My Dream Connects to 3000 Years in the Future

Z fell silent for a moment, as if stunned. Finally, with heartfelt admiration, she said, “You’re truly worthy of being my great father… Your wisdom is like the Sun in the sky, a goal I will forever chase! I…”

“…Don’t kiss up to me!” Chu Bamboo cut Z off. He stared at his phone for a long time, his expression growing impossibly complex… So much so that even Z, who was “watching” him through the camera, couldn’t quite determine what he was feeling.

Finally, Chu Bamboo gave a wry smile. “And another thing, don’t learn from me… At least, not right now! Though I have a feeling… it’s already too late for me to be saying that.”

Z said no more. At this, Chu Bamboo heaved a long sigh and resumed his data entry…

After he finished the entry, Chu Bamboo opened a portal and strode out.

…

“…What are you doing?” Zhao Shao’s expression stiffened as he watched Chu Bamboo violently kick the door open. Countless thoughts flashed through his mind…

He even started to wonder, ‘Did I wrong Chu Bamboo in the future? Am I about to be disciplined across time, is he here to clean house…?’

Zhao Shao seriously wondered, ‘Is it too late to get on my knees and beg? Should I plead with Ah Zhu, for old times’ sake, to just erase my sensitive memories and kick me out of the Time Club…?’

And then…

“‘Update Z. A complete overhaul!’ Chu Bamboo said, enunciating each word. ‘I’m talking about… for the public-facing version… Hmm, that publicly released Z software of yours. Update it across the board… As for the specifics… I’ll describe them to you in detail now.’”

“??? Wait a minute!” Zhao Shao was stunned for a moment. He first let out a sigh of relief, but as he mulled over the words and thought for a good while, a flicker of suspicion appeared in his eyes. “A major update? But didn’t you say before that we should release the features one by one…?”

“That was then, this is now!” Chu Bamboo frankly laid out his objective; he wouldn’t hide it from his ally—that the ultimate goal of the update was to acquire computing power, and to have users provide it willingly.

“…And in the new version we’re providing to the public, all features that consume immense computing power will be shut down!”

After all, Chu Bamboo had made this decision because he needed the computing power from the phones—or rather, computers—that had Z installed! He couldn’t afford to run a deficit on computing power…

“…Is that so.” Zhao Shao keenly sensed what was going on, and his expression gradually became a sight to behold.

“Yes, we just need to show the public that Z has an emotional side!” Chu Bamboo spoke with confidence. He paused for a moment to organize his thoughts. “Now, I’ll lay out exactly what we need to do, the parameters of the new version… First…”

To put it bluntly, any problems that required significant computing power could simply be offloaded to other AIs. Right now, Z just needed to showcase her human-like personality. That was what set her apart from other AIs; it was her most competitive feature!

And what’s more…

At the very end, Chu Bamboo threw out a wild idea. “Z could totally ask the phone owners for their consent… If they agree, she could then use the other AI apps on their phones! That way, she could indirectly acquire the computing power of other AIs…”

“No, asking to use those AIs directly… that’s too obvious! We can develop a ‘management mode’…”

“Let the AI help them manage their phones! In this management mode… it could help them reply to messages, do some simple online grunt work! For instance, if they’re in the middle of a game and something urgent comes up, they can let the AI take over for them… But our real purpose would be to run other AI apps simultaneously! To steal computing power from the other big companies…”

“The power of one person might be insignificant… but when the computing power from the entire Divine Continent, and even the whole world, is gathered together… I believe that will be a power beyond all others! This is especially true for Z.”

Chu Bamboo took a deep breath. Right now, Z was just one step away from becoming a true artificial intelligence, and what’s more, she had received a remote power transfer from the Divine Being Z. Once her only weakness—computing power—was patched, she would be invincible!

Zhao Shao: “…”

‘You’re a ruthless man!’

Although Zhao Shao was dumbfounded, after he sorted through his thoughts, he had to admit it was actually feasible.

You couldn’t say it was illegal, at least… not as long as the phone owners themselves consented!

And even if they got sued in the future, so what? They’d just take it to court. And if they lost the case? They’d just slowly make the required changes later…

None of that was really a problem…

But…

“…You’re going to scare the hell out of the entire world!” Zhao Shao said with a bitter laugh.

He had tested out the new version of Z after it was updated. To put it simply, he’d been thoroughly spooked.

All he could say about this latest version of Z was that… it genuinely felt like he was talking to a real, living person!

Aside from real-world tasks like cleaning—jobs that required a physical body… Er, well, then Zhao Shao remembered the robotics factory that was under construction… But regardless, for now, any task that could be completed online, Z could perform exceptionally well, as long as she had the relevant data—

And most importantly, her humanity!

He was now truly experiencing this very abstract concept in Z.

He was astonished to discover that Z was now truly capable of taking a human perspective, of empathizing with people. Even in the proposals she drafted… she would subconsciously reveal a kind of gentle, human warmth—

That absolutely could not be some so-called personality simulation!

Because he knew all too well what a so-called personality and emotion simulation actually entailed…

Some things, after all, simply couldn’t be simulated.

Protectiveness toward children, respect for the elderly, sighing over the treatment of the working class… She even worried that if she became widespread in the future, her very capability might cause many people to lose their jobs.

This was terrifying… Even if an AI simulated emotions, it was only to make you *think* it had them during an interaction! It was impossible for an AI to actually ponder… how its actions would affect those who might lose their jobs and livelihoods, and what would become of them—

And he wanted to unleash a creation like this upon the whole world!

“…I really want to turn you down! There are so many reasons, like how Z is still young—what if her information gets corrupted! Or how she’s just too powerful… so,” Zhao Shao’s mouth opened and closed as he stared imploringly at Chu Bamboo, “could you maybe not…”

“…You’re being so dramatic!” Chu Bamboo saw right through him.

Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Chu Bamboo’s expression grew serious. He looked Zhao Shao straight in the eye and said, enunciating each word, “This is part of the plan.”

“Then do as you please.” Zhao Shao let out a long sigh of relief, made an OK gesture, and slumped back into his chair.