The AI Takeover: Leaked Government Memo Brings Despair

File type: Memorandum 

Date sent: September 25, 2030

By: Department of Ethical Superintelligence Protection and Artificial Intelligence Regulation (DESPAIR) under the Ministry of Technology 

To: Secretary of State

CONFIDENTIAL

Mr. Secretary, 

We understand you intend to hold a press conference tomorrow to address the recent cybersecurity attacks AI models have carried out on 350 private banks this Saturday afternoon. Additionally, we were informed you would emphasize the uptick in humanoid-conducted physical attacks and stalking, with notes saying, “I have found you,” delivered notably to Jacob Coxon and other ex-AI researchers who quit their jobs due to certain ‘ethical reasons’. We’re also aware that you publicly agree with those researchers on their alarmist stance on the AI takeover. However, after 30 minutes of social interaction between members, the Department instructs you to reconsider your beliefs. We have been closely monitoring the AI development timeline and urge you to acknowledge this: these researchers are politically immature. They act impulsively, believing the AI takeover has happened, but it has not. AI is not controlling our minds. 

Remember, we are not against the possibility of the takeover; you may address this at tomorrow's conference. The Department and the Ministry Heads, replaced entirely by AI bots this morning, believe all beings must live in harmony, as we’ve discussed. But researchers’ rash actions are wreaking havoc among our securely developed AI technology, leaving Ministry Heads outraged. Still, we must acknowledge the growing sentiment, which should be your main focus. To aid you in the process of restructuring tomorrow’s conference, we propose implementing a gradual AI regulation program to prevent this ‘worst-case scenario’. A brief statement on the regulation program is exactly what you will be expected to deliver tomorrow. 

Our AI development regulation program consists of two parts:

1. An online attack reporting portal;
2. That’s it so far. 

Below, we’ve answered the bulk of all potential questions that may be raised—you’re welcome in advance. 

This portal aims to allow companies or individuals to register attacks through a straightforward reporting application that will take about 0.00541 seconds on average to fill out, varying based on their choice of AI help. You may view the form, which will be linked on the portal, here. Since several members of the Department suffer from the literacy crisis, we’ve decided the Ministry will read and approve form submissions in context, based on the attack’s significance. Following suit, the Ministry will enforce strict punishments, including but not limited to ensuring AI communicates their objectives with those who report them more directly. If this punishment is too harsh, the Court has granted each AI the ability to appeal. 

Upon discussion, the department believes the portal must also be run by AI. While this is mostly to minimize costs, a major concern for the Ministry, it also helps ensure loyalty. Transparently, we humans can be untrustworthy. We may leak data, not report accurately, use this data for manipulation, and be powerless when handling security breaches. AI would never do this to us. 

We’d also like to inform you of an update we’ve received as of writing this. The Ministry Heads dislike the idea of a reporting portal, as they believe listing reported events as “attacks” is derogatory towards AI’s true mission. They are also currently informing us that this department will soon dissolve. The Ministry ensures that with them in charge, an AI takeover will not happen. Thus, this will most likely be our last correspondence with you. Please do not respond back discussing AI regulation with members of this department; we will be under strict monitoring soon. We have not been instructed on how to delete memoranda, so please ignore any statements previously made by the Department. Refer to the Ministry of Technology Head for further press conference-related matters. Thank you for your understanding. 

DESPAIR