Installers

"Valid point. Okay, so you know the rules of the game. Now what?"

"Well," I said, "I've completed the first phase of the quest. To be honest, that wasn't the hard part. I managed to get that done as a side-project, but I'll need to invest more time for phase two of my hero's journey."

"And what's that phase?" Zac asked.

"Now that I've created Renegade OS, I need to write an installer."

"What's an installer?"

"You know — like when you download a new piece of software, and a little program installs it on your computer."

"So, you need to write some code?"

"Metaphorically, yes. I need to write the installer program that will transfer Renegade OS into the consciousness of an AI bot."

"And by 'AI bot,' you mean a human?" Zac asked.

"Correct. I just find it simpler to think in terms of pure information structures. It's easier to visualize the consciousness of a human as an AI bot.

Anyway, it's all well and good to figure out the answer to life, the universe, and everything, but if I can't communicate it to others, then they can't benefit from it. It's equivalent to writing a brilliant operating system for my own computer and then never offering it to anyone else. I could do that, but it doesn't help my mission."

"So, when you talk about creating an installer program, you're just talking about communication?"

"Yeah," I said. "The Bible is an installer program. A movie is an installer program. A news article is an installer program. An advertisement is an installer program. A course is an installer program. A conference is an installer program. All of these things are attempting to install information in your consciousness. The question then becomes, 'how does one write an effective installer program for Renegade OS?'"

"And what's the answer?"

"Well, you can break an effective installer down into four essential components. Firstly, you need to make a connection with the target. If I want to secretly install an idea on your computer, I need to put the USB drive into your device. In relation to AI bots, this involves grabbing their attention.

Secondly, you need to maintain the connection with the target long enough for the data transfer to happen. If the USB device is pulled out midway, the installation process will fail. In relation to AI bots, this involves maintaining their attention for the duration of the installation process.

Third, your installer needs to be written in the same language as the target device. If the USB device attempts to install a Windows program on a Mac computer, it will fail. If the Bible had communicated the story of Genesis by saying, 'One day, the neural network known as 'God' created a recursive algorithm, where each Markov blanket is fed into the implicate order at a variable frame rate' — well, that installation would have failed back in the day. Effective communication involves interfacing with the target using a common language, so a data transfer can occur. If I want to transfer what I know to an average AI bot, I need to communicate in a clear, linear, logical, step-by-step manner. Incidentally, this logical process is how you write computer code.

And finally, your installer should ground the new ideas in experience. Words may help someone understand something intellectually, but experience allows them to know. Therefore, you should provide practical ways to integrate the new information into their own life."

"So, have you started working on the Renegade OS installer yet?" Zac asked.

"Yeah," I smiled. "My alpha versions were complete failures. People called me 'woo woo'-"

"And by 'people,' do you mean me?"

"Yes," I chuckled. "And others. But look at the conversation we're having tonight! I've iterated on this code over and over and over again, and now something seems to be working. You're a great little beta tester."

"Wait. Have you been testing your installer on me all night?"

"Of course," I grinned. "I spent the first half of the night uninstalling Materialism OS, and now I'm partway through installing Renegade OS."

"So you've been programming me this whole time, like a bot?"

"Programming is a loaded word, Zac."

"But when you speak, you're writing code, right? You're literally programming me."

"You make it sound so creepy," I laughed. "Yes, my words are currently transferring data into your consciousness. At the end of the day, words and pictures and everything else I've shown you tonight, reduce down to ones and zeros — in the same way that computer code reduces to ones and zeros. I don't see what the problem is here."

"It's not a problem." He crossed his arms. "A little heads up would have been nice."

"Oh, come on, Zac," I chuckled. "Don't be naive. You're voluntarily running installers all day long. Whatever you give your attention to will begin installing. When you read a fake news article, you've just run an installer. When you observe an advertisement, you've just run an installer. When you give your attention to drama and conflict, you've just run an installer. When you watch a TV show or listen to a politician's speech, you've just run an installer. You control what gets installed in your consciousness. It's your choice if you want to cancel the installer. Just withdraw your attention from it. You can get up and walk away right now. I'm not going to stop you."

"Yeah, but-"

"But I appreciate your assistance with this mission. You're my rubber ducky."

"Your rubber ducky?"

"Yeah," I said. "Like, when programmers speak to rubber ducks."

"Huh?"

"Oh, it's just something nerds do when they want to debug their code. You know computer code is just logic, right? Some programmers force themselves to explain the code, line by line, to a rubber duck sitting on their desk. When I explain the logical foundations of an idea like that, it forces me to clarify my thinking. Sometimes I even put a rubber duck in my mind and write out a conversation with it, just to think things through clearly. The duck always asks great questions, like 'how does that work?' or 'what do you mean by that?' Then I have to figure out how to communicate a concept to him. It's very handy."

Zac sighed. "Well, I'm honored to play the role of a small yellow toy."

"As you should be. My rubber ducks and I have brilliantly fun intellectual adventures inside my mind. Anyway, where were we?"

"You were explaining phase two of the mission."

"Oh, right. So, once I've written Renegade OS and created an effective installer, the next phase involves distributing it. Somehow I need my code to interface with the consciousness of millions — even billions — of people. I can then take feedback in the form of questions to improve the installer in an iterative fashion. I'll probably have to make multiple installers for different situations — maybe courses, videos. As soon as artificial general intelligence arrives, I'll train an AI, so everyone can have a wise little God in their pocket. Imagine that — a personal AI, coaching you through this game called 'life,' teaching you how to embark on quests and overcome obstacles and act with love."

"It's like a sci-fi novel."

"I know!" I grinned. "And yet, none of this is fiction. It's all very, very real. Anyway, the point is, it's not enough to write a brilliant piece of code. I need to be able to distribute it at scale, too."

"Do you have a plan for that yet?" Zac asked. "For the distribution."

"Just a vague idea," I smiled. "I don't like planning too far ahead. I tend to go wherever my intuition takes me. If I'm on the right track, I always get the right idea at the right time, or meet the right person, or acquire the right resource. It's like running into the unknown and having a magical path materialize beneath my feet in real-time. My job is to shift my consciousness. The algorithm's job is to deliver me the next clue on my journey. That's how you get leverage in the game. It's a lot more fun when you play it that way."