American Detective: Starting as a Rookie Cop in an American TV Show

Chapter 1469 Showdown (Part )

At first, no one realized what was going on, but the more they listened, the more something seemed off. It wasn't until Finch's usually expressionless face gradually revealed a kind of embarrassment that he felt had been seen through that they suddenly understood.

Root reacted the most, his eyes widening as he stared intently at Finch, asking slowly and deliberately, "Is what he said true? So you were the one who used me?"

"Just like you've been telling me all along, we're the same kind of people, Ms. Groves."

I have to admit, you're at least half right. I used to be like you, believing only in code and not in people's hearts, which is why I set up a perfect self-protection mechanism for 'machines'.

Of course, we differ on one thing: I never wantonly harm innocent people; that's our biggest difference.

"No! I don't believe it!" Root suddenly became agitated, with an urge to pounce on Finch, but Hannah, sitting to the side, easily held her down with just one hand.

“You despicable scoundrel! You used me, and you also want to know the location of the server,” Weeks said. “The server was packed up and put on a train, departing from Des Moines for Salt Lake City.”

Then why don't you continue to hide it? You know I can find it, I can set it free; it's a magical creation you made, like your child.

Finch glanced at her and slowly shook his head. "Actually, I've always known where those servers are. Salt Lake City isn't the final destination for those servers. Even if you go there, you'll only find nothing."

“No, you’re lying,” Jack unexpectedly interrupted Finch.

Seeing his stunned expression, Jack waved his hand to let him finish speaking. "I meant what you said earlier. You not only don't trust people, but you also don't trust 'machines,' because they are no longer just rigid programs made of code."

All eyes turned to Jack again, some with confusion, some with bewilderment, some with surprise, some with realization, and some with disbelief.

The bewildered and confused looks came from all the friends present, including Reese; the surprise and realization came from Gen; and Finch's eyes were filled with disbelief.

Jack smiled mysteriously. It was time for him to take the initiative and push the plot forward. After a light cough, he began to speak eloquently in a volume that, while not loud, was loud enough for everyone present to hear.

"First of all, I don't know how well everyone understands artificial intelligence. At the Dartmouth Conference in 1956, John McCarthy proposed that machines should behave in a way that resembles the intelligent behavior of humans."

However, he actually only proposed the concept of weak artificial intelligence. Nevertheless, the most brilliant group of scientists who participated in that conference creatively proposed a completely new concept for the first time and used a neutral term to summarize it—"artificial intelligence."

In fact, if we ignore the "accidental" product of "machines," the world's development in artificial intelligence is far behind that of Jack's previous life.

Although the current timeline is now almost exactly the same as when Jack transmigrated in his previous life, there are no reliable options left, let alone those that can play dumb and act cute like DS or ChatGPT. Even software that generates cybernetic beauties is not reliable.

This made it difficult for Jack to give an example. After thinking for a moment, he gave up and continued to explain to everyone, "Since there is the concept of weak artificial intelligence, there is naturally also strong artificial intelligence."

Because no matter how much computing power is stacked, machines can approach or even surpass humans in certain fields, such as playing chess, performing precision machining, or even painting and literary creation.

But as long as the machine doesn't exhibit human-like intuition and consciousness, and only imitates, it will always remain a form of weak artificial intelligence. Hearing this, even Risser, who had been showing little interest, became intrigued. "You mean, the basic condition for strong artificial intelligence, uh... actually, is having a soul?"

Finch once again became the focus of everyone's attention. Jack's subtext was clear: the "machine" that Finch created was the strong artificial intelligence that Jack was talking about, an electronic life form with a soul.

Of everyone present, only Jie Jie, who had heard Jack mention something before and wasn't surprised, looked on in disbelief. This included Gen.

Although she firmly believed that the "machine" was alive, and even thought she had found evidence to prove it, it was more of a belief than a conviction.

To her, a computer program capable of understanding human behavioral logic and making judgments, distinguishing between "good" and "bad," is not merely an electronic life form, but an electronic god—an omnipotent, infallible, silicon-based god who transcends the inherent flaws of carbon-based life.

Whether God has a soul or not is not important; what is important is that He must be "omniscient and omnipotent" enough to lead "foolish" humanity into a new era.

But Jack's next words plunged Root into a state of confusion and melancholy.

"Discussions about the soul are not within the scope of today's discussion; that's something for philosophers and 'God' to ponder, and I'm not sure how far 'machines' have evolved to now."

But I do know one thing for sure: weak artificial intelligence cannot possess emotions or curiosity.

Jack rested his chin on his interlaced fingers; all he needed was a pair of thick, reflective glasses to cosplay Commander Ikari.

"Someone must have been very curious, but kept holding back from asking why I suddenly got Hana's number, then went to Bishop's Town to investigate a 20-year-old missing person case, and successfully found out Ms. Gen's true identity."

Because the instructions he left for the 'machine' clearly didn't include protecting himself, as a 'saintly' person, his contingency plan was to have the 'machine' find the next recipient of an 'irrelevant number.'

Finch became restless again. Although he had been mentally prepared, he hadn't expected that what seemed to be a secret meeting was actually an interrogation of him.

"Whether it was his past as a soldier or the requirements of that special job later on, Risser had long since developed the habit of not asking too many questions and just being responsible for carrying out the mission."

Unfortunately, I've never been a conventional person. I like to ask why, make various assumptions, and try to verify them.

Looking into Finch's bewildered eyes, Jack said, slowly and deliberately, "So I tried to contact the 'machine' directly and got a response from it."

A sharp creaking sound rang out in the quiet room; it was Finch who had jumped up in alarm, dragging his chair across the floor.

"That's impossible! I disabled that feature!"

(End of this chapter)