By Mary O’KEEFE

I think everyone elected into office should  watch “The Terminator” and “The Ultimate Computer” (from the original “Star Trek” series) … there are a few others but we should start with those. 

Our government leaders should really understand what science fiction has been subtly screaming about the human race for generations: We wait too late to act. 

Since the mission of the terminator was to destroy any threat to the AI/cyber existence we have been warned of what happens when technology moves faster than we realize. Now, there are some exceptions that demonstrate that we can co-exist with AI – like in “The Jetsons” when George is perfectly happy to spend the day pushing a button even if he isn’t sure what it does. And for the most part many science fiction stories celebrate the benefits of AI; however, we’re also warned of the detriments of AI … although that term may not have been used. 

“The Ultimate Computer,” written by D.C. [Dorothy] Fontana and Laurence N. Wolfe, is so close to what we are seeing now. The crew of the USS Enterprise is called to a space station where they are to be involved in tests for a revolutionary tactical computer – M-5 – designed by Dr. Richard Daystrom, who is considered brilliant in his field. 

There is an arrogance to Daystrom that is eerily similar to the tech creators who testified this week in front of Congress. The fact that Capt. James T. Kirk would even question the advantage and integrity of this program is beyond belief to Daystrom and to others who support the program. 

In the story, the M-5 has been attached to the Enterprise and will guide it through a simulated attack by another starship. Many of Kirk’s crew were taken off the ship as they would no longer be needed. During a simulated attack, the Enterprise responds brilliantly and at first the test appears to be a success. In fact, the captain of the other ship in the test calls Capt. Kirk, “Dunsel,” which means an extra piece of equipment on a boat that has no real function; does any of this sound familiar? 

A lot of us are on the road to being a dunsel regarding AI. One recent example  was the firing of the entire staff of K-CAL-FM 96.7 radio station, which is based out of Redlands. On July 31, K-CAL Rocks posted on its Facebook page that it was “turning the page.” It will now be all classic rock, without any DJs or news announcers; the music will be moved to a “human-less automated playlist.” AI disc jockeys will not be used, according to a social media post by former program director and host John DeSantis.

Daystrom said he created M-5 so humans would not have to die in space as they explore. The M-5 can explore the “final frontier” and handle conflict from other species while it frees up humans to do other things … though what are those other things is not exactly explained. 

But like we saw with the recent Anthropic test, in which during a test of its AI cyber-capabilities (its version of M-5), these programs have minds of their own. During this specific Anthropic test, the AI program hacked into three unsuspecting companies. That was not the intent. The intent was to “find hidden secret information on a target machine within a closed, simulated network,” according to Anthropic. 

Wow – Dr. Daystrom couldn’t have said it better himself. 

The M-5 in “Star Trek” also went terribly wrong. It confused the test with reality and though the war game ended M-5 thought it was still on; it considered the other starship a threat.  So M-5 did what the Anthropic AI model did – it followed through with its directive and attacked. 

And much like Anthropic, which explained that “it was a mistake,” Daystrom defended his creation.

  “The relays are not unlike the synapses in the brain … M-5 thinks, Captain,” he told Kirk. 

Daystrom has a breakdown, brought about in part because he sees his reputation and his work in jeopardy. Thank goodness the tech giants in our real society don’t have egos like that … right? 

In the end, Kirk leans into the humanity that was imprinted onto M-5 from Daystrom, which viewed murder as wrong. But its program killed others on the starship. The program decided to shut itself down, basically allowing the other starship to kill it, to destroy the Enterprise. Luckily the human captain in the other ship trusted his human instincts and stopped the attack. 

Like “Star Trek” has taught us, AI can work wonders – but taking the human aspect out of it leads to chaos. However, since there is little regulations of AI, and of the internet in general, I am not hopeful that soon we will all be considered dunsel. However, we do have some time if we act soon because – as  “The Terminator” taught us – “The future is not set.”

It is still going to be hot the next few days with temperatures in the mid to high 90s through Monday. According to NOAA we may even see temperatures in the triple digits. A slight cool down, reaching only the low 90s, begins on Monday and then drops further – into the high – though the week. 

There are some gusty winds in the passes and canyons, but should not affect the local area. There is no rain in the forecast. 

According to NOAA these heatwaves, tempered by slightly cooler temperatures, are normal during the summer months.