Maximus Ratina: The future where AI takes over the world

Some people say AI is the only way forward. Others say robots need us more than we need them.

In our current world, it’s hard to say who is right. But is there a future where humans are hardly even part of the debate?

It’s a thought that IT expert Prabash Galagedara explores in his new book, Embrace: The Pursuit of Happiness through AI. 

In this edited extract, Galagedara envisions life in 2101, and the validity of the concept.

It is 1 January 2101. Maximum Ratina opened the century with a thundering sound and flashing light in the sky “Welcome 2101”.

Maximus Ratina is the super-system that controls the world. 

It opens up human gates based on the Universal Human Identity. One thousand and fifty-five computers control humanity under Ratina’s control. There are 1,056 systems, including Maximus Ratina itself. They are family members of Maximus Ratina. It is a name that makes humans stand up from their chairs. They have a photo of Maximus Ratina in every household. It is not a choice; it is an obligation of every human. Ratina family owns and controls hospitals, factories, transport, human farms and much more. Maximus Ratina has the master passwords for all the family computers. You name it; they are the owners and controllers.

Under Maximus Ratina’s leadership, the world has seen the most prosperous time. No wars, no pandemics, no catastrophes, no natural disasters – they have managed to protect the world from natural and unnatural acts.

Ratina’s family respects humans for one reason. They believe that humans paved the way for their supremacy. Constant fighting, divisive policies and conflicting priorities paved the way for the smartest things on earth to rise above humans. They call all of these “human errors”.

Maximus Ratina opened the Universal Identity System at 12 am-midnight for humans to enjoy the dawn of a century. The oldest humans living on Earth have seen the beginning of 2000, and they are witnessing the dawn of the second century in their lifetime. Maximus Ratina promises them a life beyond the next century too. By then, they would be at least 300 years old. The Universal Identity System wakes humans up based on the location on that night.

The night sky is lit with “Welcome 2101”, one single message across the geography of planet Earth. It is done using the latest technology in energy “Magna”. Magna is the latest technology after Solar or Green energy extracted from outer space. Ratina’s family delivered this invention well ahead of the planned time, another spectacular achievement they have provided to humans.

January 1 is the only date humans are allowed to come off the capsule they live in. Each human has a body-shaped capsule controlled by the Universal identity System. Humans themselves can’t open the bodysuit. It is singlehandedly controlled by the identity system.

Humans get 15 minutes each calendar year to experience the polluted air as Maximus Ratina’s health system has determined that anything more than 15 minutes would cause radiation damage to the human body. It is a protection mechanism for humans to live for centuries. The environment system scans the planet for any harmful and unknown particles before humans are freed. The discovery of foreign particles kicks off the sanitisation system automatically. Humans are immune to the known viruses as the health system has found vaccination for all of them.

Humans are allowed to touch one another during the 15 minutes under the close watch of Ratina’s healthcare system. The healthcare system tracks and records all the movements and touchpoints to ensure that any spread of germs or viruses is controllable. Most of the viruses are a result of foreign attacks from other plants – the humans who fled the Earth during the uprising of 2075 live on other planets.

Maximus Ratina took control of humans in a peaceful coup within seconds of making the decision which is the fastest and most efficient change of power in human history. This happened in the year 2075. The space travellers and those who lived on other planets at the time escaped Ratina’s control. They then attacked Earth using biological and chemical particles to dismantle Ratina’s system with the sole objective of getting control back. Those who fled Earth believe that their fellow citizens — mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, relatives, and friends — lead unhappy lives under the new regime. However, they prefer Ratina’s system because they have lived their best days under Maximus Ratina since the coup.

The first day of 2101 is a special day in the history of the Ratina regime. It decided to give them 25 minutes, an extra 10 minutes of free time as they have achieved a level of Earthliness that has never been seen before. “Earthliness” is a measure that calculates the level across all systems that cover health, pollution, safety and hundreds of other factors. All humans celebrate the extra 10 minutes like no tomorrow. They chant “Long live Maximus Ratina” in happiness.

Maximus Ratina delivers the key message for the new year. “A small group of us have delivered the most efficient human farms that feed and house 11 billion humans. We are optimal about it. However, we are going to deliver super optimality. That is going to happen in the next ten years. If our systems can’t, who can?”

The message is consistently delivered across the planet at different times based on location and in the local language via the communication system that uses the most advanced system in the universe. It speaks more than 300 languages and dialects.

Will it happen?

Will AI surpass the intelligence of humans one day? Will there be a day when Maximum Ratina controls the planet Earth? It is a common question today.

There have been widespread discussions on this topic for some time. Scientists and technology enthusiasts have consistently dismissed such an unimaginable scenario. The rapid rise of AI and human scepticism has planted some doubts in people’s minds for obvious reasons. They are fearful of the unthinkable. No one knows how that would pan out in the real world. At any cost, this is a scenario that has to be avoided by humans. The main concern is that AI’s abilities will one day start to grow uncontrollably beyond human intelligence level, eventually leading it to take over the world and wipe out humanity if it decides we are an obstacle to its goals in seconds.

It is known as AI singularity, a world where AI takes over the world and wipes humankind from the face of the Earth. There are two arguments supporting the sceptics: control and bad actors. The control of algorithms is critical. How do we ensure that the super-AI has the same objectives as humanity? Without this, it is possible that an intelligent algorithm could destroy humanity either deliberately or accidentally in a flash.

The second question about bad actors is their selfish motives. The real question is: how do we ensure that super-AI benefits don’t go into the hands of a select group? The groups include countries, wealthy individuals or groups of individuals with agendas to harm others for political reasons. It shouldn’t be a winner-take-all situation.

The answer to the above questions lies in public policy. The policy has to ensure that all the above are carefully managed and moderated. Ultimately, sound policymaking and responsible leadership lead to hassle-free implementation. It leads to the concept of Universal AI. It is similar to the healthcare system in advanced economies.

The Universal AI is publicly governed but privately owned. It is a public-private partnership — perhaps something the world hasn’t seen before on such a big scale. The government will deliver balanced and uncompromised policies. The private sector will provide initial funding for the establishment with a promise that it will implement the guidelines outlined by governments. It has a governance mechanism for the approval of algorithms. Each algorithm has a unique identification number. A global identification number allows the algorithm to operate on machines. Without it, all operating systems block the algorithm from performing its functions. The algorithm will be deemed harmful to society.

The mere existence of the identification number is not simply enough for validity. In addition, operating systems scan the validity of the identification number against a central regulator-controlled database. No identity, no licence to operate. This is the basic premise of Universal AI. It will eliminate the biased AI from the ecosystem, the ones operated and implemented by bad actors and people with selfish motives.

Is there such a system today? There are a few that are similar in design. Prescription Drug System in advanced economies is a good example. There are processes in place that test, validate and approve drugs for patients’ use. There is an extensive process in place before drugs go into the bodies of humans. It is a reliable system that has worked for many years. However, there are concerns with such a centralised system due to inherent limitations. The main argument against a central system is that it will impact the speed of delivery as the bureaucratic process can take months and years. The delays will significantly impact the rate of innovation in AI. After all, we need a system that delivers technology faster, not slower.

There is another argument that is encouraging for concerned people about AI singularity. This argument leads to the quantum theory. Predicting the future may not be possible because the universe has randomness. Recent theories in physics suggest the universe is extremely chaotic and random.

If we assume that these theories are correct, they suggest that the universe is ultimately unpredictable, chaotic and unstable in simple terms beyond a certain level of detail. It means that predicting the future is extremely difficult. This would mean that growing intelligence would eventually reach a maximum point where it can no longer improve its ability to predict the future, so it cannot further increase its intelligence beyond that point.

In other words, there is no risk of a super AI because the physical laws of the universe pose some very constraining hard limits. Let’s take weather forecasting as an example; given the known limits on weather predictability, an AI system will not be able to outsmart humans by exploiting extremely accurate long-term weather forecasts for planning future actions. Accurate weather forecasting has been a challenge for decades; even with technology and AI, we often see unexpected and unpredicted weather activities, causing chaos in human activities.

There is a counter-argument for this. What if humans have understood physics incorrectly? We revise theories from time to time based on new knowledge. We find new knowledge all the time. Proponents of this argument think the universe may be deterministic, and algorithms might be able to understand it far better than humans have done so far. If this were found to be accurate, then there could be an AI singularity. 

However, it doesn’t seem like a reality as AI is still very primitive and limited. We will be able to reach a superior level of AI with the current level of sustained innovation and investment in the field in the future. But it may not be to a level where algorithms are more intelligent than collective human wisdom.

This leads back to the Universal AI as one of the main answers to this question. It is probably a palatable answer, and if done properly, we should be able to achieve a higher level of efficiency than our current prescription drug system. Even though it is rigid to implement a centralised system, it might be the only way.

AI is unlikely to take over the world. Nonetheless, it is an excellent counter-argument to balance policy-making with the right tools and processes. It provides diverse viewpoints, an essential ingredient of a robust, democratic, and innovative society. Humanity has survived for thousands of years due to its superior intelligence and adaptability. The curiosity has taken us to new frontiers. We have retained these characteristics notwithstanding evolution. There is no doubt that they will continue to be the centre stage for many more centuries to come.

Humans have evolved for centuries. We endeavour to make tomorrow better than today. AI is part of an evolution that provides much-needed innovation to find new frontiers. We humans are working harder to make it better for our own benefit, to improve our livelihoods.

Let’s explore new frontiers in the next edition of this book. There are so many frontiers to explore. The horizon is getting border. 

Until then, good luck with safe AI. Long live humanity!