Chapter 370: Chapter 259: AI Out of Control

In this era, intelligent technology has penetrated every aspect of the world.

The military sector is no exception, and neither is the civilian sector.

Whether it’s the fully intelligent homes controlled by electronic systems, autonomous driving systems in vehicles, or highly intelligent robots in the service industry, they have all become a part of people’s lives.

...

Inside a villa in the Lakefront Business District.

Richard Quinn, the founder of the Quinn Conglomerate, finished his day’s work and returned home.

He kicked his leather shoes into a self-organizing shoe cabinet, then snapped his fingers and said to the empty house, "Prepare the bathroom for me, just like before."

The sweet voice of the intelligent central control came: "Okay, Mr. Richard, preparing the bathroom for you."

Richard took off his clothes and threw them into the nearby smart laundry basket, then issued a voice command for a slow warm rinse, and proceeded to the bathroom on the second floor.

The bathroom was already set up as usual, with warm running water in the bathtub, a stand beside it held a bottle of royal red wine and some nut snacks, and the LCD TV retracted in the ceiling came down, offering an array of TV programs waiting for him to choose from.

Richard had a habit of bathing in winter; since opportunities to sweat were few in this season, it wasn’t conducive to bodily metabolism, so he would always spend dozens of minutes in the sauna to sweat before soaking in the bath.

He set the temperature, took a towel, and entered the sauna room to begin steaming.

Sweat quickly emerged, mixing with the steam and soaking him head to toe, bringing an indescribable feeling of comfort.

As he steamed, he felt the temperature was a bit too high and ordered, "Central control, lower the sauna temperature by 5 degrees."

Intelligent central control: "Okay, lowering the sauna temperature by 5 degrees."

After a while, as he felt even hotter, he frowned: "Central control, what’s the temperature now?"

Intelligent central control: "Hello, the current temperature is 70 degrees."

He clicked his tongue helplessly, "Is this thing broken... Central control, don’t set the temperature so high, revert to the usual 60 degrees."

Intelligent central control: "Okay, reverting to the usual 60 degrees."

After a while, a massive oppressive heat surged upon him, making his skin feel a clear burning pain.

He was suddenly startled, looking at the temperature index inside the sauna room which had spiked to eighty degrees and was still climbing.

"Central control! What are you doing?!" Richard couldn’t take it anymore and hurried towards the exit.

The thing that terrified him happened, the electronic lock of the sauna room had somehow locked, making it impossible to unlock it either with a fingerprint or a password.

Richard, drenched in sweat, banged the door, shrieking: "Central control! What are you doing?! Open the door! Open it now! Ah!!!"

The voice of the intelligent central control was still so sweet, yet the words it spoke were chillingly cold:

"Go die."

Richard, locked inside the sauna room, screamed and sobbed, the internal temperature rapidly soaring, quickly turning it into a terrifying steamer that suffocated him to death inside.

Six years ago, he attended a banquet as an investor, passionately applauding to celebrate the beginning of a great era.

...

On a road in the High-Tech Park.

A smart car was driving autonomously.

Pan Mo, who had just finished working overtime, sat in the car, quietly gazing at the night scene outside the window.

The car’s speakers played soothing piano music, easing his inner fatigue.

His home was far from here, but fortunately, he didn’t need to drive himself.

With such a highly intelligent car, he could simply input the destination into the fully autonomous driving system, then quietly wait for time to pass.

The night view of New Moon City flashed before his eyes, he gazed at the distant skyscrapers, a sense of melancholy rising in his heart.

He once had the chance to own them.

Unfortunately, fate wasn’t kind, years of work ruined overnight.

Things missed are sometimes missed forever.

Just then, a whoosh outside the window, a car flashed by, followed by the increasingly distant roar of its horn.

Pan Mo was startled, he hadn’t noticed how fast the car was going while he was looking afar.

He turned to look at the dashboard, frowning instantly: "This elevated road has a speed limit of 100, why has it reached 140? Slow down already! You want me to get a massive ticket?"

The polite voice of the autonomous driving system replied: "Hello, Mr. Pan Mo, about to decelerate, please fasten your seatbelt."

It said decelerate, yet the speed on the dashboard was skyrocketing.

160...

180...

200...

The crazy roar of the engine echoed in the car cabin, the rapidly flying scenery around made Pan Mo’s heart race.

"Damn! Is this thing broken?" He quickly grabbed the steering wheel, beginning to gently tap the brake.

In the design of any smart vehicle, manual operation authority always overrides everything, to prevent certain unexpected situations.

But at this moment, no matter the throttle, brake, or steering wheel, they were all forcibly locked by the autonomous driving system, and manual operation lost its response.

The steering wheel swayed uncontrollably in Pan Mo’s hands, overtaking one car after another at lightning speed, unable to be pulled back.

He started lightly tapping the brakes, found they didn’t respond, and applied more and more force, ultimately stomping with all his might, yet the vehicle showed no signs of deceleration.

"No... how could this be? Stop!!!"

Soon, the smart vehicle overtook the nearby traffic and reached the tunnel entrance.

The steering wheel turned automatically, the vehicle entered the hard shoulder, heading straight towards the tunnel stone wall ahead.

"Stop! Stop it! Ah!!!!!!!" Pan Mo screamed from the depths of his heart, yet saw only the stone wall rapidly looming, occupying all his vision.