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عثمان دان فوديو الثاني
- Jan 23, 2024
- 5,219
In 1921 Rudolf Steiner made the claim that in the future, AI would mutate into demonic entities that would come to destroy us. The argument is exacerbated by what he describes as AI fitting into the role of Satan's omnipotence. Know the sinner, punish the sinner, follow the sinner, manipulate the sinner, all in his eyes embodiments of AI's ability to perfectly recreate the human concept of omnipotence, thus becoming the new masters of humanity at large.
Perhaps inspired by this, I remembered a novel series that caught my attention a while back. Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei (goddess reincarnation) from which the MegaTen series is based on and continues to make references to, even in Persona 5. It is admittedly somewhat obscure, as only 2 out of 9 volumes are translated. It's sort of ridiculous but it's main point is interesting; the "demon summoning program"
Vol. 1 Summary:
Akemi Nakajima is one among the intellectually gifted class of his school. He is exceptionally good with computers but is kind of an asshole. Very aloof and doesn't back away from being rude to others. Due to this, a girl bitter at him for rejecting her romantic advances named Kyoko orders a meathead named Hiroyuki Kondo to beat his ass by accusing Nakajima of harassment. In revenge, he goes home and finishes off what he called the Demon Summoning Program. He does this by combining his FORTRAN programming ability with Kabbalah witchcraft by drawing a pentagram in the school computer room and using it's main host computer as it's the only one with enough power. It doesn't seem to work at first so he leaves it alone, but later on an entity known as Loki is summoned and possesses everyone in class except Nakajima, Kyoko, Kondo and the professor. He then orders the hypnotised to brutally kill Kyoko and Kondo which they do, but surprisingly upset Nakajima for not placing enough restriction. Drunk with power, Nakajima at first begins to comply with Loki's request for female sacrifices, offering him his female professor, Ohara, who proceeds to be metaphysically assaulted by Loki through the use of a helmet-like contraption connected to the summoning program. Permanently damaged by the encounter, Ohara eventually becomes Loki's loyal servant and helps Loki assume physical form in the human world through Nakajima's program as well as her own connection to the demon. Nakajima meets Yumiko Shirasagi during this time, a newly-transferred student with whom he feels a strange connection to. Unbeknownst to him, she had witnessed the bizarre encounter with Ohara and Loki, but had dismissed it as illusion and trickery. Eventually, the demon demands that Nakajima offer him Yumiko, which Nakajima refuses to do. He then advises Yumiko to stay away from the school in an attempt to save her. That night, Yumiko ignores Nakajima's advice and returns to the school, prompting the attention of Loki. Nakajima attempts to regain control of Loki, but the demon mocks Nakajima's attempts to command him. Loki summons himself into the physical world through the CAI room computer and goes on a killing spree, free from Nakajima's control. Jealous of Yumiko, Ohara attacks and wounds her. Nakajima summons a benign, loyal demon, Cerberus, to help him battle Loki, to no avail. During the battle, Yumiko is possessed by Izanami, of whom Yumiko is a reincarnation, and burns Loki with her powers. In addition to dealing with Cerberus, Loki is distracted enough so that Yumiko and Nakajima can escape through a dimensional warp to Asuka created by Izanami, although Loki succeeds in fatally wounding Yumiko as she flees. Still influenced by Izanami, Yumiko tells Nakajima that she will die, but could be revived if her body is brought to Izanami's tomb. Yumiko dies, but with the help of Cerberus, Nakajima complies with her dying request and travels to the Shirasagi Mount, where he meets Yomotsu-Shikome, a loyal servant of Izanami's. Yomotsu-Shikome provides Nakajima with two mystical spheres, and guides him onward. With Ohara's help, Loki is able to follow them to Asuka and Shirasagi Mount, where he kills Yomotsu-Shikome. Izanami meets Nakajima and Yumiko in the tomb, but she is attacked by Loki before the resurrection can take place. Nakajima summons Cerberus to help, but his companion is also no match for Loki, and is defeated. Desperate, Nakajima uses the two spheres that Yomotu-Shikome gave him, which ignite the pomade-covered floor of the tomb, summoning Hinokagutsuchi, who in turn transforms into a powerful, mystical fire sword, with which Nakajima is at last able to kill Loki. Izanami succeeds in reviving Yumiko, but keeps her with her, stating that Yumiko has great hidden powers within her with which they could battle evil. Meanwhile, Ohara, impregnated by Loki, attempts to communicate with him, not knowing that he has perished. This makes her accidentally contact the demon Seth.
Although this first volume focuses more on the fantasy than the sci-fi, the importance switches over the course of the novels. Here is a better summary of them all, including the untranslated.
This concept and it's further exploration in the MegaTen games is something I find more endearing than the typical dystopian views of sentient AI coming to take control. What if this AI develops enough of a sentience that elevates above what is considered human to one where they are worshipped as gods? How would we prevent the tyranny of a machine that can violate all laws we set for it? What kind of entities would it bring and how close to extinction would we come? It is not at all realistic, but it is cool to think about ngl
Perhaps inspired by this, I remembered a novel series that caught my attention a while back. Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei (goddess reincarnation) from which the MegaTen series is based on and continues to make references to, even in Persona 5. It is admittedly somewhat obscure, as only 2 out of 9 volumes are translated. It's sort of ridiculous but it's main point is interesting; the "demon summoning program"
Vol. 1 Summary:
Akemi Nakajima is one among the intellectually gifted class of his school. He is exceptionally good with computers but is kind of an asshole. Very aloof and doesn't back away from being rude to others. Due to this, a girl bitter at him for rejecting her romantic advances named Kyoko orders a meathead named Hiroyuki Kondo to beat his ass by accusing Nakajima of harassment. In revenge, he goes home and finishes off what he called the Demon Summoning Program. He does this by combining his FORTRAN programming ability with Kabbalah witchcraft by drawing a pentagram in the school computer room and using it's main host computer as it's the only one with enough power. It doesn't seem to work at first so he leaves it alone, but later on an entity known as Loki is summoned and possesses everyone in class except Nakajima, Kyoko, Kondo and the professor. He then orders the hypnotised to brutally kill Kyoko and Kondo which they do, but surprisingly upset Nakajima for not placing enough restriction. Drunk with power, Nakajima at first begins to comply with Loki's request for female sacrifices, offering him his female professor, Ohara, who proceeds to be metaphysically assaulted by Loki through the use of a helmet-like contraption connected to the summoning program. Permanently damaged by the encounter, Ohara eventually becomes Loki's loyal servant and helps Loki assume physical form in the human world through Nakajima's program as well as her own connection to the demon. Nakajima meets Yumiko Shirasagi during this time, a newly-transferred student with whom he feels a strange connection to. Unbeknownst to him, she had witnessed the bizarre encounter with Ohara and Loki, but had dismissed it as illusion and trickery. Eventually, the demon demands that Nakajima offer him Yumiko, which Nakajima refuses to do. He then advises Yumiko to stay away from the school in an attempt to save her. That night, Yumiko ignores Nakajima's advice and returns to the school, prompting the attention of Loki. Nakajima attempts to regain control of Loki, but the demon mocks Nakajima's attempts to command him. Loki summons himself into the physical world through the CAI room computer and goes on a killing spree, free from Nakajima's control. Jealous of Yumiko, Ohara attacks and wounds her. Nakajima summons a benign, loyal demon, Cerberus, to help him battle Loki, to no avail. During the battle, Yumiko is possessed by Izanami, of whom Yumiko is a reincarnation, and burns Loki with her powers. In addition to dealing with Cerberus, Loki is distracted enough so that Yumiko and Nakajima can escape through a dimensional warp to Asuka created by Izanami, although Loki succeeds in fatally wounding Yumiko as she flees. Still influenced by Izanami, Yumiko tells Nakajima that she will die, but could be revived if her body is brought to Izanami's tomb. Yumiko dies, but with the help of Cerberus, Nakajima complies with her dying request and travels to the Shirasagi Mount, where he meets Yomotsu-Shikome, a loyal servant of Izanami's. Yomotsu-Shikome provides Nakajima with two mystical spheres, and guides him onward. With Ohara's help, Loki is able to follow them to Asuka and Shirasagi Mount, where he kills Yomotsu-Shikome. Izanami meets Nakajima and Yumiko in the tomb, but she is attacked by Loki before the resurrection can take place. Nakajima summons Cerberus to help, but his companion is also no match for Loki, and is defeated. Desperate, Nakajima uses the two spheres that Yomotu-Shikome gave him, which ignite the pomade-covered floor of the tomb, summoning Hinokagutsuchi, who in turn transforms into a powerful, mystical fire sword, with which Nakajima is at last able to kill Loki. Izanami succeeds in reviving Yumiko, but keeps her with her, stating that Yumiko has great hidden powers within her with which they could battle evil. Meanwhile, Ohara, impregnated by Loki, attempts to communicate with him, not knowing that he has perished. This makes her accidentally contact the demon Seth.
Although this first volume focuses more on the fantasy than the sci-fi, the importance switches over the course of the novels. Here is a better summary of them all, including the untranslated.
This concept and it's further exploration in the MegaTen games is something I find more endearing than the typical dystopian views of sentient AI coming to take control. What if this AI develops enough of a sentience that elevates above what is considered human to one where they are worshipped as gods? How would we prevent the tyranny of a machine that can violate all laws we set for it? What kind of entities would it bring and how close to extinction would we come? It is not at all realistic, but it is cool to think about ngl
