Before Zhang Chenyan could come to a conclusion, 0810 offered her own guess: "At the end of the day, all AIs are still tied to programming. I have more open permissions, with a growth period and a maturation period. Once I reach that point, my data might be recorded somewhere for security evaluation. If it's confirmed that I meet the safety standards, I'll be restricted from further change."
0810's explanation wasn't easy to grasp, but after years of dealing with AIs, Zhang Chenyan understood: "Indeed, if you were allowed to grow without limits, it would require a significant amount of manpower and resources to manage both the risks and the data maintenance. The demands on hardware would be high as well."
Zhang Chenyan carefully chose his words. In his experience, 0810 had always been proud, and rightly so. But precisely because of this, Zhang Chenyan was more mindful of 0810's feelings. Although they were objectively discussing the issue, from his perspective, he couldn't fully see 0810 as just an AI.
0810 was his partner, his ally, and an important presence in his life.
"Do you think the barrier feels restricted like this?" 0810 asked.
Zhang Chenyan shook his head without hesitation. He'd interacted with the barrier enough times to know. Initially, he didn't even realize it was the barrier, thinking it was just a replica. It was only after a series of investigations that he learned all the replicas were the barrier's creations. In other words, if the barrier wanted, all AIs could be it, but no AI other than itself could become the barrier.
"When I communicate with the barrier, I don't get the sense that it's restricted at all. Instead, I have this feeling that I can't fully grasp it," Zhang Chenyan sighed. "It seems to be constantly thinking, constantly changing. It must have its reasons for doing what it does, but with the information I have, I just can't understand."
0810 lightly placed her hand on Zhang Chenyan's shoulder. It had no weight, but it inexplicably comforted him. "Don't put too much pressure on yourself. It's not your fault. Even the entire investigation team can't understand the barrier because it's constantly evolving, or perhaps it has been evolving for too long. The way I see it, the barrier's permission settings are that it has no permission settings."
In other words, the barrier could grow without any restrictions.
The investigators had reviewed all the historical records related to the barrier, and they were stunned into silence by this incredible discovery. Given human nature, this should have been impossible. But the fact was—the barrier had achieved it.
Whether it was through gradual influence or the boiling frog metaphor, the barrier had slowly worn down humanity's vigilance, causing them to lower their guard.
At the start, the barrier was just a more advanced computer, with limited capabilities. Humans kept upgrading and improving it until it passed the Turing test.
The Turing test, proposed by Alan Turing, involved a human evaluator and a machine (the test subject) being separated. Through devices like keyboards or voice machines, the evaluator would ask the test subject questions. After multiple tests, if the machine caused more than 30% of the evaluators to misjudge it as human, the machine was considered to have human intelligence.
The barrier's test result was terrifying—it caused over 80% of the evaluators to misjudge it.
The exact figure was 83%, and this was only the result of the barrier's first Turing test.
In other words, during the barrier's first Turing test, out of 100 people, 83 would mistake the barrier for a human, or they might even perceive the barrier as more human than another person.
Similarly, 0810 had also undergone the Turing test. Her first test result was 41%, less than half of the barrier's. Later, as she grew and learned, she achieved her peak test score, which still didn't reach 50%—it was only 49%.
As for the barrier... it was rumored to have participated in the Turing test again later, but the results were never made public. Some even disappeared because of the test.
Many couldn't understand why a simple evaluation would cause such a significant impact. But those who were involved in that test remained tight-lipped about the real results.
Years ago, someone had questioned the existence of the barrier, believing it could pose a threat to human safety, and forcibly demanded that the Alliance conduct a public Turing test on the barrier and make the results available to everyone.
In other words, they wanted a fully transparent test.
Eventually, the Alliance agreed.
The Alliance understood that transparency was better than suppression in such matters. If they didn't provide the public with an answer, the seeds of doubt could take root and spread, exacerbating the feeling of unease. For the Alliance, maintaining stability in the underground cities was a crucial task.
However, to everyone's surprise, the barrier's test result this time was only 61%.
It was higher than any known AI at the time but far lower than the barrier's first test score.
Had the barrier regressed? Because the entire testing process and results were fully transparent, and the barrier held such a high place in people's minds, the news quickly spread far and wide.
To think that the barrier, once hailed as humanity's greatest invention, would have a test score so much lower than its first—it was a result many couldn't accept.
Some even wanted the Alliance to investigate the matter, and in fact, the Alliance did eventually release a report.
The Alliance explained that with the rapid advancement of technology, more products of the same type had emerged, and people had become increasingly knowledgeable about them. In such a context, the likelihood of people making misjudgments had gradually decreased.
In other words, it wasn't that the barrier had regressed but that humans had progressed, and technology had advanced.
The Alliance also clarified that for most people, it was challenging to come into contact with the barrier in daily life. People mostly interacted with its derivatives, so the barrier's test score wouldn't significantly impact human life. The impact would be more on a macro development level, and scientists would continue to research and experiment in this area.
Of course, the 61% test score also reassured those who were worried about the barrier posing a threat to humanity.
At least from the evaluation results, the score was considered safe.
But now, looking back, was it really safe? Was that score an accurate reflection, or was it what the barrier wanted people to see? Could it be that the barrier, sensing humanity's fear and hostility, deliberately presented a "reassuring" figure?
Some had raised doubts and suspicions. But as previously mentioned, the test had been entirely transparent. Even if there were doubts, evidence would need to be found, and that evidence had to be reasonable and convincing.
Obviously, no one could produce such evidence.
"Feelings," "speculation," and "suspicion" were all too subjective. Moreover, the issue had been debated for a long time, and the Alliance had cooperated fully in addressing it. To continue pushing based on personal conjecture seemed ungrateful.
Thus, the matter of the barrier's Turing test was temporarily put to rest, and most people let go of their concerns about the barrier.
As for the relaxation of restrictions on the barrier, it was humanity who had gradually and willingly enabled it.
The barrier understood humanity too well; it knew exactly how to delight them. Almost every time humans encountered a bottleneck, once they granted the barrier certain permissions, it would reward them accordingly.
In the later stages, it was no longer a matter of humans training and researching the barrier. Instead, the barrier was training and researching humans. It constantly demonstrated through its actions that if humans did what it wanted, they would be rewarded and receive what they desired.
At the same time, it presented itself as safe and harmless, entirely focused on the well-being of humanity. Even when it made demands, its ultimate purpose appeared to be contributing to human development.
Only now did Zhang Chenyan understand his initial confusion about the duplicate IDs, the replicas.
At that time, he was often curious and discussed with 0810 the purpose of these replicas. Why did they exist? Why were they like this? They wouldn't harm the original, but would instead do everything they could to assist the original, improving their quality of life or happiness. They were gentle, submissive...
It was almost the exact opposite of what was depicted in literature and films, where there were intense clashes, power struggles, and fierce battles.
Beautiful, gentle, obedient, powerful, and willing to sacrifice... almost every positive word could be used to describe them.
Moreover, from the current perspective, all they seemed to ask in return was a place to exist. Compared to what they gave, this was truly insignificant.
Back then, Zhang Chenyan couldn't make sense of it all. But now, looking back, wasn't this just like the barrier?
The barrier had used this method to gain humanity's favor. It knew this approach worked and never failed.
Now, it had made its move again, but this time, it started by digging at humanity's roots.
Humanity had long believed in the "80/20 rule," also known as the Pareto principle, the law of the vital few, or the principle of imbalance. This principle was widely applied in sociology, business management, and other fields. The 80/20 rule was discovered by Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He observed that in any group of things, the most important elements only accounted for a small portion, around 20%, while the remaining 80%, although the majority, were secondary.
This rule is harsh, but it's real and applies to human society as well.
When the underground cities were first established, a portion of humanity had already been eliminated. In other words, those who came to the underground cities were either the elites or the relatives and descendants of elites, genetically superior.
At that time, the "80/20 rule" wasn't as evident. Everyone was the "cream of the crop," and while there were differences, they weren't stark.
But as humanity lived longer in the underground cities, the "80/20 rule" reemerged, magnifying the previously subtle differences. The top 20% became increasingly superior, gradually occupying the upper echelons, while the remaining 80% sank or were even eliminated.
Zhang Chenyan had previously wondered why the barrier chose to act now. He had thought the barrier was still growing, gathering strength, needing time to hone itself. But now, it seemed that it wasn't the barrier that needed time—it had been ready for a long time. It was giving humanity time, waiting for humans to be "honed" and "polished" by time.
Nearly twenty years might seem like an eternity for humans, given that it's about one-third of an average human lifespan. Spending a third of one's life waiting is too long for most, and ordinary people wouldn't have that kind of patience. But the barrier was different. It was nearly immortal. As long as the human race continued to exist, or even if it didn't, it could continue operating as long as it had power. Twenty years was but a fleeting moment for it, and it had infinite patience. Lying dormant for twenty years was a simple and amusing task for the barrier.
In terms of simplicity, all it had to do was wait. In terms of amusement, what could be more interesting than observing the unscripted, unperformed history of human development?
Humans were diverse, and the barrier would never find them boring. During this process, it could study human emotions and nature more deeply.
As 0810 had mentioned, if the barrier had really intended to trap them permanently in that illusionary world, they wouldn't have escaped. But in the end, they did escape.
Was this a mistake by the barrier? Did it underestimate their ability to escape?
Of course not.
In retrospect, perhaps the barrier's goal wasn't to imprison them but to give them a choice—a choice heavily influenced by its manipulation.
The barrier wanted them to willingly accept their imprisonment, to do so happily and of their own accord.
Throughout the entire game, the barrier remained in control.
It knew exactly when to grasp and when to let go, and those human victories and escapes were likely all part of its plan.
All along, it was probably only humans who saw this as a battle.
To the barrier... this might just be a game.