Poppy Playtime: Buddy's Little Journal

March 11, 1999

Journal Entry #1 - 2:37 p.m., Thursday

""By far, the greatest danger of Artificial Intelligence is that people conclude too early that they understand it." (Eliezer Yudkowsky)

When it comes to the idea of artificial intelligence, the lines are usually blurred. Some believe that the concept of A.I. is based on the effort of humans to make computers gain sentience. Others see A.I. as a way to make machines do what humans can do. I am in between the lines of these two theories, but I would rather make my own to get past the hassle of choosing.

A.I. is basically a child created by hands instead of the womb of a human woman. A child with every single piece of information found in history at the tip of their fingers (assuming they have them). Nurture them and lead them on the right path, A.I. can benefit their creators in ways that they cannot even imagine. But if, and pray they don't, abuse the power of their "sons," these creators are threatening to unleash the dark potential hidden within A.I.. Although not truly A.I., we can say the same for Playtime Co. and their experiments.

Let us look at a specific example... Experiment 1006. As a disclaimer, I do not agree with what he has done, nor have I forgiven him for it. However, his situation is directly situated to the disastrous consequences that A.I. could install if misused. Created as a result of the Bigger Bodies Initiative, a program Playtime Co.'s executives insisted on as to make up for their dwindling state, Experiment 1006 was their foundation for making more appealing toys for the underaged population.

However, the merit of being the first successful experiment did not help my former friend in any way. The torture that he had gone through, as well as exploitation by Playtime's superiors, made Experiment 1006 cold and distant. He soon had the belief that humans were an evil species, not worth following or even living for. How he was able to initiate that massacre they call "The Hour of Joy" is a mystery to me. I would not have blamed him if he lashed out against his creators... But the deaths are too much for me. The many innocent lives lost, just so that he could get his vengeance... He had achieved his victory, but at what cost?

In the end, Playtime Co. was forced to close down. The toys achieved their freedom. The good guys win. The bad guys lost. End of story. That was what they believed in. That was what I believed in as well until I came back two years ago. The place... abandoned. The toys... dead shells of their former selves that only cared to survive the living hell that Playtime had brought on them. The... The images of my brothers and sisters sear through my broken mind as a poker does to flesh. The pain... I cannot bear it. I am not, and will not accuse Experiment 1006 for everything that has happened. This is mostly because Playtime Co. had pushed its fortune when they abused their sons and daughters. It had made its own monsters, and they needed to face their children sooner or later.

I have been pondering the state of Playtime Co.'s Factory for a while now, how everyone is like. By this time, a new view came into my sight. Anything, and I mean anything can bite the hand of the one that feeds them, as long as that hand has hit them enough times. It has happened time and time again.

End of Log.