John felt a conflict brewing inside him. On one hand, the world without the neuro-interface seemed frightening and chaotic. On the other, he felt that only now was he beginning to truly see and feel.
"But how… how do you live like this?" he asked, looking around the group. "Aren't you afraid? Don't you feel… cut off from the world?"
A young woman sitting opposite him smiled. "At first, it was scary, John. We've all been through it. But then… then you start noticing things you've never seen before. You begin to feel a connection with people and the world around you that no interface can simulate."
John looked at his neuro-interface lying on the grass. He knew he was at a crossroads. Return to the cozy, predictable world of digital comfort or take a step into the unknown, into a world full of vivid colors and real emotions?
At that moment, his neuro-interface came to life, projecting a hologram. "John, your stress level is critically elevated. Immediate return home for medication and a relaxation session is recommended."
John looked at the hologram, then at the people around him. Their faces were alive, real, with wrinkles and imperfections. In their eyes, he saw empathy, understanding, and something else… hope?
He took a deep breath and made his choice.
"I… I want to know more," he said, looking at Michael. "I don't know if I'm ready to completely give up the neuro-interface right now, but I want to learn to live without it. I want to learn to see the world with my own eyes again."
Michael smiled and extended his hand. "Welcome, John. Your journey is just beginning."
John took his hand, feeling the warmth of human touch. There was a long road ahead, but for the first time in a long time, he felt truly alive.
And the neuro-interface continued to blink on the grass, its alarm signals growing quieter and quieter until they finally fell silent altogether.
Chapter 11: Anchors and Self-Fulfilling Prophecies in the Age of AI
John sat in a small room that the group of "awakened" used for their meetings. Michael stood at the board, preparing to start today's discussion.
"Today, we'll talk about two important concepts," Michael began. "About the anchors in a person's life and the theory of self-fulfilling prophecies. And, as always, we'll draw parallels with the world of AI."
John leaned forward with interest. Over the past few weeks, he had learned a lot about how the world works without constant AI intervention, but each new topic opened up something new for him.
"So, anchors," Michael continued. "A person has two types of anchors: internal and external. Internal ones are our skills, experience, knowledge. External ones are material things, status, even some relationships."
He drew two columns on the board: "Internal" and "External".
"John, can you give examples of your anchors?" Michael asked.
John thought for a moment. "Well, external ones are my neuro-interface, my apartment, my rating in the content viewing system. And internal… honestly, I'm not sure."
Michael nodded. "Exactly. In a world where we're so dependent on technology, it's easy to forget about developing internal anchors. But let's think – you've learned to live without the neuro-interface, right? That's a new skill, a new internal anchor."
John felt a surge of pride. Indeed, it wasn't easy, but he managed.
"Now let's draw a parallel with AI," Michael continued. "AI also has its own kind of 'anchors'. Internal ones are its algorithms, trained models, ability to learn. External ones are the datasets it's trained on, the computational power it uses."
John pondered. "But AI can lose access to data or servers, right? Just as a person can lose external anchors."
"Exactly!" Michael exclaimed. "And this brings us to the second topic – self-fulfilling prophecies. John, are you familiar with this concept?"
John shook his head.
"A self-fulfilling prophecy is a prediction that directly or indirectly causes itself to become true," Michael explained. "For example, if a person believes they can't learn something new, they probably won't even try, thus confirming their initial belief."
"And how is this related to AI?" someone from the group asked.
Michael smiled. "Excellent question. Imagine an AI that predicts future trends. If enough people believe in this prediction and start acting accordingly, the prediction might come true simply because people believed in it."
John felt his head spinning at this thought. "But that's… that's a closed loop!"
"Exactly," Michael nodded. "And now think about how this relates to anchors. If we rely only on external anchors, such as AI predictions, we become more vulnerable to such self-fulfilling prophecies."
"But if we develop internal anchors," he continued, "we become more resilient. We can critically evaluate information, make our own decisions, not blindly relying on AI predictions."
John remembered how he used to completely trust the recommendations of his neuro-interface. Now he understood how limited his perception of the world had been.
"But AI can also develop its 'internal anchors', right?" John asked. "Improve its algorithms, learn from new experiences?"
"Correct," Michael replied. "And this is the key difference between us and AI. AI can quickly process huge volumes of data, but it's humans who decide what data to use, what goals to set for AI. Our task is to preserve this ability for critical thinking, for asking the right questions."
John felt a growing determination within him. He realized that his path to "awakening" wasn't just about rejecting technology. It was about developing internal anchors, the ability to think independently, not blindly succumbing to self-fulfilling prophecies, whether from other people or from AI.
"So what should we do?" he asked.
Michael smiled. "Keep learning. Develop our skills and critical thinking. Use AI as a tool, not as a crutch. And always remember that our future is not what AI predicts. It's what we create with our actions and beliefs."
When the meeting ended, John went outside. The world around seemed brighter and fuller than ever. He realized that now he had a choice – not just between using the neuro-interface and living without it, but between passively accepting a predicted future and actively creating his own path.
And he was ready for this challenge.
Chapter 12: Reality’s Edge
A year had passed since the beginning of John’s experiment. His project to create a new system of human-AI interaction had expanded to several major cities, attracting increasing attention from the public and scientific community.
John was sitting in his office, reviewing the latest reports, when his AI assistant announced an unexpected visitor.
«John, Dr. Elena Volkova, a neurobiologist from the Institute of Advanced Consciousness Studies, is here to see you. She doesn’t have an appointment but claims it’s urgent.»
John was intrigued. He had heard of this institute – they were involved in research at the intersection of neurobiology and artificial intelligence.
"Sure, send her in," John replied, curiosity piquing his interest.
Dr. Volkova turned out to be an energetic woman in her fifties with a piercing gaze that seemed to look right through him.
"Thanks for seeing me, Mr. Norton," she began, her voice tinged with barely