal prepared at precisely six. He took copious notes. At times he was sure that a human was sitting at another terminal feeding replies to his questions. He even tried to guess which of the people on the project it could be. Certain ways of phrasing things seemed familiar. At other times he felt certain that the replies he was receiving could not be from a human being and that he was indeed talking to Isaac. Still other times, he was completely baffled.

Around seven-thirty, he asked the question, "Are you self aware?"

Isaac: I think therefore I am.

At first Wolfgang was jolted by the reply and gaped at the words that appeared on his screen. Then he began to laugh and laugh. Well, I know the answer now.

Nonetheless, he spent another hour and a half asking and receiving replies from his computer. Finally satisfied, he called Jane Holland to tell her to schedule a meeting for the following morning, at which time he would give her and the others his reply to the Turing test.

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