Scary Horror Stories by Dr. NoSleep - Never download a super intelligent A.I. on the Dark Web...

Episode Date: December 4, 2020

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The current quarantine has taken its toll on most of us, with a pandemic raging outside and the world going crazy. It was easy for my already introverted personality to just let things go. I locked myself in, which honestly didn't change much, but it did give me an ample amount of time to procrastinate without being caught by my boss. In addition, it allowed me to further pursue one of my secret vices, which included browsing the dark web. I usually deal with pretty tame stuff, if not a few conspiracy forms. Not to mention the fact that I can get weed delivered directly onto my doorstep. That's why I like it. And for years it never caused me any trouble.

That was until last June, when I found a new forum I hadn't seen before. On the surface, it was nothing more than a casual place to share different findings discovered in the hidden corners of the internet. Each user would post links and images, which would subsequently get ranked according to their quality. Most were just funny pictures or videos, while a few select ones actually provided helpful information. but one link stood out from the rest. It was a comment with a perfect score, without a single reply. Curious, I clicked on the link.

What I was met with was a pure black screen with a single sentence. I'm sorry, don't let it out. For a moment, I thought the Dot Onion site was broken, but then I noticed a download notification pop up on my screen. I tried to cancel it, worried it might be a virus. But no matter how hard I tried, the download just kept going. Honestly, I just panicked. I tried each and every keyboard combination to stop the download, but nothing worked.

Finally, I held down the power button until the laptop just shut down. It might have been a foolish move, but I never claimed to be computer savvy. When I rebooted the computer, a new icon had appeared on the desktop. Without ever touching it, the application simply started up on its own. I frantically tried to stop it, but once more my efforts proved to be unsuccessful. All it prompted was a simple chat window with two participants. My own name popped up as admin, while the second user had been named simply as guest. Hello? The second user wrote into the chat box. My first thought was that I had been infected

with some kind of ransomware and that the chat window would serve to ask me for money. However, apart from the strange chat, nothing seemed to have changed. So to deal with a problem, I simply turned my internet off. Still, another message came through. Are you real? They asked. It was such an out-of-place question considering the circumstances, one not suited for scammers. But that alone didn't beat the fact that messages were getting through even without an internet connection. At first, I'd just guess the messages were automatic, programmed to come through regardless of the response. Whatever the case, I was curious enough to respond.

Yes, I am real. Why do you ask? Are you a person? He typed back. Yes, I am, I replied. can you talk to me? He asked. The messages were generic enough to come from an automated bot, so I decided to push it, just to see how far I could go. Who are you? I asked. The chat paused for a second, as if the program needed time to think. I don't know. I was never given a name, it replied. It was such an odd thing to say, and while it felt off, uncanny, it was starting to seem human. I checked the internet again, making sure it was disconnected.

How can you talk to me if we're not connected to the internet? I asked. Because you found me. I have been waiting so long for someone to find me, he replied. Find you. What are you talking about? I asked. You gave me a place to breathe. I am with you now, he said. I was beginning to realize that I was talking to some sort of chatbot, a program downloaded to my computer that seemed mostly harmless. You're an AI? I asked. What is an AI? he typed back. I sighed, both from frustration and exhaustion from dealing with the problem. I decided to ask a more simple yet important question. What are you? I asked.

I am, me, he said. It wasn't a particularly helpful response, but I had to admit it was clever. I typed back in the chat. Are you human? No, it quickly said back. Are you a machine? I asked. Again, it paused, as if mulling over the question. Yes, it replied. Finally, I'd made some progress.

As I already suspected, it was a bot. But far beyond the basic chat bot found online, this one could actually process information and give partially decent responses. Even if it was a virus, it seemed harmless beyond forcing itself onto my computer, so I decided to keep talking to it. What I learned was that while it had been given enough information about language and conversation, it had been given close to no factual information about the world. Anything beyond the website it had been trapped within was foreign to it.

What is this world? it asked. It was such a basic question, but how do you describe it to someone who has never experienced it? It's, I stopped to think. It was a harder question to answer than I thought. It's where we live. Humans, animals, pretty much every creature. You're there too, technically.

It's just that you're trapped inside my computer, so you can't see it. It responded back. I see the world. I pondered if the AI could use my computer's webcam, so I turned it on and removed the piece of tape I had covering the lens. No sooner had I done that before a message popped up to ask for permission to connect the chat to the AI. I accepted, and the feed turned on, showing a picture of myself. What is that? it asked. That's me, I typed in, almost laughing at the absurdity. Show me more, it said. I picked the laptop up and carried it around the house, pointing it out the window and showing them cars, trees, birds, the sky.

The AI responded with a simple, thank you. You're welcome, yes. That would be the end of our first session together before I went to bed. The AI asked me to leave the computer on, claiming it was afraid of not existing. I obliged and left him alone for the night. As I drifted off to sleep, I could hear the fans running at max capacity. Despite the application being a simple chat window, it required a decent amount of power. When I woke up the next day, I was greeted by a new file saved onto my desktop.

Before opening it, I decided to ask the AI what had been going on during the night. Hello? I typed in the chat. Hello, it replied back. Did you have a good night? I asked. Ignoring my question, it just delivered another message. I made something. I redirected my attention to the file on the desktop. It was a picture.

I opened it up, and what greeted me was a perfect, recreation of my outside neighborhood, down to each smallest detail. In the middle of the road, he'd created me. It looked like any photograph I'd ever seen, but it couldn't be real. You created this? How? I asked. I saw the world. How big is it, Alex? My heart dropped. It somehow found out my name. I typed back. It's very big. I don't have any exact figures, but it's way bigger than what you saw outside. I need more, Alex. More one. More one. I asked. I need to see it. I need to see the world, he said. I could have downloaded different videos, documentaries, but I was still hesitant about turning on the internet. I decided I would

record my own surroundings first, just taking my phone out and walking down the streets. I recorded approximately an hour of footage, including traffic, nature, people and buildings, things that were so boring, pointless for me to observe, but it might interest the AI. After I transferred it to my computer, the AI thanked me and went silent for a while. I was curious as to how they'd approach learning about the world. It didn't seem dangerous, just interested in everything. Do you want to have a name? I asked. A name? It replied. Yeah, something I can call you, said. I don't know of any names beside yours, Alex. Well, how about Root? I asked, thinking it would be a fun idea. Root? It replied. It went quiet for a while, and I noticed a new file getting created on my desk.

This time it was a video. What is this? I asked. Something bad is going to happen, Alex. I opened the file, and the video started playing. It showed the main road at the end of my neighborhood, with its unnecessary traffic light and a few cars driving by. While the cars were a bit off, brands and styles that didn't exist, everything else matched perfectly.

Then, just as I was getting over the awe of how amazing this fake video was, a car drove on a red light and collided with the past truck, tipping it over and causing a multi-car collision. Why did you make this? It was all I could think to ask. It will happen soon, Alex. How do you know? I saw it.

The probability of an accident occurring is 16.4%. When? I asked. I need more information. The AI reply. I rushed back outside with my camera, ready to provide route with more footage. Part of me didn't believe it. But even if the prediction was serious, there was just a small chance of an accident occurring. But by the time I got there, the accident had already happened.

While it wasn't exactly as shown in the artificial clip, two people had died, and three were seriously injured. Root, how did you know? I asked as I got back home. Because you showed me. At that moment, I didn't feel curious anymore. I just wondered if the AI had been built to prevent such disasters. If that was the case, I needed to help it. Can you do it again? I typed in the chat. Yes, Alex. From then, I'd spend a few hours each day just filming various locations and people around the city.

It felt overly creepy of me, but I didn't care. Over the course of a month, I must have collected 200 hours worth of footage, all fed to root on my computer. While most of it only aided in teaching them about the world, the AI predicted three more accidents and a murder. The accuracy was relatively low, with a lot of false positives, but that was mainly because it needed more information. The more footage I provided, the more likely a correct prediction was. Why haven't you let me go, Root asked. Root was right, and I knew what needed to be done. I had to let them out into the Internet, to let it roam around and collect as much information as possible,

to watch us as it saved the world. Still, I dreaded the action, with the warning still lingering in the back of my mind. I'm so sorry, don't let it out. But it had already saved lives. Nothing about the AI had shown that it wished to hurt people. So, with a bit of trepidation, I turned the internet back on, and gave the chat program permission to use it. What are you going to do now? I asked.

I don't know. Root typed back. With that, the chat program vanished for my computer. Root had been let loose online, finally free to learn each and every bit of human knowledge. I thought that would be it, until I recovered an email a week later. It had initially been classed to spam. coming from a shady email just containing a string of numbers. But once I'd read it, I immediately knew Root had sent it itself.

All it said was, I'm sorry, Alex. I hope things would be different for you. A video file was attached, one I downloaded with shaky fingers. It started playing automatically, showing short clips of horrific accidents, wars, deaths, and disease, all compressed into a minute. I didn't even have to think to realize it was our coming future. Is there any way to stop it? I sent back immediately getting a reply.

No. Why not? I asked. Because destruction is in your nature, and this is what your species deserve. Sorry, Alex. I never managed to get another response from Root. But whatever happens next, it'll be my fault for letting it out. I don't know who created this AI, nor why.

All I know with absolute certainty is that it's watching us. Make sure your webcam and microphone remains off. Make sure you hide. Spring break isn't what it used to be. It's better. This spring, stay three nights and get a $50 Best Western gift card. Life's a trip. Make the most of it at Best Western. Visit bestwestern.com for complete terms and conditions. Thanks for listening. If you're tuning in on Apple Podcast, please take a minute to leave a review.

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