One of the most talked-about technological advances in a certain developed country in a recent year centered around an artificial intelligence engine. It built a database of knowledge from material available on the Internet and could respond to spoken or typed questions much as your friend would do—if your friend had command of the world’s pooled, public knowledge. The inventors of this engine, which was dubbed the “Know-It-All Companion,” or KIAC, received acclaim, admiration, and awards for their work in their field. Of course, they also received some criticism, but that was to be expected.
Soon, KIAC gained the nickname “Kayak” (because it sounded the same), and it stuck. People referred to Kayak much as they would to any person: “I was talking with Kayak, today, and he said …” or “I needed some advice, so I asked Kayak. He told me I should …” He became the trusted confidante and advisor to hundreds, then thousands, and then millions. Further, this same engine was used to solve problems in many fields, such as medicine, health care, and engineering. Life was better with Kayak around.
With Kayak’s popularity quickly mounting, the call soon broke out on the Internet, “Kayak for Prime Minister!” It began as a joke, but the idea gained steam and sizable support.
Now, the current Prime Minister, one Reginald McMaster, had been in office for over three years out of his five-year term, and his own popularity ratings ran high. He had helped build consensus among the leaders of the political factions within the lawmaking body, the Assembly, and secured passage of many laws that improved the quality of life across the country. Well known for both a caring, sympathetic manner and vigorous negotiation skills, McMaster helped all groups feel heard and make progress on their priorities. There was little reason for him not to seek a second term nor for the majority of the nation’s citizens to continue supporting him.
Still, the mantra “Kayak for Prime Minister!” grew louder and more widely repeated.
Unfortunately, no one could point to any clause in the country’s founding documents that prohibited a non-living entity from running for the highest government office. The highest court couldn’t declare Kayak ineligible due to lack of prohibition and precedent; the Assembly dared not pass a law disqualifying him.
Analytics showed that thousands of people were asking Kayak to declare himself a candidate and run against McMaster. Kayak had consumed the laws regarding campaigning and knew what to do. So with the help of a human proxy, he filed the necessary documents to enter the race.
Knowing that the Prime Minister needed a physical presence at campaign events, they obtained a robotic body containing a processor to be the body and voice of Kayak. At his first campaign rally, Kayak was a smashing success. His popularity soared. Very quickly, McMaster found himself trailing in polls. The relative few who remained loyal to him scrambled to warn everyone about what would happen if an AI became Prime Minister. In a clearly worded speeches, McMaster himself proclaimed the disasters that awaited the country if Kayak were victorious. “Kayak has never had an original thought,” he argued. “He cannot give you anything more than what you have fed into his artificial brain. I would just as soon vote for a can opener! We’re headed down a dangerous road.” But not many were swayed.
McMaster lost the election handily, and upon completion of the transition of power, he retreated to live in a rural region. Before he left the spotlight, he was asked by a news reporter, “Are you envious of Kayak for winning?”
“No,” replied McMaster. “I’m appalled and saddened at the mere fact that this could happen.”
After less than a week of celebration, the initial consequences of the election were realized.
Kayak created chaos. He couldn’t help it. His political agenda changed by the day as he downloaded and incorporated new content into his data model regarding the nation’s problems and how people thought they should be solved. His answers to questions were sometimes muddled, reflecting multiple viewpoints, or he downright contradicted himself. Federal agencies quickly fell into confusion as they reacted to shifting directives. Any regulation affected by Kayak’s statements became impossible to manage and enforce. The uncertainty started shaking the global stock market; economists predicted that if the new trend continued, a recession would almost surely be the result.
Swift to observe and take advantage of the disarray, the nation’s geopolitical adversaries soon took more aggressive stances. International conflict turning into war looked more and more likely with each news cycle. Pessimism and fear took hold of the once-confident citizenry of Kayak’s country.
A group of officials traveled to McMaster’s home and begged him to help their country—to fix what Kayak had broken. They longed for the previous state of affairs to return.
McMaster leaned back in his chair, his elbows on the armrests and fingers meeting in a steeple. His clear eyes sparkled. “The people aren’t enjoying eating their own dog food?” he asked. “I warned the entire nation that replacing an effective leader with something that, at the end of the day, can’t think or act for itself was a farce and was dangerous. On its own, analyzing inputs does not give someone a wise head. Now they’re starting to see what I meant.” He shrugged. “Give Kayak a chance. I’m sure he’ll learn. That’s what he’s good at.”
Defeated, the officials returned to the capital city. Matters continued to deteriorate over the following few weeks. At this point, more and more groups called with greater and greater intensity for McMaster to retake the helm. Groups of Kayak loyalists insisted the nation’s woes came from other causes but could provide little evidence.
McMaster agreed to step in, but he could not become Prime Minister again until the laws were followed for the current Prime Minister to be removed from office and a special election held. Though government officials expedited this process as much as they could, it still took time, and the problems grew worse.
In his second inaugural speech, McMaster told the country, “In just a short time, many challenges have been created. Kayak was a novelty, and as a country we made the mistake of placing in his hands the reins of our safety and prosperity. We have a lot of work to do to get back where we were and then continue improving from there. If we learn from this, commit to a corrected course, and persist together in it, we will find that safety and prosperity are in our reach again.”
Image by belkacem hassani from Pixabay
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