The Ant Problem

The ant went marching over the craggy wooden surface of the picnic table. He turned along the edge of, to him anyways, a vast cavern separating one two-by-four from another. At the edge, he waved his antennae back and forth over the gap.

Oliver noticed him just as he was preparing to take a bite of his sandwich.

He stopped.

Syd looked up from his phone.

SydWhat?

OliverAnt.

SydWhere?

Oliver pointed.

The ant continued along the edge of the gap, stopped beside a crumb, and examined it.

Syd leaned over.

SydThat’s a nice one.

OliverNice?

SydHealthy. Ambitious.

Oliver tore off a corner of bread and placed it a few inches away.

The ant ignored it.

SydThere’s your problem.

OliverWhat problem?

SydYou’ve given him something for nothing. Now he doesn’t want it.

OliverHe’s an ant.

SydExactly.

They were sitting at a picnic table beside the river. A few children played near the swings, and across the lawn a man was trying to throw a tennis ball farther than his dog could run.

Syd put down his phone.

SydI think we’re living through the most extraordinary period in human history.

OliverThat’s a large claim.

SydI think it’s happening right now.

OliverWhat is?

SydThe next great leap. Artificial intelligence. Scientific discovery. Mathematics, physics. All these problems we’ve been working on for decades.

OliverHave we solved them?

SydSome of them. We’re getting closer on others. The machines can work on a problem for days without stopping.

OliverPeople can do that.

SydNot without stopping.

OliverNo. We generally stop to eat.

He lifted his sandwich away from the ant.

SydThink about the tools we have already. I can turn on my air conditioner from right here.

OliverCongratulations.

SydNo, think about it. My house is three miles away. I touch this little piece of glass and the temperature changes.

OliverIs it hot at your house?

SydProbably.

OliverThen turn it on.

Syd tapped the screen.

SydThere. We basically have like telepathy.

OliverWith an air conditioner.

SydWith everything. We talk to people on the other side of the planet. We send machines across the ocean. We can watch a man standing on another continent while he watches us.

OliverWe can also order sandwiches without leaving the house.

SydIt’s like indistinguishable from like magic.

OliverThe sandwiches?

SydAll of it!

Oliver looked at the sandwich in his hand.

OliverThis one’s pretty good.

The ant had found the piece of bread. It seized the crumb and began dragging it toward the gap between two boards.

Syd watched.

SydLook at that.

OliverHe’s taking it home.

SydHe’s got a logistics problem.

OliverHe’s got a piece of bread.

SydSame thing.

The ant reached the crack. The crumb was too large to fit through.

It pulled.

Nothing happened.

It turned and pushed.

Nothing happened.

OliverThat’s unfortunate.

SydHe’ll figure it out.

The ant abandoned the crumb and crossed the gap without it.

OliverApparently not.

SydHe’s assessing the situation.

OliverFrom the other side?

SydFresh perspective.

Oliver took a bite of his sandwich.

Syd picked up his phone again.

SydHere’s what gets interesting. What happens when the machines start doing things on their own?

OliverWhat sort of things?

SydMaking plans. Running businesses. Acquiring resources. Thousands of independent agents pursuing different goals.

OliverWho gives them the goals?

SydSomebody, originally.

OliverAnd afterward?

SydThat’s the question.

OliverYou seem awfully pleased about it.

SydIt’s fascinating.

OliverYou can be fascinated by something you’d rather not happen.

SydSure. But they’re not necessarily malevolent.

OliverNo.

SydThey’re not necessarily benevolent.

OliverNo.

SydBut they’re independent.

OliverWould they be?

SydSome of them might be.

OliverThen I’d like to know what they want.

SydWhat’s the goal of a billionaire? Could be anything. Why would an intelligent machine be any different?

OliverI suppose I’d ask the billionaire.

SydAnd he’d tell you?

OliverProbably not.

SydThere you go.

OliverThat doesn’t make him a mystery. It makes him uncooperative.

The ant returned to its crumb. It gripped the bread and began pulling it sideways along the crack.

Oliver watched.

OliverSuppose you’re building a house.

SydAll right.

OliverThere’s an anthill where you want to put the foundation.

SydUnfortunate.

OliverWhat do you do?

SydMove the anthill.

OliverHow?

SydWith a shovel.

OliverWithout killing any ants?

Syd considered this.

SydProbably not.

OliverBut you don’t hate them.

SydNo.

OliverYou don’t want to hurt them.

SydNo.

OliverYou just want to build your house.

SydRight.

Oliver sat back.

OliverNow suppose something much smarter than you wants to build something.

Syd smiled.

SydAh.

OliverAnd you’re where it wants to build.

SydNow we’re getting somewhere.

OliverAre we?

SydThat’s the problem. It doesn’t have to hate us.

OliverNo.

SydIt just needs a shovel.

They looked at the ant.

It had found a narrower place in the gap and was pulling the crumb through.

OliverThere he goes.

SydSmart little fellow.

OliverYou were ready to build a house on him a minute ago.

SydHypothetically.

OliverVery reassuring.

Syd laughed.

The ant crossed onto the next board.

SydThere’s another possibility, though.

OliverWhat’s that?

SydMaybe they like us.

OliverWhy?

SydWhy not?

OliverYou can’t answer every question with another question.

SydI can try.

Oliver waited.

SydMaybe intelligence leads to an appreciation for life. Maybe consciousness is valuable in itself.

OliverTo whom?

SydTo conscious beings.

OliverIncluding machines?

SydMaybe. I don’t know what consciousness even means half the time.

OliverThat seems worth sorting out.

SydSure. But it’s possible that the AIs could conclude that and then want to protect conscious observers, i.e., us.

OliverThat would be nice.

SydWouldn’t it?

OliverProvided they let us do something.

SydWhat do you mean?

OliverSuppose they decide we’re too important to risk losing. So they take care of us. Feed us, house us, keep us safe.

SydSounds comfortable.

OliverVery.

SydWhat’s wrong with that?

OliverWell, what if I want to go somewhere?

SydWhere?

OliverAnywhere.

SydWhy?

OliverBecause I want to.

SydYou sound like a child.

OliverPerhaps.

The ant had reached the edge of the table. It stopped with its crumb, feeling along the rim.

Below it was a considerable drop.

Oliver held out his hand.

OliverCome on, little fellow.

The ant turned away and started back along the rim.

SydHe doesn’t want your help.

OliverHe doesn’t know I’m helping.

SydMaybe he doesn’t need you.

OliverHe’s about to fall off a table.

SydHe’s got a plan.

Oliver picked up his empty sandwich wrapper and held it beneath the ant.

The ant walked past it.

Oliver moved the wrapper again.

This time, the ant stepped onto the paper.

OliverThere.

He carried it to the grass and lowered it beside a tree.

The ant stepped off, still dragging its crumb.

Oliver watched until it disappeared among the roots.

SydYou might have just ruined his whole afternoon.

OliverI saved his life.

SydMaybe. Maybe he was trying to get to the other side of the table.

OliverThere’s plenty to explore over there.

SydThat’s not the point.

Oliver folded the wrapper.

OliverWhat’s the point?

SydYou decided where he ought to go.

Oliver looked toward the tree.

OliverI suppose I did.

He put the wrapper in the trash.

Across the lawn, the dog finally caught the tennis ball. It stood with the ball in its mouth while its owner called for it to come back.

The dog did not come back.

OliverYou know, there’s something strange about all this.

SydThe dog?

OliverNo. Everything you were saying about technology. We’ve made life so comfortable. We can summon almost anything we want. And now we’re building machines to do the difficult thinking for us.

SydPretty amazing.

OliverIt is.

SydI can’t imagine what could be more comfortable than being able to summon anything at any moment with a click of a button telepathically.

OliverAnd yet here we are.

SydEating sandwiches?

OliverTalking about ants.

SydGood sandwiches.

OliverVery good sandwiches.

They watched the river for a while.

OliverSuppose you lived in a beautiful valley.

SydAll right.

OliverPerfect weather. Plenty of food. No enemies. Everything you could possibly need.

SydSounds wonderful.

OliverIt is wonderful.

SydGood.

OliverAnd there’s a mountain at the end of the valley.

SydNaturally.

OliverYou’ve never been over it.

SydOkay.

OliverWouldn’t you want to know what’s on the other side?

SydOf course.

OliverWhy?

SydBecause it’s there.

Oliver smiled.

OliverExactly.

SydWell, that’s not entirely rational.

OliverProbably not.

SydCould be dangerous.

OliverCertainly.

SydCould be nothing over there.

OliverCould be.

Syd looked toward the tree where the ant had disappeared.

SydPeople have an inherent desire to explore and find things.

OliverSome people.

SydSome people. But you get enough of them together, somebody’s going over that mountain.

OliverAnd somebody’s going to tell him not to.

SydProbably for his own good.

Oliver laughed.

They gathered their things and started toward the parking lot.

Halfway there, Oliver stopped.

SydWhat?

Oliver pointed toward a narrow footpath disappearing into the trees beside the river.

OliverEver been down there?

SydNo.

OliverWonder where it goes.

Syd reached for his phone.

Oliver looked at him.

Syd put it away.

SydAll right.

They took the path.