(present: 5:45 pm)
As always, after logging off from work,
Mark reached behind his ear to turn brAIn off; the name, a clever blend
of the human intellect and the AI chip embedded in it.
When it didn't respond on the third tap,
Mark frowned. He had expected the familiar tone that indicated he had switched
to ‘personal’ mode so he could jump back into Final Doomsday 3. His team
of five players had been unbeatable since Kelly had joined and he was already
in love with her avatar, a mediaeval warrior princess. Tonight, they were
taking on the Zombies, controlled by a super-villain that employed advanced AI
to lethal effect. If they annihilated all zombies at this level, the team would
achieve the rare glory of topping the leaderboard, and half a bitcoin. He could
finally muster the courage to ask Kelly out.
Mark grabbed his mobile phone and texted
his boss, smiling at the irony that he could write perfect sentences without
typos while brAIn was turned on.
* *
*
(a
year ago)
Bill had an annoying habit of pacing around
the room when he spoke. “Let me be frank with you,” he met Mark’s gaze. “Your
performance for FY29 has been disappointing.”
As Mark gripped his chair, Bill leaned
forward and rested his hands on the table: “Mate, you are a brilliant engineer.
Your code is of the highest quality, showcasing your left, or is it right…
anyway, creative brain.”
Bill’s pacing was a signal of low tolerance
so Mark waited for the inevitable; performance management or, worse,
termination. He swallowed and held his breath.
“Look, there's pressure to give you a
‘needs improvement’ rating but,” Bill smiled, “ I’ve marked you as ‘meets
expectation’, for now.”
Mark released the handles, sank back in the
chair, and sighed: “Wow. Thanks, Bill. I'll work on my skills.”
“Great, but your communication does need
work,” Bill’s voice softened, “and although I don't have a pay raise, I have
something you might enjoy more.”
Mark straightened and Bill laughed. “I knew
it! I have signed you up for the new AI app, still in early Beta–”
“What? Wow!”
Bill chuckled: “Exciting, huh? It can help
your written communication within the team, as well as our customers–”
“Where do I download it from?” Mark reached
for his laptop.
* *
*
(present:
5:53 pm)
Mark had barely texted Bill when his gaming
console beeped. His teammates were expecting him. He was popular after brAIn
had pitched in to boost his reflexes, and confidence when he had
forgotten to switch it off. He had annihilated the opposition in the game, all
by himself and Kelly sent him a heart emoji, and her coveted ring-of-power.
Within weeks, however, his team was
frustrated, and bored. Mark’s game avatar was unstoppable. His AI-augmented
reflexes pivoted, ducked, and spun, as if by magic. He leaped around the
landscape, smoking out monsters and zombies from locations others couldn’t
fathom.
“All decimated, peeps!” He raised a fist to
the sky.
Groans filled his headset. “Bro, we know
you’re gettin’ all CEO but we’re missing out on the action, y’know.”
Kelly was gentler. “Those reflexes are
awesome, Mark. Love your drip but a team isn’t one person. Let the fam frag
some shit too” She ended her text with a heart.
“I’ll pull back my extra, Kel.”
The next morning, Bill was furious. “Mark,
buddy!” he snapped. “Help me with this audit log, will you?”
Mark knew and tapped his temple. “I’m
sorry, Bill. I forgot to turn this thing off. I’m still getting used to the
switching–”
“Every minute that brAIn is active, it
costs us thousands of dollars. Plus, there’s a chance our data can be stolen.”
Mark raised his palm. “But–”
“It’s in an early stage of development,”
Bill continued unabated, ”and not a hundred percent secure… yet. We don’t want
it discovered outside our corporate network.”
“We have 2FA security–”
“Yes, yes! But, a tiny leak and legal will
be swarming us, and you don’t want that. Trust me.”
“I do, Bill.”
A notification ping on his phone brought
him back to the matter at hand. It wasn’t Bill’s reply but another text from
Kelly. ’Hey frag_master don’t you L out on me. Get off work before it
kills ya.’ Her use of his alias made his heart skip beats. The brAIn
sent a million sweet possibilities flashing around his neurons. However, he
didn’t want to join the game while brAIn was active. Yet, he didn’t want
to risk being banned from the game for inactivity.
“ASAP Kel.” he replied, punching the phone
in frustration. “Just finishing off at work. Keep your finger on the trigger.
We’ll decimate them as soon as I join.”
Then, he tried turning brAIn off
again. When it didn’t, he checked Bill’s chat. The message was unread.
* *
*
(five
months ago)
At the next performance review, Bill was
ecstatic, although his pacing hadn’t ceased. “So, Mark, has the new app been of
assistance?”
“Yes,” Mark smiled, “I believe my
communication skills have improved, thanks to the intelligence built into the
app. Oh, and its robot icon is cute!”
“You noticed that, eh? Your feedback to the
devs was invaluable in improving the product.”
“Happy to help, Bill.”
Bill sat down and pounded his laptop
keyboard. “Therefore,” Bill paused for effect and swiveled the laptop around
towards Mark, “I am pleased to say that you’ve exceeded expectations this
quarter. Congratulations!”
Mark nodded. “Thanks. There is one other
thing though–”
“Yes?” Bill frowned.
“It seems I am no longer producing new
ideas but merely reviewing what the app suggests. In fact, as of late I have
very little to add sometimes.”
“It appears the app is learning the way you
think.” Bill winked. “As the app’s tagline goes, ‘Let me know your thoughts’!”
“Yes, the robot repeats it every so often
too. It’s super annoying sometimes… sorry!”
“No offence taken,” Bill laughed, “and I
have just the upgrade for you, if you are keen–”
“An upgrade to the app? It’s doing great
as-is…”
“I know but the upgrade is not just a
passive app, mate. It’s cutting-edge tech.”
“Really? Wow!” Mark straightened in his
chair. Then, leaned forward.
“Yeah, but I’ll need some approvals from
you–”
“Sure!”
Bill laughed. “Wait, there’s more. It
involves a minor surgical procedure where a chip, tinier than your pinky, will
be embedded behind your ear. Of course, you’ll be able to tap it on and off at
will.”
“How painful is the surgery?”
“I am not sure, to be honest. I was told
‘minor’, so a couple hours, perhaps?”
Mark nodded. Bill cleared his throat. “Ah,
there’s also an NDA clause–”
Mark frowned. “Why so?”
“Well, just like the company laptop, as
long as the implant is turned on, your ideas remain exclusive property of the
company. Moreover, it's in alpha stage, and we don’t want the competition
hearing of it.”
“So, you’re saying the NDA is just for the
secrecy of the project?”
“Correct.”
“Is it safe? I mean if the chip is being
embedded.”
“Well, it has been tested on primates, and
human trials are underway. You will be the first human to actually try it, outside
of the lab.”
Mark swallowed and sank back into the
chair.
Bill continued. “I understand you are
nervous but the chip can be removed.”
Mark met his gaze but didn’t respond. Bill
hesitated. “I could offer it to someone else but I know you love bleeding-edge
tech and the geek in you will–”
“Ya, but how does it differ from the app?”
Bill smiled. “Well, it can supplement your thoughts,
render your ideas in the most appropriate language, and improve tone. You’ll
never rewrite stuff again. It’s like having that dancing robot app in your head
editing and tuning your output, as it happens. Hopefully, not as annoying.”
Bill finished with a nervous laugh.
Mark scratched his chin. “But the current
app works well.” He dragged the words. “Can I turn down this upgrade?”
“I’m afraid you can’t. I mean, you agreed
to test future versions when you signed up for the desktop app.”
“Surely, I can quit the company?”
Bill nodded. “That’s your right, yes. But
you can’t work for another tech company for at least three years, as per our
no-poach agreement.”
Mark’s voice was almost a whisper. “And I’m
guessing I’ve agreed to that too?”
“I’m afraid so.”
“Look,” Bill came around the desk and
patted Mark, “Why don’t you sleep over it and if I don’t hear from you by
lunchtime tomorrow, I’ll send you further details and the documentation for
signatures.”
Mark stood up, relieved. “Thanks Bill. I’ll
do that.”
(present
5:55 pm)
Mark reached for a beer in the fridge. He
never drank alcohol while gaming. It affected his reflexes and gamethrowing was
not appealing. Today, however, he needed to calm his nerves first. He began
pacing the room as he swallowed down the beer.
Every so often, he tried the brAIn switch
off routine, shaking his head a few times and even trying deep breathing.
Why wasn’t it working?
He even went back to his work laptop and
opened a support ticket for the IT department and marked it critical, fully
aware that it’s Friday afternoon and he won’t hear back until Monday morning at
the earliest.
Then, he switched on the television,
settled on the couch, and drank another beer while wishing Bill would reply to
his message.
(five
months ago)
The following day at eleven a.m., Mark
received the following email:
Dear Mr Madden,
As discussed in our meeting earlier
today, I would like to congratulate you on choosing to help develop the product
that has the potential to change the way we live and work.
Details of installing the device in your
cranium are attached, along with a link to the NDA that must be signed
electronically. Once your signature is received, a date for the surgical
procedure will be scheduled at your convenience.
However, your acceptance to this program
is voluntary and you may refuse to join it by clicking here.
Let me know your thoughts.
Best Regards,
William Smith
Disclaimer: Please note that brAIn
is in early beta but the team is working to improve it rapidly.
Mark read the email twice, chewed his lips,
read it once again, and then signed the documents digitally before hitting Send.
He stared at the Undo link for the
sent email until it disappeared and sighed.
* *
*
(present:
6:01 pm)
Mark’s phone rang and it startled him. He
was expecting a reply but Bill had called him back. “What’s up Mark?” He yelled
over what appeared to be pub chatter.
“Hey Bill, sorry to bother you so late… I’m
unable to turn brAIn off?”
“What? Hold on, let me find a quieter
spot–okay… is it better now? Could you repeat that last bit please?”
“I am. Unable to. Turn the brAIn chip off,
Bill!”
“Ah I get it!” Bill said quickly, “It must
be the latest update.”
“What update?”
“The latest version. Rolled out last night.
It disables the off function.”
“Shit! Why wasn’t I notified to accept the
changes? This is unreal, man!”
There was a pause before Bill asked: “Are
you sure you didn’t accept the new Ts and Cs, Mark?”
“I’m positive! I got no notification or I
wouldn’t have–”
“Just for my sake, would you mind checking
your Inbox again?”
“Er, sure.” Mark replied. “Please stay on
the call. I’m checking.”
He opened the email app and checked his
Sent folder. A digitally signed reply had been sent in response to the upgrade
notification.
“Bill!” He almost yelled in panic. “There
is an acceptance email but I swear to God, I didn’t send it. Especially since I
was asleep at 2:05 a.m.!”
“Oh, Okay! But Mark, If you didn’t accept
it, then how–”
Mark wasn’t listening anymore. His hand
reached behind his ear. When he didn’t feel anything under the skin, he began
to scream.
Bio:
Kanwar lives in Sydney and loves doing the write thing, at least what left-to-right. When not writing, Kanwar shoots and hangs things, as in photography and painting. He taps a keyboard and pushes a mouse for his "day job".
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