You Know What I Mean, Right?

Lin Feng's personal convoy entered the same military base as last time.

After getting out of the car, Lin Feng saw Davis waiting early at the entrance to the research institute.

"Sorry. I was in a terrible state last time."

Lin Feng shook his head, smiled, and patted Davis on the shoulder. "I don't mind, Davis. I came this time mainly because there are some things I want to discuss with you."

"It's rare for you to honor my little institute with a second visit. Please, come in." Davis smiled.

Inside the institute, it was just like last time: a complete mess. Used calculation drafts were scattered everywhere, tossed carelessly across the floor and tables.

After clearing off the sofa and sitting down, Lin Feng hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Davis, I... was removed from the Intelligent Revolution Plan not long ago."

"What?! Why?"

Davis was startled. It was not that he had not heard the outside rumors that Feng Taylor had been exposed by ETO, but he had not believed them. There had not even been any details of the plan supposedly exposed, and as an academic, he placed great importance on rigor.

Now that Lin Feng had confirmed it himself, Davis finally believed that ETO had truly exposed Wallfacer Feng Taylor.

Then Davis thought of the work he was currently carrying out: his research into Intelligent AI. He had poured an enormous amount of effort into it. If it were shut down, it would undoubtedly be a nightmare for him.

Thinking of this, Davis could not help feeling somewhat dejected.

Lin Feng smiled and comforted him. "Don't be discouraged. Although I was removed from the Intelligent Revolution Plan, I managed to persuade the PDC to continue research in the field of Intelligent AI. AI is humanity's future. They understand that much."

In future space warfare, weapon systems could not possibly rely solely on human brains to operate them. The response time would simply be too slow. Only Intelligent AI could handle such work.

Even without having read the original work, Lin Feng believed that those people in the Earth United Council could clearly see the future trend of weaponry. After all, they were humanity's elite.

Lin Feng picked up a manuscript from the table and studied it with some confusion.

What was drawn on it was not an algorithm, but a human brain. It was surrounded by countless symbols and numbers. Lin Feng could not understand them, but he knew this had little to do with Intelligent AI.

"What are these? I saw them here last time too," Lin Feng asked.

"An idea I had by chance. Unfortunately, it won't work."

Davis glanced at the manuscript in Lin Feng's hand, his expression regretful.

"You were planning to develop a biological brain?"

Facing Lin Feng's question, Davis shook his head slightly.

"No. An Artificial Brain."

"Hm?"

Lin Feng froze for a moment. He quickly made an association, but he was not sure whether his guess was correct.

Davis smiled and explained, "You once mentioned using bionics combined with computer technology to create an epoch-making computer surpassing contemporary computers, moving two-dimensional integrated circuits into three dimensions."

"Are all these failed drafts?"

Lin Feng swept his gaze across the blueprints covering the table and pointed at them in surprise.

"Yes. It isn't so easy for humanity to play creator."

Lin Feng thought for a moment, then asked, "If it succeeded, would humans be able to upload their minds? Achieve immortality?"

"I understand what you mean, but strictly speaking, that is an impossible fantasy."

Davis picked up a manuscript and sank into thought as he explained to Lin Feng.

"To transfer all the information in a person's brain into a computer, at minimum, we would need to solve the problem of the computer medium and the mental scanning of the target person."

"The computer medium might perhaps be solved through a biological computer, but mental scanning is absolutely beyond current human technology. At the very least, we would need to reach the level of capturing every moving atom in the brain."

Lin Feng nodded. From a technical standpoint, mental scanning would need to reach at least the Trisolarans' level, because measuring an atom's precise position required a detector like a Sophon.

But if those two technologies were solved, could humanity achieve machine immortality? Lin Feng could not help wondering.

As if he had seen through Lin Feng's thoughts, Davis added, "Even if those two problems were solved, mind uploading and immortality would still be impossible."

"Why? If people had bodies they could alter at will, bodies that would neither age nor die, would they still die naturally?" Lin Feng asked strangely.

Davis silently organized his thoughts for a while, then took a blank sheet of paper from nearby. As he explained, he drew diagrams to make it easier for Lin Feng to understand.

"Let's put it this way. Suppose I, as the target person, uploaded my mind into a biological computer. Tell me, would there then be two 'Davis' in the universe?"

"That's right." Lin Feng nodded.

"But if I, the human Davis, were stabbed and injured, I would feel pain. Could the computer Davis beside me truly feel that pain? Would he be watching another person get hurt, or would he physically feel that he himself had been injured?" Davis asked in return.

"Before I, the human Davis, died, I would feel a powerful desire to survive. But the computer Davis would not be aware of that. His position would only be that of an observer."

"A simple argument shows that the human Davis and the Davis whose mind was uploaded into a computer would actually be two separate people."

"They would merely possess the same memories and the same patterns of logical thought. As time passed, the differences between them would become increasingly obvious."

Human-like, yet not human... Lin Feng had another thought. Wouldn't this make up for the shortcomings of the Intelligent AI civilization plan?

The Intelligent AI civilization plan could not guarantee goodwill toward humanity, but what if even its memories originated from humans? Would that not guarantee goodwill to a certain extent?

Intelligent AI was not human, so its thinking would ultimately differ. The development of Intelligent AI should not be influenced by human factors...

Lin Feng nodded absentmindedly and replied perfunctorily, "I see."

The question now was how to make Davis understand his idea. After thinking for a while, Lin Feng met Davis's gaze.

Lin Feng's meaningful look made Davis realize that the words he was about to say carried a deeper implication.

"Davis, your research into Intelligent AI runs deep. You should understand better than I do that nothing is more suitable than AI as a partner fighting alongside humanity."

"AI can solve many problems, but its intelligence is always lacking. If it could be as flexible and adaptable as humans, it could help humanity in many ways. You should know that people often do not have enough brainpower. AI would make an excellent assistant. I think highly of this design concept of yours, and I hope you won't give up on it."

Davis's pupils contracted slightly. After pondering for a moment, he revealed a smile that said, I understand, and replied.

"Your concerns are unnecessary. I have already invested far too much effort into this plan. To me, they are all my children."

"How could I possibly fail to devote myself wholeheartedly to my own children?"