Page 34 - Black Velvet Magazine Issue 98

BV98 pg32-35 Tremonti_BV98 pg34 18/08/2018 19:50 Page 3

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edge in them; so they learn just like you or me In the future, maybe there is some kind of pro- real; you know, it would manifest into something
but they can be pretty much awakened having tection that we have that could be breached. that they would use. Like you watch old Star
an entire life’s history of knowledge at a split The AI’s will be smarter than us, so if there is a Trek episodes and you see their flip phones.”
second so they are very much more in-depth way to get around it they’ll get around it, but The word ‘dehumanize’ crops up a couple of
than any kind of sex toy or something. They can hopefully we’re smart enough to know that they times in the songs on the album. We ask Mark
be programmed to any which way you want. If are smarter than us. But somebody might slip if he feels as though we, the human race, are in
you want them to be military, you can make up and that will be a terrible thing, because once danger of forgetting our human qualities such as
them a military soldier; if you want them to be… it gets there, there’s no going back.” the ability to think for ourselves, having compas-
” he pauses. “There is a character in the story The song ‘A Dying Machine’ includes the sion and empathy for others? “Yeah, it definitely
that’s a little girl, named Daisy. This mother, I lyrics: ‘Manufactured eyes see everything…’ We touches on that,” Mark states. “People can be
guess, couldn’t have a daughter and she wanted buy ‘smart’ devices such as phones, TVs, selfish, human beings can be selfish; I’ve seen
this forever child so she gets this little Daisy, a watches, to make our lives easier, but in doing a lot of selfish, horrible people in this world, I’m
7-year-old girl. There are many purposes for so we have allowed our every move to be spied sure everybody has. I think the more populated
them. Ares was created by the creator of tech- upon so that the internet giants can use the data the world gets the less people care about one
nology and she uses him for her sexual pleas- to maximise profits from our habits. We ask another and the more they are out for survival
ures, she uses him as her security and doesn’t Mark whether he feels that we as consumers on their own; I don’t know...You go to a big, big
treat him with respect. That’s one of the main is- have underestimated the power that these smart city and people have less time for you, right?
sues of the book too; you cre- People just don’t even say hello to
ate AI, or you create anything “What happened with Facebook is just one little example you. People aren’t always nice. I
to be in your likeness and you think in the future, as the population
don’t give it respect, or you of what could happen in the future. All of a sudden everyone’s exponentially grows, the worse
don’t treat it like you’d treat a privacy is completely out in the open, that’s something that people will become. Scientists have
human because you think it’s could very well happen,” - Mark Tremonti said it’s going to be between, 11
less than you, they are still and 13 billion people by the turn of
going to feel because it’s the next century; I think it’s 8 right
made in your fashion. They are still going to feel devices have? now. But Stephen Hawking said something like,
anguish, despair, loneliness, hatred, anger and “Yeah, I mean…” he pauses and exhales, we would be shoulder to shoulder on every con-
all these things and if that’s not put in check “Hopefully it doesn’t bite us all in the end. But, tinent by 2065 or something crazy…not long
there is going to be repercussions.” yeah I think it’s this wild, wild west with technol- from here. So in the future, I don’t think we are
Do they age? “Yes, if you want them to age. ogy and I don’t think we know what the down- going to care about one another as much.”
You can program them to age or you can pro- falls could be from it yet. I think what happened
gram them not to age. The ones, like the main with Facebook is just one little example of what n the song ‘Traipse’ Mark sings ‘Found a
character in the book, Stella, she’ll just stay the could happen in the future. All of a sudden Inew strength in me.’ We wonder what per-
same age and they live hundreds of years. So everyone’s privacy is completely out in the open, sonal strengths Mark has discovered since
that’s another subject in the book; when these that’s something that could very well happen, working on the ‘A Dying Machine’ projects?
people die what will happen to their vessels? It’s and I’m sure that the government has ways of “Opening up the imagination; creating
almost like you buy a parrot and sometimes par- keeping an eye on everybody. Watching every- something from nothing, I think, has been… I
rots live to be over a hundred years old, so body’s cell phones and everybody’s log-ins, don’t know whether it’s a strength - it’s just a
you’ve got to will it to the next generation. So search histories and contacts. I’m sure it could passion, I love this,” Mark smiles. “Writing this
these vessels are to be handed down from gen- very well be the big brother scenario that, you
eration to generation and if there’s nobody to know, Orwellian kind of deal.”
hand down to then they get recycled. In the book It’s actually quite scary, if you are to think
the recycling process is very brutal. There was about it; there must be many things that we be-
a malfunction in the first round of vessels and lieve to be fictional which could end up being re-
they needed to find the data to find out why. To ality in the not-so-distant future. Mark tells us
do it they had to incinerate the vessels but keep that when he was discussing plot points with
them aware while they are doing it so that they John Shirley, John would inform him that the
could take the proper data away. That’s what technology was already in the works for the
causes the big war in this book; Ares is a vessel things they were discussing. Mark recalls one
and he sees his own kind being pretty much tor- such conversation. “I remember this one scene,
tured and burned to death and he busts in on I had said to John, ‘Maybe there’s a scene
the whole recycling thing and frees his people where Ares sees a plant move or something; it’s
and it becomes this rebellion.” someone there and he goes and attacks this
thing. All of a sudden this person’s got this
n a short amount of time technology has stealth cladding on.’ John said to me, ‘Actually,
Itransformed our lives immensely; the way that’s in the works. There is a company working
we live, work and communicate. Touching on on it right now where people can have suits that
what Mark said about there being repercussions have panels on them that can make you invisi-
if you do not treat AI with respect, we discuss ble, pretty much. That’s probably 20 years out
how the likes of Professor Stephen Hawking and from now!’” Mark reveals. “Just think, whatever
Elon Musk have been saying for some time that you could imagine is going to become some-
AI is the biggest threat to human existence if it thing that’s real in the future. Somebody told me
is not properly regulated. Mark agrees with this. once that government officials would look back
“I think, first of all, if we create too much AI and at science fiction stories and they would take
put them in our factories, we are going to lose some of the technology and make it actually
the entire workforce. You know, if you can find a
machine that you spend X amount of dollars on
that can replace a hundred humans, why would-
n’t these people do that? I think that, more and
more, that is going to happen - artificial intelli-
gence building and taking our jobs. If somebody
doesn’t keep an eye on it we may have AI that
wants to do harm to a human, so, I think it would
be pretty silly to not have things in place that
would prevent that happening. Like in the book,
there’s an obedience protocol, there’s a file or
there’s something that keeps these things from
doing anything against your will. The main focus
of one of the characters in the book is getting
past that so that he can do whatever he wants.
TREMONTI