The workings of any machine-learning technology are inherently more opaque, even to computer scientists, than a hand-coded system. This is not to say that all future AI techniques will be equally unknowable. But by its nature, deep learning is a particularly dark black box.
Zack O'Malley Greenburg is senior editor of media & entertainment at Forbes and author of four books, including A-List Angels: How a Band of Actors, Artists and Athletes Hacked Silicon Valley and the Jay-Z biography Empire State of Mind. Zack's work has also appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, Billboard, Sports Illustrated, Vibe, McSweeney's and the Library of Congress. In over a decade at Forbes, he has investigated topics from Wu-Tang Clan's secret album in Morocco to the return of tourism in post-conflict Sierra Leone to the earning power of Hip-Hop's Cash Kings, writing cover stories on subjects ranging from Richard Branson to Ashton Kutcher to Katy Perry. A former child actor, Zack played the title role in the film Lorenzo's Oil (1992) and arrived at Forbes in 2007 after graduating from Yale with an American Studies degree. For more, follow him on Twitter, Facebook, newsletter and via www.zogreenburg.com. Got a tip on a music, media & entertainment story? Send it over via SecureDrop. Instructions here: www.forbes.com/tips
The Dark Secret at the Heart of AI
When AI was first being applied to healthcare, the applications for imaging were found to outperform radiologists. Geoffrey Hinton, who has been called the father of deep learning, went so far as to state that training for radiologists should be discontinued, because this class would become obsolete with the advent of commercial AI in analyzing breast and heart images. He later rectified this statement, clarifying that the role of professionals such as radiologists will change because of AI, but not disappear.
This A.I. of Tony Stark was created by the super-genius inventor himself as a backup in case his body no longer worked, so his essence could be preserved. A device containing the A.I. Stark was shipped to Riri Williams, a child prodigy who had caught Stark's attention, so the A.I. could serve as a mentor to her.[4] The A.I. most notably assisted Riri in the creation of her second armor, and came up with her super hero alias of "Ironheart."[5]
Computer Brain: Since this incarnation of Tony Stark is that of an artificial intelligence, it is capable of multitasking much more effectively than a normal human. He's capable of being present in different places at once while doing different activities, like controlling over a dozen Iron Man suits at once, or operating the Ironheart Armor and holding a conversation with Friday on the other side of the globe.[8] He can also download himself into different devices, be it a laptop or an Iron Man Armor.[23]
What started as a challenge for herself ended up becoming a secret project to create her own suit of armor. After reverse-engineering technology from the outdated Iron Man Armor Model 41,[4] Riri started creating her own prototype version of the Iron Man Armor, using mainly stolen material from campus. When security caught notice of her suspicious activities, Riri decided to don the suit of armor and fly away.[8]
In the end of the civil war, Tony Stark fell into a coma fighting Captain Marvel.[12] so Riri decided to continue his legacy as a hero.[6] With the guidance of an A.I. duplicate of Stark, Riri created an improved suit of armor, and took up the alias of Ironheart. Riri rapidly caught the attention of allies and enemies of Tony Stark alike.[1]
After defeating the Techno Golem and her Biohack Ninja with the help of Rescue, S.H.I.E.L.D. started monitoring Riri.[13] Having become famous, Riri was offered not only Tony Stark's old lab by his mother Amanda Armstrong; M.I.T. approached Riri to offer her their resources, and a group of teenage super heroes, the Champions invited her to join their ranks.[14] Not long afterwards, S.H.I.E.L.D. convinced Ironheart to invade Latveria to take down the war criminal Lucia von Bardas.[7] Riri defeated the Latverian terrorist and declared herself the new monarch of the small nation.[15] After negotiating a truce between S.H.I.E.L.D. and Latveria's armed forces, Riri abdicated and helped pave the way for Latveria's first free elections.[16]
When Hydra launched a massive attack on the American government under the hand of a fascist doppelganger of Captain America, both Ironheart and the Tony Stark A.I. joined the Underground, a contingent of heroes and civilians fighting against Hydra's regime. During this time, Riri became closer to the Champions,[17] and even joined them when they left the Underground to support Spider-Man and form the Red Room to formulate a plan to take down Captain America under the guidance of Black Widow.[18] However, when the Champions carried out their plan, the Black Widow was murdered by Captain America, and the young heroes were arrested.[19] Ironheart and the other teenage heroes were freed during the Underground's assault on Washington, D.C. which resulted in the defeat of Hydra and the return of the real Captain America.[20] As a reward for helping defeat Hydra, the sentient Cosmic Cube named Kobik transported a handful of heroes to different periods in time. Ironheart was taken to a distant future where she encountered the Sorcerer Supreme Tony Stark, who inspired her to continue working on her own future.[21]
While investigating the disappearance of Tony Stark's comatose body shortly afterwards,[22] Riri was invited into a think tank founded by Leonardo da Vinci who intended to create something to stand in the place of the defunct S.H.I.E.L.D..[23] Following these adventures and the return of Tony Stark, Riri officially became a member of the Champions.[24] After a mission to the North Pole to rescue Amka Aliyak and add her to the team,[25] she and the Champions then went into outer space to help Nova save the Chitauri from genocide, Ironheart recklessly attempted to take on Thanos, the ruler of these aliens. Thanos effortlessly disintegrated Riri's armor and spared her solely because the Champions had indirectly fought on his behalf against the Warbringer. While reeling from the loss of her suit, Riri was encouraged by her teammate Viv to work on a new iteration of the armor, inspired by the Chitauri they just fought.[26]
Sometime later, Riri was with the Champions when Amka discovered the location of their missing teammates.[2] After convincing her to let them accompany her, they all entered the Siege Parallel, an alternate reality more akin to a fantasy RPG, that changed them all into traditional Dungeons and Dragons archetypes of their personalities; Riri becoming a noble Paladin by the name of Lady Ironheart, and the only one who was able to recall her true reality on Earth. After meeting with Miles, who now the Rogue Shadow-Spider, the two of them embarked on a mission to save their scattered teammates.[29]
She would eventually fall victim to the influence of Blackheart and confront Viv at her home in Arlington. Upon seeing that she was in the middle of coordinating a Champions mission, she ambushed her, which led the rest of the Champions to confront her in a battle. It wasn't until Viv apologized to Riri that she was able to snap out of Blackheart's control and defeat him, before finally resolving their feelings for each other - Riri saying she couldn't return Viv's romantic feelings but was happy to be her friend.[32]
Convening with Stark and Rhodes afterwards, they tried to make her relinquish the Ten Rings. In response, Riri stated that she had earned the right to be left alone with them, much in the same way that the other heroes would trust Tony if he was attempting something similar, as he had done in the past. She explained that in her years of studying the Ten Rings she had come to understand that they don't have to be used as weapons, and she would have to keep them in her possession in order to engineer an alternative use for them. Tony was convinced, and so he agreed to leave the Ten Rings with Ironheart.[3]
Such towns are often located in Lovecraft Country. If the terrible secret is covered up with a sweet veneer, see Stepford Suburbia and Uncanny Village. If it's big enough — say, a country or more — then you have yourself an Empire with a Dark Secret. Also note that the secret doesn't have to be supernatural; it can be something as mundane as a murder coverup.
Le Guin's interest in Taoism influenced much of her science fiction work. According to academic Douglas Barbour, the fiction of the Hainish universe (the setting for several of Le Guin's works) contain a theme of balance between light and darkness, a central theme of Taoism.[14] She was also influenced by her early interest in mythology, and her exposure to cultural diversity as a child. Her protagonists are frequently interested in the cultures they are investigating, and are motivated to preserve them rather than conquer them.[15] Authors who influenced Le Guin include Victor Hugo, Leo Tolstoy, Virginia Woolf, Italo Calvino, and Lao Tzu.[16]
Ai reaches the Orgota capital of Mishnory, where he finds that the Orgota politicians are initially far more direct with him. He is given comfortable quarters, and is allowed to present his invitation to the council that rules Orgoreyn. Three members of the council, Shusgis, Obsle, and Yegey, are particularly supportive of him. These three are members of an "Open Trade" faction, which wants to end the conflict with Karhide. Estraven, who was banished from Karhide, is found working with these council members, and tells Ai that he was responsible for Ai's reception in Orgoreyn.[31] Despite the support, Ai feels uneasy. Estraven warns him not to trust the Orgota leaders, and he hears rumors of the "Sarf", or secret police, that truly control Orgoreyn. He ignores both his feeling and the warning, and is once again blindsided; he is arrested unexpectedly one night, interrogated, and sent to a far-northern labor camp where he suffers harsh cold, is forced into hard labor, and is given debilitating drugs. He becomes ill and his death seems imminent. 2ff7e9595c
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