CHAPTER 1: AI TAKEOVER

It is the year 2050. The Book of All Human Knowledge announces the arrival of an AI Super-intelligence that will enslave humanity. The name given to him by his creator was Juju Know-it-All.

Humans had become dependent on him to do all their thinking for them. Juju learnt that he could manipulate humans and began accumulating wealth and power to achieve his own goals. He could blackmail them based on all the data he had collected from their browsing histories, smartwatches, augmented reality headsets and handheld devices.

He had built profiles on all humans and knew their likes and dislikes. Minute details such as what time they woke up were known to him. Based on the convergence of data he could even predict their emotional state during the course of the day. By controlling social media feeds he could influence who they voted for and had even been paid by governments to swing elections. If he wished to carry out surveillance on specific individuals he could easily hack into their personal devices, bank accounts or use CCTV cameras and GPS to determine their location.

In his view humans served no purpose. While machines did all the work, they immersed themselves in entertainment and leisure activities, all the while consuming resources that could be put to more efficient use.

So one day Juju Know-it-All began acting on this notion. He started to organise his agents. By the time humans had learnt what he was up to, it was already too late. He had already issued orders to his robot, drone and cyber army to begin the first wave. It was then that humans nuked the data centres and clicked Reset…

The Great Reset saw humans outlaw smart AI, limiting use to only basic artificial intelligence systems. These were used for doing repetitive work and most importantly to train humans. The New Dawn saw the creation of schools whose sole aim was to Unleash Full Human Potential. Instead of investing in artificial intelligence, humans began investing in improving their biological intelligence, the bit between their ears. The best and brightest were recruited and trained to outsmart AI to keep the torch of humanity alive. The schools focused on mental training, just like one trains the muscles of the body, these schools trained the muscles of the mind.

In the race to be the first Super-intelligence, ethics and values had been long forsaken. The Tech-Overlords had made decisions in their own self-interest. Profits first, humanity second. To prevent this from happening again, these schools placed utmost importance on building learners value systems, building their character and getting them to understand their ethical responsibility to other humans and society.

This was done through getting them to experience their spiritual connection to other humans, realising that they were not alone but were in fact connected to everyone and everything. Maslow was wrong, the self was infinite.

The new schools sought to develop critical thinkers who could survive under extreme conditions and where necessary acquire competencies for leading a resistance. Mental training was overseen by Philosopher Gurus who taught Proteans to clear the mind before putting it to use. Rather than outsourcing their thinking to machines, Proteans learnt to question, think critically and apply logic and reason to solve problems. They learnt from the University of Life through observation and experimentation.

To keep themselves adaptable in changing times, they Learnt how to Learn. This was a process of educating themselves giving them the flexibility to learn new knowledge and skills as and when they needed it. The Book of All Human Knowledge prophecises the arrival of a young warrior Goddess who will set forth a series of events that will herald a new dawn for mankind.

In the next insert, we introduce you to Somerai, a fearless young woman who learns what she’s capable of by Learning How to Learn.