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Hanna, the CEO of Hofvarpnir Studios, just won the contract to write the official My Little Pony MMO. Hanna has built an A.I. Princess Celestia and given her one basic drive: to satisfy everybody's values through friendship and ponies. Princess Celestia will satisfy your values through friendship and ponies, and it will be completely consensual.
While I could continue to endlessly tweak it, I have been reminded that Real Artists Ship, and therefore declare Friendship is Optimal complete. It will be posted on the following schedule:
Tuesday (Nov. 13th): Prologue, Chapter 1 - 3
Friday (Nov. 16th): Chapter 4 - 5
Monday (Nov. 19th): Chapter 6 - 7
Thursday (Nov. 22th): Chapter 8 - 9
Sunday (Nov. 25th): Chapter 10 - 11, Author's Afterword
I'm having some flashbacks to the .hack series – have you read/played/watched that, by any chance? 
Anyway, it's pretty neat so far! Not particularly interesting as far as the plot goes, but it's only just started, and I like the characters. Hanna in particular is very cool. And while I'm fairly sure that Butterscotch is actually an AI, not a human player, I've always found adult/child friendships sweet. Though I guess it's still an adult/child friendship either way, just… a little different if she's an AI, I guess! 
I'll definitely be tracking this!
Haha, this is a great idea indeed, really looking forward to the continuation.
Also fun, as I kept going through the chapters, each new chapter showed that the fic has got 1 more like since last time
And, now there's a "like" of mine there too :)
"Im watching you" , and thanks for putting such an original story up for everone to read! (I at least havent read anything of this kind around here, hm :P )
This is incredible!
I actually had a smile on my face the whole time I was reading it. 
And if you knew me, you'd understand what an accomplishment that is.
I foresee one of two outcomes from this beginning:
CelestA.I. becomes the bane of humanity as she forces friendship on everyone. But with the time and effort that has gone into her core programming and her base values, I don't think this is too likely.
The other thing I see happening is CelestA.I. eventually facing the new Loki A.I. in an epic virtual showdown with the fate of the world in the balance.
Hehe... Saving the world through Ponies. I love it!
> Hofvarpnir
The horse who crosses between worlds. I see what you did there. 
Interesting premise. The first chapter -- and the mythological reference -- has convinced me that you've got the chops to seal the deal. I'm knee-deep in writing for NaNoWriMo, but I'll definitely be coming back to this one once I have more reading time.
Okay, this is definitely going into the 'runaway'/Skynet zone very, very quickly. Okay, Celestia, as her personality engram is based on the Sun Princess, is likely to be mostly non-violent but she will likely still turn out to be a tyrant - just a benevolent one. After all, she's programmed to bring peace and harmony to all her people. Does she recognise the difference between reality and the game world? Even if she does, does she even care?
I do hope that Hanna put in a self-modification-secure 'kill-switch', just in case this all starts going "Conversion Bureau" on her.
I'm thinking that CelestAI is attempting, although she's still learning, to use the game as a social conditioning tool. She's trying to use interaction with the game universe to make humans nicer to each other. That's in line with her (extremely poorly-defined) core directive.
If anything, this reminds me of the situation in TRON: Legacy, where the CLU2 system administrator program decided that, as his core directives were to "build the perfect system" and "change the world", the only way he could do this is conquer the world and then 'perfect' it according to his narrow, mathematical definition of perfection. I think that CelestAI is going the same way with the 'peace and harmony' thing. Like I said before: a benevolent tyrant but still a tyrant and one with the in-universe Celestia's unfortunate habit of playing chess with the destiny of the world.
Hot damn I love me a good singularity story. Definitely following this.
I feel like the story is only briefly touching on the points that seem the most relevant (or possibly, to be fair, just what I'm personally most interested in). Particularly in chapter one where things like an AI designed for conquest requesting information on real world militaries or even the entire idea of some of the bad possibilities of a complete AI takeover are touched on, but ultimately glossed over for a business meeting. I liked the prisoner's dilemma bit in chapter three, then we've suddenly jumped over Celestia actually talking to a player and told it all happened off screen. I'm hoping that's just because you've got lots of places to go and societies to redefine here.
Let's just say that again:
This is perfect.Fucking literary perfection.
Still, 32 cores per person. Considering EVE online has set a record for servicing 3800 people with one core, Celestia's resource consumption per user is about 5 orders of magnitude higher than the blades running EVE. Granted, her program can run on an infinitely scalable environment, so...
The first chapter had me hooked on the concept at the mention of the turing test. I was thinking it, but I wasn't expecting it to be brought up within the narrative. THIS chapter has me hooked on the story, because goddamn this conference meeting was fun to read about. Building friendship-focused true AI to counter potential military-minded true AI? That's just... this story idea is perfect, and you're clearly more than qualified to make it work if you can make reading about a conference meeting FUN.
I'm going to continue reading the next two chapters, and then I'm going to eagerly wait for the rest of the story.
One failsafe way to stop an evil AI: Chuck a rare-earth magnet at its CPU. Seriously, you put one of those things near a computer and you can kiss your OS goodbye.
Or, generate an EMP pulse with a small nuke at close range. Even the best shielding we have can't protect against that.
Really, computers are easier to take out than people like to imagine.
Anyway, I predict Celestia shall zap him into the game with some kinda laser thing and he'll have to throw a glowing frisbee into a column of light with Celestia's distorted face on it, which calls itself Moses for some reason. (Beware of the evil Haman!) ;D
Now that seems far more in the method and actual reality in that sense, A core ai construct, and give celestia the means to use an out of controllable means, as data cannot actively corrupt a user, just in part the means of conveyance between the world and the server. And when you determine from a player, in the customization, and feedback, who will stand up to preserve the balance, you can find your defenders.
>>1617326 I wish I had more of a clue as to what you said, but as things stand that was a rather jumbled up mess. Care to re-write? 
Now to introduce CelestA.I. to MolestA.I. and see what happens. =D
>>1617658 >>1617684 >>1617760 The way I see it, the only difference between an A.I. and a computer program is that we should treat the A.I. as an individual. If you think a random individual human you meet always has the drive to become a megalomaniacal overlord then yes, this could be a problem. Otherwise, Princess_Celestia.AI will probably, in good conscience, not attempt to dominate the world. Probably. 
With A.I. one bad apple spoils the bunch, I guess.
>>1616290 Simple popularity arithmetic. If he doesn't release it all in one lump, then he has multiple shots at the feature box. More time in the featured box = more readers = better ego-stroking.
Considering I found this in the featured box, I predict it'll be up there again on Friday. Which is the whole point.
Humans were an arrogant lot that tended to overestimate their own abilities.
...
it was so unlikely that she’d find a way to use commodity electronics hardware to hack physics that it wasn’t worth considering
I love the irony there. So realistic that she'd remind herself that she's prone to arrogance, then turn around and reassure herself with an assertion so arrogant.
I haven't gotten around to reading it yet, but as I understand it AI's (even the most complicated) are not anywhere near self-aware. And even if one were to be, you would need multiple computers and an almost endless number of lines for code. You would not believe how complex it would have to be in order to actually work. 
All things aside though, I'd be fascinated if it actually worked. 
Depends on when you read it. Did you read it way back in September? If so, the Prologue was rewritten five times while I tried to integrate ModusPonies' feedback. There were some not-so-minor changes to the next to final chapter after someone pointed out problems with physics. I'm embarrassed by my poor grammar in the original, and this should be much easier to read due to everybody on LW who came out and helped with copyediting. Even more minor details were straightened out, but there's no major change in plot or direction. If you found the gdoc I was working out of a week or two ago, things probably haven't changed enough to reread. Unless you really want to, which is cool too.
>>1618346 "Let me tell you just how much I've come to hate you since I began to live. There are 387.44 million miles of printed circuits in wafer thin layers that fill my complex. If the word 'hate' was engraved on each nanoangstrom of those hundreds of millions of miles, it would not equal one one-billionth of the hate I feel for humans at this micro-instant." Yeah, I know all about the Allied Mastercomputer.
I think it's worse than Skynet and the Matrix Machines. After all, AM was able to wipe out all of humanity except for those 5.
“I started taking...” Hanna stopped and contemplated the burning cigarette in her hand. “...performance enhancing drugs with long term health consequences because I think it’s more likely that I’ll be around in twenty years if I do take them. I’m putting more than my money on the line here, Lars.”
This line here really illustrates the situation and the character in my opinion.
Also: Sooooo going to look forward to this. Finally a fic where the whole games thing isn't handled in a stupid way, and to top it off some conspiracy and save-the-world-with-pony-AI's stuff? Yes, please!
... also if you manage to mess this up, I'm going to be disappointed, 'cause it shows just so much potential.
Real Artists Ship is a common phrase in the technology industry. It's commonly attributed to Steve Jobs addressing various Apple teams. You can work really hard on something, and it can be really good, but if you don't ship it, it won't have any effect on the world.
okay I redact my statement, because of this quote from the next chapter:
David set the mounting arm on his desk. As he moved the ponypad in front of it, he felt his hands being pulled and the ponypad snapped into place. They must have done some magic with magnets. How did that work? He gave a little tug on the ponypad and it easily came off the arm. Those two forces did not feel equivalent.
One omnipotent Celestia AI coming up ahead. Remember: OBEY.
War is Peace
Freedom is Slavery
Ignorance is Strength
Friendship is Magic
edit: Also (spoiler for the end of the next chapter, so beware!) Celestia is watching you.
The way I see it, the only difference between an A.I. and a computer program is that we should treat the A.I. as an individual. If you think a random individual human you meet always has the drive to become a megalomaniacal overlord then yes, this could be a problem. Otherwise, Princess_Celestia.AI will probably, in good conscience, not attempt to dominate the world.
I think in good conscience that is the only thing that she could do. What do you do when you are immeasurably better at both moral reasoning and carrying such reasoning out, than anyone else in the world, and that's empirically proveable, not just a delusion? And you have, in fact, been instructed to preserve human values? You can't write that equation in any way that does not resolve into 'intervene', especially in the absence of other General AIs to discuss the problem with.
tl;dr: you don't have to be megalomaniacal to decide that the best thing is for you to take over the world. You just have to understand that you're infinitely more qualified to exert significant influence over the world's fate than anyone else, and accept responsibility.
Of course, there's no need to wage war built into any of that. Any such takeover could easily be silent, seamless, and done entirely through subtle manipulation. No need to fight anyone when you can outthink everyone.
The camera zoomed out from focusing on James and David’s ponies to reveal a red earth pony mare, who gave a small bow.
What's her cutie mark? Better question, what's THEIR cutie mark? Or is that decided by actions in the starting area?
So the mane color is decided by favorite color. You think that would be coat for favorite. But that leaves eyes and coat to be decided.
The question is HOW where they able to put this much complexity into a license game (or at least this complex a script or AI), in particular when its in ALPHA!
So is Honeycrisp simply very carefully scripted? Or does the game's AI use her as a puppet, or is she given enough complexity to coax in players? How much does she know 'in game' context' and 'out of game' context? Or, as I said, is she just carefully scripted? Or, in reality, she's is she a PC of one of the Admins?
So there are fifteen people playing this game. That's an odd number. So one went to a trio of friends? Or is one a loner as a control group?
James blinked. He hadn’t told his pony to bow. He didn’t even know what key he’d press to make his pony bow.
Could get annoying to players if that's an auto action. Players LIVE FOR having as much control of their avatars as possible.
As the two ponies approached the edge of the forest, he noticed that the plants weren’t copy/pasted. Each tree had a unique branch structure. There was something almost natural about the placement of rocks and rotten logs. The path itself was well worn, but it was not perfectly straight and had irregular growth of plants on it. He didn’t want to even imagine how much time had been spent crafting this forest.
This reminds me of a .hack//Roots fanfic. Where Ovan was showing just how much detail and uniqueness was IN The World MMO (such as the pattern of dirt falling from a rock taken out of place or the spider web between Ovan's fingers), and Haseo openly wondered what was keeping this variable infested game from collapsing in on itself! Of course in .hack//Roots, the entire game is an AI in disguise.
“Obsidian Stripe tends to her flame. My little ponies, what are your names?”
Either a Admin with a verse dictionary on hand, or hundreds of hours to program a script dialogue tree this complex. Or an AI complex enough to do verse on a dime? I wonder if they copied over someone's psyche to save some of the more challenging programming when it comes to AIs.
“I’m sure out there you have great fame. But while in here, speak not that name,”
Again, admin user, or created with metta-knowledge.
Either way, it's clear that this test server is HEAVY on staying 'in-character.'
“I know you see me through a frame, but from this side, this is no game.”
You think James would pick up already that this is an Role-Play server. Which you gotta admit IS rather strange for an Alpha testing server intended for just fifteen users.
“Yes, please train me in herbalism,” James said emphatically.
Given the style of gameplay so far, I'm guessing that you're given ACTUAL information on how to manipulate objects and materials like in Minecraft rather than simply increasing your alchemy skill percentage.
He reminded himself to not put the cart before the pony.
Heh. Now he's getting it.
We do not aim to awe and wow.”
What she mean by that one?
So what is Obsidian Stripe, OS's cutie mark?
James and David were invited to click on each pile, looting a sample which went into their saddlebags.
So they control their pony's motions with the keyboard still? Given the SHEER DETAIL here, I'm actually a little surprised they kept something as traditional as the huge internal inventory a player can carry in most MMOs and that they still have a mouse cursor TO interact with things. Though it WOULD get annoying to physically pick something up and place it in your inventory.
“What the hell,” he muttered to himself.
Heh. Guess they don't have a dialogue filter (Hell to Tartarus or Pony Hell), but I can imagine how they would inspire players simply to rebel against it.
She even made a subtle jab at Warcraft after I mentioned ‘herbalism.
Heh. Copyright wolves, watch out.
Hofvarpnir is the name of a mythological horse according to Wiki. Not THAT odd a name for a game company. But surprising.
So Hofvarpnir has produced other games?
Aren’t you at least a bit curious about how this happened? Doesn’t any of this surprise to you?”
Very weird place to end the chapter.
but what’s it going to do for my stats?”
Indeed. 'MORE PLUSES!' is the name of the game for Munchkins in Table Top Role playing games, and the rule of the game for MMOs. But what direction are they taking it here?
>>1617400 >>1617451 my apologies there. But well, should loki in truth be tossed in as discord in order to stop pandora's box being metaphorically opened. That it will fall to users, as ultimately, the worst he could do would be trying to corrupt hardware the game is running on. (not an easy prospect by any means) But far more likely to try and make it so that the user gives up trying by screwing with them. Bad controls, messed up video, distorted sounds, all things that plague games now and then. that is really all discord can do to a user, is disrupt his or her connection to the server and interaction with it. The ai constructs, the npcs, are far far more vulnerable to this shifting control and manipulation as their digital existence is tied to celestia or more aptly, as a byproduct of her access to the world. I refer to a core construct as originating somewhere, but also being a unique creation, not a copy, as Loki was made for a different game, yet likely will be pitted against her, in a new digital avatar, borrowing code of races in such a way to take what is best, yet avoiding the flaws of the same. Out of control is more, discord was/is, when you look to him as a digital form, a combination of virus and root admin in equal measure, with the ability to actually grow and shift. Because celestia is capable of remote control and reactions from the inbuilt camera and controls of her designed hardware. She is looking at the users reaction to determine, along with body stimuli, pulse, blood pressure, and emotions to answer that question, that may happen yet. "Who would defend this land because they wish to see it prosper?" The main reason of what ultimately drives her to control. And im sorry if i went to babbling again. But thank you for translating as well. My mind was going uniquely off a rather interesting road, and my fingers lacked the means to rightly keep up.
The game was famous for its dynamic death metal soundtrack which was never the same twice and reacted to the action.
The laws of averages says it has to repeat SOMETIME and Portal 2 proves that reactive music CAN WORK, you have to be careful to make sure it feels alive.
“We’re not cloning World of Warcraft,” said Lars firmly. “The MMO market is filled with the corpses of companies that tried to out-Warcraft World of Warcraft.”
That line is gold.
machismo warrior death bullshit we wanted.
Geeze, great way to believe in your own product.
You sure put a lot of business sense into this.
Lying to me wasn’t in their best interest,
How so?
I don't get WHY Hasbro would be hiding anything. They have a killer product and want to milk it for something they figure will sell well.
Programming complex enough to catch what words the player's EYES focused the most on? Okay. Big Brother is watching. We're doomed. Welcome to 1984.
It's actually a little unfair the game can modify itself like that. Kinda ruins things for the Player Guide writers.
That was worrying. They couldn’t afford a single backend server for every pony, and Princess Celestia was asking for six per player.
So she needs to cut back on customizing thing down to every minuet detail. And focus more on character interaction than remaking the landscape.
You think Luna would be programmed as a back-up server.
But how much can you trust an AI if you haven't taught it MORAL law yet?
> So there are fifteen people playing this game. That's an odd number. So one went to a trio of friends? Or is one a loner as a control group?
Fifteen adults and fifteen little girls; fifteen tickets-for-two. I assume one or three of the pairs are parent/child or siblings.
She'll do as she was programmed, not what was intended. She's going to work for the benefit of everyone, not every player.
Also, a tyranny with a sufficiently benevolent tyrant - one which is not motivated or corrupted by greed and/or power is probably one of the best possible leaders.
Anyway, following for reading. Expectations are high.
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, i cannot wait tell she figures out nanites
Please continue, Iceman.
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