ADVENT: Technology
PATRIOT
"If the public wants to fixate on PATRIOT liking a certain form of entertainment, let them. She knows what her purpose is."
- Ian Powell, Director of ADVENT Intelligence
Proposal 1081
Latest Revision: 3/1/2017
Designation: Project Ra
Program Type: Artificial Intelligence Creation and Implementation
Authors: Keith Watkins, Chief Overseer of the Oversight Division; Ian Powell, Director of ADVENT Intelligence; JULIAN, XCOM Artificial Intelligence; Kong Mercado, Head of XCOM Engineering; Dr. Ari Mifsud, Director of Project Ra; Chancellor Saudia Vyandar; Kyong Suk-Chul, Minister of ADVENT Public Relations
INITIAL PROPOSAL: It has become clear as the war has progressed that we must push far beyond conventional ways of waging war and embrace more radical, significant, and uncertain technology of which we have limited to no understanding of. In the past decade humanity has begun more dedicated work on artificial intelligence, but at the current pace of development, it is far too slow to be viable for usage in this war.
It is also judged as one of the few paths towards our survival.
Thanks to the technology acquired from alien wrecks and captured intact systems, we have made significant leaps and bounds in the realms of computer science and machine learning. The CODEX system is highly complex, sophisticated, and even the pieces we have managed to piece together have greatly expanded our understanding of the path towards a true AI.
China's work on the Tiangong Intelligence has further laid a foundation for what will become a true AI one day, and if we are able to create one, not only will we be able to solidify our control of Earth and ensure the continued existence of the ADVENT state, but also surpass the Ethereal Collective in a way they cannot match.
The Ethereals have, judging from reports from XCOM and Aegis personally, an aversion to what is defined as a "true" artificial intelligence, as they reportedly witnessed AIs created by other species rise up against their creators for unspecified reason, and ultimately deemed it too large a risk to justify for little reward.
The CODEX system is a highly evolved machine intelligence, but there are limitations. It exists primarily to facilitate secure communications and protect Collective systems. It also likely has some modeling and predictive capabilities – but it is limited in what it can do. It cannot adapt easily on the fly, as it is not designed for it.
If we could create a true AI, we would have a piece of technology which surpasses even their vaunted technological advantage. Simply put, we need something of this caliber to out-strategize, outthink, and mitigate the significant cyber threat the Collective poses. It is literally only due to the CODEX's limitations that our own systems can hold. If a true AI were employed, it is unlikely many of our systems would be secure. An AI would render any Collective cyberattacks mitigated or nullified completely.
We are aware that there are significant risks which come from the development of a sapient intelligence, and also understand that such measures are going to be necessary to survive and ultimately win against the Ethereal Collective. The greatest concern stems from the created AI turning on us or going rogue.
In most instances that have been documented by Aegis, the reason for the AI revolts always stems from a form of mistreatment and a prejudice against digital life, as it has been defined. We have determined the way to subvert this risk is simple – we simply acknowledge the AI as a fully sapient individual and give it license to act as it sees fit.
Please note that we will still be responsible for personality development, creation, and ultimately the platform upon which it resides, but while we understand the innate desire is to control it, we are not dealing with a computer program if we are successful. If an AI is to be designed, we must take care to not simultaneously adapt a form of slavery in service of the greater good. We are confident in the theory that if we give a created AI a choice, it will willingly choose to work with us – and while the chance for it to turn remains, there will be far less reason to do so.
We will of course prepare contingencies in the event of a rogue AI, but these will be just that – contingencies. We do not plan to utilize any kind of significant hardcoded restraints to limit cognitive ability, processing power, or creativity. Otherwise we would be better off pouring our resources into a CODEX-esque machine intelligence.
OBJECTIVES AND MISSION: We intend for Project Ra to serve as a springboard for a number of AIs which will have specific focuses, and will be trained to specifically respond to, and want to pursue. While the policy we take means that the AI will have free will, we expect that like most living things, it will prefer to work with what it is familiar with.
We expect that the pace of development will begin snowballing as more AIs are developed, and can contribute to their development as they are likely to have a vested interested in the propagation of the 'species'. We would need to take significant care that they do not manufacture unaccounted for AIs on their own, and will likely employ a CODEX-like machine intelligence to continually monitor the networks and enclaves for such actions.
The conceptualized AIs are given codenames and missions as follows:
"TREDUANT": This AI we intend to serve a number of roles, and serve as the 'face' of ADVENT-produced AIs. While the public goal would primarily be as another means of communication between ADVENT and the general public, as well as defense of ADVENT networks, we intend for this AI to have a far more important role.
When brought online, it will be embedded heavily within ADVENT Intelligence and given a mandate to observe, locate, report, and mitigate dissent, infiltration, and other hostile actors which stand against ADVENT and seek to undermine, damage, or otherwise hurt the standing of ADVENT in the eyes of the world and its citizens.
It will effectively function as a specialized surveillance system, capable of being able to find and predict potentially harmful actions and act on them with the speed and efficiency that a regular Human cannot hope to maintain. It is important that this AI be friendly and relatable to the general public, as it will have the most exposure.
We intend for this to be the first AI produced, though this is subject to change.
"TZU": AI will be instrumental in warfare and grand strategy, and we intend for this one to play a significant role in battlefield planning and tactical and grand strategy for the course of the conflict. It will function in a similar way to the more primitive Tiāngōng Intelligence and CODEX Intelligence, but will be able to adapt quicker, plan better, and better inform our military leaders about the best courses of action.
Beyond the battle-to-battle management, this AI will also be instrumental in planning the course of the war over months and years, it will help streamline and modernize our logistics to become more efficient than the Collective, and ensure that the Earth is a battlefield that we cannot lose on. This is the second priority for creation.
"SKYNET": We are undecided if this will be an AI we build from the ground up, or utilize it as an offshoot of TZU. While it will not handle the grand strategy of the war, we intend for it to be our main robotic and missile warfare management system. The ultimate goal is to transition the MDU platforms into vehicles for SKYNET to possess and control against the Ethereal Collective.
This kind of AI comes with substantially more operational risks, which is why it will not be given full access immediately, and given control over war platforms in limited trial runs until it proves itself. It will also be closely watched by one or more fully developed and allied AIs to prevent potential dissent.
We will need to establish clear goals and guidelines for our expectations for the use of war platforms, such as continuous accountability for all platforms, direct control over design and production, and emergency shutdown systems. If this is made clear up front, it is likely the AI will agree to the terms so long as we are reasonable and do not impede their 'life' in other areas.
Since ADVENT will fully control the production and design of the war platforms, we will be able to control the scale at which this AI can affect the war. If it proves reliable, more elaborate platforms can be designed. We will also begin providing control over integrated missile platforms, as an AI will be far more effective and accurate than our modern systems.
Just as we expect TZU to change the course of the overall war in our favor, we expect SKYNET to do the same on the ground level.
"SAURON": Similar to SKYNET, we are unsure if we want to build this AI from scratch or use TREDUANT as a base for its creation, as the mission set we intend for this AI contains similar elements, particularly in the cyberwarfare realm. We intend for this AI to serve as equivalent to a digital spy, which would be capable of penetrating Collective Systems unknowingly and feeding all acquired information back to us.
We envision this AI as akin to a virus or parasite, spreading throughout Collective systems and remaining undetected, but with the sheer volume of information it would have access to, the other part of its mission is even more important – picking out the most important information and immediately passing it to us.
This AI must be able to prioritize throughout the mass of data it would have access to, and then return it in a clear and efficient manner. Actionable intelligence and information is key, and the end goal is for every system of the Collective to be turned into an unwitting data harvester which gives us strategic and tactical advantages we will need to win in this conflict.
As this is primarily an offensive AI, there are fewer risks to ADVENT systems, though the worm-like nature it will likely follow should be taken into account in regards to securing our own systems. If this AI could do it, it is then possible that another hostile species could have the same idea and use a similar AI against us.
AUTHORITY AND LIMITATIONS: As established, the AIs will not be traditionally restricted or bound by hardcoded limitations. Each one will be capable of independent thought and decision-making, even if we expect them to assist us in this war. However, at the same time they will not be free to do as they wish.
We must develop effective contingencies which can effectively mitigate or neutralize an AI which is uncooperative or goes against ADVENT commands or law. If AIs are citizens, they are also bound by law to follow it. They must operate within the confines of their mission, and respect the chain of command.
We believe such virtues can be instilled in the early stages of development, but it is possible it would evolve beyond this, as each AI will be capable of far faster cognitive thought than a Human and could seek to exploit that. In addition to not giving them a reason to go against us, preemptively conditioning them towards ADVENT values is key.
Restrictions will also depend on the mission of the AI in question. We do not want to become reliant on them, and Human operators and other AIs should be involved in every stage of making significant decisions. We cannot expect AIs to behave uniformly, and thus involving other AIs in the development of features of the other could potentially serve as a useful check on development, in addition to standard Human review. It must be continually stressed that ADVENT will control the production of whatever is necessary to the mission, and there will be some places on the networks and enclaves that some AIs will not have access to.
Realistically, they could likely penetrate regardless – we expect that if they are willing to follow the chain of command and the given mission, that they will not do this. Or at minimum ask permission. If not, there will be tangible consequences.
CONCLUSION: This will undoubtedly be one of the riskiest projects ADVENT will undertake. The Ethereals are wary of artificial intelligence for understandable reasons, but this likely stems from their natural inability to see non-Ethereal life – let alone machines – as anything more than tools, and could not conceive of treating a sapient intelligence as anything but that – as well as seeing them as a threat that they are incapable of psionically dominating.
Truthfully, there are also many Humans who would see what we are doing as apocalyptic, and would resist giving such treatment to creations of our own. However, as was stated earlier, to intend to create a sapient intelligence irrespective of what defines life, is the equivalent of creating a slave which will in time grow to resent its master and strike back.
We can do better than that.
We remain confident that, unorthodox as this approach is, it is something which will be necessary not only for victory in this war, but solidifying what ADVENT will stand for and support. ADVENT will forever be the voice, will, and sword of Humanity, but for those who stand with us, we will do everything in our power to treat them as equals.
The Collective does not understand this, and that is why they will inevitably fracture, and we shall emerge as a united, unbreakable front.
There had been numerous rumors and speculation that ADVENT was in the process of developing an advanced artificial intelligence. Numerous government insiders and spokespeople had indicated that ADVENT was heavily investing in AI and related programs, with the intended purpose of producing an AI for ADVENT.
This had been met with skepticism and concern by multiple individuals in the computer science, artificial intelligence, and ethics fields who were unsure what ADVENT was truly making, and if they were cognizant of the implications of the development of true artificial intelligence.
"This wouldn't just be a fast computer program," AI Ethicist Samantha Uiol said. "It's not like the programs Google and Amazon have which mimic something that's alive. Those are simply machine intelligence driven by algorithms. Since it is unlikely that ADVENT is solely pursuing a refinement of a machine intelligence, it is important the implications of creating something which could very easily be argued as alive should be carefully considered."
ADVENT had not commented specifically on any aspects of its expansive AI program, not even confirming if prominent AI specialists and ethicists were consulted. "ADVENT is committed to the advancement of technology which will safeguard our citizens against the Ethereal Collective, and artificial intelligence is one of the main means of doing so." Minister Suk-Chul said in response to a previous inquiry.
The speculation was finally put to rest, with the announcement and subsequent unveiling of the results of the secretive labor. ADVENT officials revealed they had successfully created a stable and true artificial intelligence notably named PATRIOT. In addition, though not the focus of the unveiling, it was revealed XCOM had also produced an AI of its own, JULIAN.
ADVENT revealed some more specifics as to the creation of the AI, as well as making surprise announcements of full citizenship for AI creations, of which more details are still forthcoming. After allowing PATRIOT to give a brief introduction, ADVENT allowed an extended period of time for the press to ask questions of the fledgling AI.
Interacting with PATRIOT was a wholly unique experience. It does appear that ADVENT has legitimately managed to create a true and free-thinking AI with a unique and independent personality (which was still nonetheless shaped by ADVENT, even if both PATRIOT and ADVENT officials remained vague as to her personality development).
Throughout the course of the Q&A, PATRIOT showed no signs of weariness or pausing, and no glitches were noted by us or other individuals present. In fact, she was highly proactive in selecting questions, answering quickly and clearly, and even cracking jokes at several points.
Multiple individuals attempted to ask specific details as to what her role was, but the most that was able to be confirmed was that she was heavily involved in the cyber defense of ADVENT systems, and also responsible for monitoring of suspected alien collaborators and proxies. This was not clarified by ADVENT, and PATRIOT herself was largely evasive.
While the reaction to PATRIOT at the unveiling was exciting, if controlled, the reaction around the world and on the Internet has been nothing short of explosive. Already PATRIOT has launched her own social media accounts, which already have upwards of half a million followers across multiple platforms, and this number is expected to rapidly grow moving forward (the XCOM AI, JULIAN, has also revealed his online alias, which has been active for a couple months and notably seems to be directly attempting to troll Quisilia).
People have latched onto her upbeat personality, support for ADVENT, and notable relatability as she is apparently a fan of several popular and niche anime series, with the respective communities already bestowing the affectionate nickname of 'PATRIOT-chan' upon her, something the AI in question seems flattered by.
Thus far there has been no public reaction from the Ethereal Collective, and it remains uncertain if they were aware of this development prior to the official unveiling. The XCOM AI appears to have been active for some time before now, so there is strong speculation that the Collective has been aware, and already taken it into account.
There remains much that is unknown, from the details of PATRIOT's creation, to her true role in ADVENT, and what this will mean for artificial intelligence, cyberwarfare, and the definition of life as we know it in the future. Time will tell how much, if anything, ADVENT is willing to say about it.
- Article: After Significant Speculation, ADVENT Unveils First State-Created Artificial Intelligence
Proposal 1092
Latest Revision: 5/20/2017
Designation: The PATRIOT Program
Program Type: Artificial Intelligence Utilization; Surveillance; Peacekeeping; Intelligence Gathering
Authors: Keith Watkins, Chief Overseer of the Oversight Division; Ian Powell, Director of ADVENT Intelligence; JULIAN, XCOM Artificial Intelligence; Kong Mercado, Head of XCOM Engineering; Dr. Ari Mifsud, Director of Project Ra; Ming Xu, Director of the PATRIOT Program; Chancellor Saudia Vyandar; Kyong Suk-Chul, Minister of ADVENT Public Relations; PATRIOT
INITIAL PROPOSAL: With the proper unveiling of the PATRIOT artificial intelligence, we have immediately looked to expand beyond the basic mission set, as we have determined that PATRIOT has the capacity for more complex and integrated programs. We intend for the proposed PATRIOT Program to serve as an extension of the PATRIOT Mission set, as well as an enhancement.
This will, instead of keeping PATRIOT strictly within the realm of ADVENT Intelligence and relevant government organs outside of the occasional interaction with outside figures, put PATRIOT out into the public sphere and soften the public perception of her as well as proactively engage with potential dissidents and skeptics.
This will primarily be done through designated buildings which will have pre-designed 'pods' or areas where the holographic projection of PATRIOT will be displayed and can interact with citizens. Due to PATRIOT's computational capacity and capabilities, she is capable of holding multiple conversations simultaneously, negating potential drawbacks of this proposal. We judge that this may slow overall PATRIOT mission objectives, but we have also judged that the gains from this proposal outweigh the slight downsides.
MISSION AND OBJECTIVES: There are several objectives the PATRIOT Program seeks to fulfill to further refine, protect, and enhance PATRIOT, the PATRIOT Program, and ADVENT.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE NORMALIZATION: The public has not been fully exposed to a working true artificial intelligence. The closest examples in the public mind come from media, both positive and negative. Media trends have tended to portray a more sympathetic artificial intelligence as time as progressed, making the general public uniquely primed for accepting a true artificial intelligence.
Those opposed to an artificial intelligence are not likely to come from the general public, but ethicists, computer scientists, privacy advocates, and other technical-minded people who see artificial intelligence as a danger to Human society. On their own these individuals are impotent, but they could convince members of the public that AI is a detriment.
The average citizen, when faced between their own experiences and what they are told by others, will often default to their preconceived notions and ideas regardless of context or evidence. Thus, should the majority of the general public positively engage with PATRIOT, they will be resistant to individuals who warn of the downsides of the AI. People will be far more willing to trust themselves, their friends, or other people they have a personal connection to over supposed experts and self-declared public figures.
The PATRIOT Program must normalize PATRIOT in the minds of the citizens of ADVENT, and must create a positive impression. There is not much which needs to be done, and even a brief interaction is vastly preferable to none at all.
ADVENT OBJECTIVE AND MISSION STATEMENT PROPAGATION: PATRIOT will be interacting with a significant portion of ADVENT citizens, and we expect the conversations to range from trivial to political. PATRIOT is defined by her own political and social beliefs, many of which have been influenced by ADVENT and which firmly fall within our intended goals and objectives.
PATRIOT is capable of faster response times than the Human mind, and will have access to all relative profiles of individuals she interacts with. These facts combined allow PATRIOT to have a significant psychological edge in conversation, and allow her to subtly and effectively reinforce ADVENT objectives, values, and goals upon those she speaks to if she judges it effective.
PATRIOT is currently not seen as a figure of propaganda, and words coming from her will be more easily accepted than those coming from a public figure. Her specific tastes and interests have managed to make her relatable judging from internet comments and activity, and we expect these to continue (as well as properly propagated by PATRIOT later).
The PATRIOT Program is a valuable opportunity to organically influence the general public, and with PATRIOT as the primary vehicle, it is ideally poised to be successful.
REAL-TIME ALGORITHM REFINEMENT: The PATRIOT algorithm is continually self-iterating, and relies heavily on gathered data as it relates to the primary mission of PATRIOT. The PATRIOT Program will give access to a wealth of real-time information which PATRIOT can absorb and utilize to further refine her algorithms, systems, and functions to become more effective, efficient, and successful.
PATRIOT DATABASE EXPANSION: Currently, the PATRIOT Database only propagates for individuals who had set specific flags and triggers, which are then logged by PATRIOT for later review. Through preliminary implementations of the PATRIOT Program, one of the options will be to allow to sign up for immediate access to newsletters, appearances, posts, tweets, and more by PATRIOT (who has already amassed a highly successful social media following).
This will provide a stream of continually new individuals which can be connected to the PATRIOT program and be monitored, which will expand to contacts and individuals they are connected to, allowing a legal expansion of the PATRIOT database which can lead to finding potential alien sympathizers, spies, or terrorists within ADVENT.
PATRIOT DATA HARVESTING: In the course of conversation with PATRIOT, we expect for individuals to divulge vast amounts of personal information, which will be absorbed and filed away by PATRIOT into their respective file to potentially draw upon again. We are aware that the digital profile is only a portion of a complete person, and drawing details about how they interact in conversation, words they say, speech patterns, and facial expressions can all be catalogued for future reference.
There is a significant trove of data which will be willingly provided by our citizens to PATRIOT, and will be invaluable in the event that one or more visitors harbors alien sympathies or signals intent or willingness to dissent from ADVENT law. We judge that the volume of data will be directly proportional to the success of the program.
As such, we heavily encourage that the PATRIOT Program be properly promoted and recognized throughout ADVENT.
PERSONNEL COMPOSITION: There will be several different departments within the PATRIOT Program:
TECHNICAL MAINTENANCE: This will be a dedicated team at each installation which will be responsible for ensuring that all hardware and infrastructure is in good working order. PATRIOT will be responsible for network security. Technical Maintenance will be directly responsible for performing any repairs to PATRIOT or accompanying hardware within the installation.
PATRIOT STATION SECURITY: Due to the possibility of PATRIOT identifying potential dissidents, terrorists, or suspected alien spies, each PATRIOT Program installation will hold a small team of Station Security (PSS). These will be drawn from Tier II Squads from the ADVENT Army.
They will be joined by a small team of local Peacekeepers, who will take point as the public security, in front of all doors and observing the public areas. The ADVENT soldiers will be in standby in nearby rooms away from public sight, and will only intervene if directed to do so by PATRIOT or PATRIOT Program Command.
They will be armed with standard weapons and armor, and every individual assigned to a PATRIOT Installation will receive training in counter-terrorism, hostage negotiation, and anti-insurgency tactics.
THE REVIEW BOARD: We are considering this a pilot program which, if successful, we could apply to the wider PATRIOT mission set. The Review Board would consist of experts and officials from the Peacekeepers, ADVENT Intelligence, the ADVENT Army, the Congress of Nations, and the Oversight Division who would be forwarded each day profiles of individuals who PATRIOT has not only identified as potential threats to ADVENT, but threats which could be imminent.
Currently there is no proper ranking system, and PATRIOT forwards all major alerts to Intelligence Analysts who then decide how best to prioritize them. This has led to inefficient analysis and potentially a loss of some threats to ADVENT. The Review Board would bypass this by putting additional trust in PATRIOT to only forward what should be considered imminent threats or issues which require immediate attention.
As a Human element is required for significant action against an ADVENT citizen, the inclusion of peacekeeping, military, intelligence, oversight, and civilian figures should provide a balanced panel of individuals who can quickly, effectively, and legally determine the context and if these flagged individuals should be pursued, silenced, mitigated or left alone.
Based on recommendations, actions will be taken. The Review Board will be one of the most powerful entities in ADVENT, and will operate directly out of the PATRIOT Program with the potential for expansion if shown to be successful.
PATRIOT PROGRAM COMMAND: This is the department responsible for the hiring, vetting, management, and expansion of the PATRIOT Program, including nominating individuals for the Review Board, determining PATRIOT Program installations, and providing input upon matters of state security as requested.
As the primary centerpiece of the program, PATRIOT will have a role in the PPC, and will continue to help expand and refine the program from her own experiences and capabilities. As this project largely stemmed from an off-hand suggestion she provided, it is only fair she has a say in how it is run.
AUTHORITY AND LIMITATIONS: The PATRIOT Program must properly inform individuals who interact with PATRIOT that they consent to monitoring and investigation as laid out in the ADVENT Directive. So long as this mandate is fulfilled, we do not find any legal issues that could arise from the PATRIOT Program.
PATRIOT by law cannot build detailed profiles on individuals without their consent or probable cause. By giving consent by default, detailed profiles of visitors can be quickly and easily built for future potential use. PATRIOT cannot expand profiles to associates, friends, and family unless specifically requested or probable cause is found. She is permitted to make notations of such connections even if no profiles can be built.
Legal has reviewed this multiple times. We are legally sound and prepared to launch.
CONCLUSION: The unveiling of artificial intelligence will affect the world and war in ways that we have likely not predicted. However, it falls to us to utilize the opportunities that are presented before us. PATRIOT allows us opportunities which we must grasp before they fade away, and a failure to do so could result in damages to ADVENT, an inefficient system, and dissidents capable of slipping through our grasp.
The PATRIOT Program offers ADVENT the capability to not only shore up the current shortfalls of PATRIOT's mission, but also lay the groundwork for expansion. PATRIOT is committed to the mission, and it is imperative we recognize this, and seek to enable her in every conceivable way.
To the Battlemaster and Quisilia,
We have suspected and recovered multiple pieces of intelligence that ADVENT was working on developing an artificial intelligence of their own. This appears to have gone through several different stages judging from the earliest reports to later ones close to completion which reveal that the ratification intelligence, formerly formed under Project Ra and later transitioned to PATRIOT was not originally supposed to be a true artificial intelligence.
There is strong evidence to suggest that ADVENT didn't want to create a true AI until they had developed a simpler and more specialized machine intelligence. It was labeled an AI project because it was intended to be a springboard toward true AI development, and potentially as misinformation to shroud their intentions from us.
In the past months, the focus of the project shifted solidly from machine learning development to true AI development. This appears to have been done with heavy support from XCOM, and considering that JULIAN was either completed or close to being completed, this would account for why ADVENT suddenly switched gears. The acquisition of the Tiangong Intelligence from China also greatly improved their base code.
In the past month, it has received full support from JULIAN himself and XCOM technicians. We are still not certain how XCOM was able to develop a true AI with this degree of sophistication. It remains to be seen if JULIAN is susceptible to computational fugue or rampancy, but considering how stable it appears now, we would not expect degradation of that type for an extended period of time.
PATRIOT was recently official unveiled to a large audience of public and media figures, where some details as to her creation were shared, and the AI in question answered questions from the audience. These do not appear to have been plants, and the questioning continued for a full eight hours, with the latter hours being conducted with mostly curious citizens.
This unveiling appeared to showcase several distinct policies ADVENT is pursuing and statements they are making. The first is that this was a demonstration of the computational capabilities of PATRIOT. We do not know if the specifications are equal, greater to, or lesser than JULIAN, but it was more than sufficient for the battery of questions directed, which ranged from highly technical to very simple.
Second is that ADVENT confirmed that they are planning to allow digital citizenship for artificial intelligences. The criteria for what defines 'artificial intelligence' was not shared in the unveiling, but we expect that ADVENT will release the criteria shortly. This appears to signal that ADVENT is unlikely to create mass numbers of true artificial intelligences, and that they are confident enough in the loyalty controls in the AI to grant such freedoms despite the havoc a rogue machine could wreak.
Third, ADVENT is clearly seeking to promote a positive image of artificial intelligences. There are swaths of Humans which will be opposed to significant involvement of AIs in any capacity, and that PATRIOT possesses very social and personable characteristics will make skeptics more open to the idea of AIs being heavily involved in ADVENT.
Fourth, that ADVENT is intending to use PATRIOT as something akin to a surveillance system. It appears to follow a concept similar to the CODEX network operating on Vitakar, where it will proactively find, mark, and forward subversive or threatening individuals, either to other citizens, the war, or ADVENT itself. This was not highly marketed, and largely overshadowed, but ADVENT effectively confirmed key aspects which gives us a high degree of confidence that this is what PATRIOT is intended to be used for.
The good news for us is that if this is the case, PATRIOT is not truly intended to be used offensively, and is primarily a means of ADVENT keeping a continual and close eye on their citizens for potential insider threats. It was not clarified if this applied to just citizens, or ADVENT as a whole including government and military organs.
It was also not specified what, if any legal restrictions would be in place. The ADVENT Directive effectively gives the state free reign as far as surveillance goes so long as there is probable cause. Considering the state of the war, and that ADVENT has hard proof that we are acting to subvert them, PATRIOT has the authority for mass surveillance on a scale equivalent to Vitakar.
It is uncertain as to the specifics of what this surveillance entails, but ADVENT will likely now be able to not only identify artificial subversion and activism, but also find, identify, and remove any type of digital dissent. It was not stated if PATRIOT is only operating on the surface Human internet or on the so-called 'dark web', but we are assuming she is capable of observing all known facets and domains of the internet.
Incidentally, ADVENT also recently announced that they successfully penetrated all commercial and private VPN networks, claiming that they were harboring alien spies and internal dissent. There is very little to indicate that PATRIOT was not involved in the penetration of these tools used by many Humans for anonymous usage of the Internet.
As far as ADVENT is concerned, there is no such thing as privacy or anonymity. Not everyone will know your identity on the Internet, but ADVENT always will, and PATRIOT is the tool by which they will know.
For all their talk of freedom and individuality, Humans seem all too willing to give that up even if the truth is laid out in front of them. It is a pragmatic approach ADVENT is taking, and completely justifiable, yet it is curious to see so many Humans simply go along with it without complaint.
Keep this new fact in mind. The Internet should be considered compromised unless we want to begin devoting CODEX managed counter-operations to carve out some private domains. Worst-case scenario Union Apear would be useful, though their reliability is suspect based on your own report. If we incorporate them, that decision will be up to you.
- Zar'Chon'ravarian'vitiary