August, 2022 | A First Salvo

In the worlds of the SalvoVerse, does artificial intelligence exist? Of course! From ancient computer tyrants to cosmic constructs, we can find AI across the SalvoVerse.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a technology that mimics human intelligence and decision-making capabilities. It is being implemented in many industries, including healthcare, finance, manufacturing, transportation, and even agriculture. Cyber-farmers? AI is being used to help farmers decide about what to do with their crops, livestock, and land. However, some believe that AI could have negative effects on society if not handled properly. We’ve plenty of examples of that in the SalvoVerse!

Automation

Automation refers to the use of machines to perform tasks traditionally done by mortal beings. There are two types of automation: manual and automated. Manual automation involves using machinery to do work that would otherwise require human labor. Things like the self-service kiosks at grocery stores. These kiosks allow customers to scan items and pay for them without having to talk to a cashier. Automated automation uses computers and software to automate processes. Examples include online banking, automatic teller machines, and self-driving cars.

The SalvoVerse includes many examples of both, from fully automated mobile bases and rapid transit vehicles to the PAL units worn by members of the United Forces. The matter, then… is the limited use of sentient AI.

Data collection

Data collection is the gathering of information. This includes data collected from sensors, cameras, and other devices. Data collection helps businesses and organizations learn about their consumers, employees, and products. It also helps them improve their services and products.

The many systems of the United Forces, World Authorities Network, Federal Forces Marshals, and far more nefarious organisations all collect information — not so much simply on citizens and foreign agents terrestrial, alien, and dimensional, but of the monitoring of anomalies and known areas of supernal and supernatural activity.

Algorithms

Algorithms are computer programs designed to solve problems. We often use algorithms in artificial intelligence systems. An algorithm may take input data and produce output data based on rules defined by the programmer. They commonly used algorithms in websites and apps to provide personalized content. For example, algorithms may recommend movies or songs to users based on what they have previously watched or listened to. As insidious as this may be, we live our lives ignoring what else this could mean, enjoying the benefits.

Such algorithms obviously have far older origins across worlds, from ancient civilizations to the star-spanning empires and republics. However, on Earth, these analysing systems and problem solvers have arisen and fallen countless times, from the corrupted days of technological Atlantis to the use by the United Nations organization the Department of Paranormal Intelligence.

Robotics

Robotics! The science of building robots. Robots are mechanical devices that can move around and perform specific actions. They are commonly used in factories, warehouses, and construction sites. Robots are becoming increasingly popular in agricultural settings. For example, drones are small aerial vehicles that can fly and collect data. Drones can measure things like temperature, humidity, and soil quality. They can also spray pesticides and herbicides on crops.

Our future robotic overlords? Ah, robots. Do androids count? Certainly not all False Kind. From the UF member Power Rig, or the villainous Cybro-nemesis, to the creations of the mad Jeid Taldmun, and the mammoth form of the Black Bishop, robots are everywhere — with an without AI, for some have souls!

Machine learning

Machine learning is the practice of teaching computers how to think. Emphasis on the “teaching.” Or at least, there should be guidance by mortal beings. Computers can now teach themselves how to complete certain tasks. For example, a machine learning system might “watch” videos of people playing video games and then try to play the game itself. A computer program can also teach itself to recognize patterns in images and sounds. How much guidance should there be by human hands?

How many times has this gone wrong? Dare we mention the unknown lords of the Devastators Union?

Genetic engineering & Biotechnology

Genetic engineering is the manipulation of genes to create changes in organisms. Genes are the basic units of heredity. They are present in all cells and determine characteristics such as hair color, eye color, and height. Scientists can change these genes to develop new traits in plants, animals, and microorganisms.

AI applications in biotechnology include drug target identification, drug screening, image screening, and predictive modeling. AI is also used to review scientific literature and manage clinical trial data, analyzing vast amounts of data.

Oh boy, don’t go there. Bioengineering? Dr. The and his many hideous creations. The very origins of the Devastators. Millions of years in the past in the dark avenues of Lemuria… and the rise of the “Snake Cult.”

The future?

From the uncanny threat of the Island to the Power Siphon plaguing the Iscerian dimension, the threat of AI is real, but how will it shape our future?

Get the Battle Avatars revised editions on Amazon today!

Want to stay up-to-date? Follow author Ed White and the Battle Avatars page on Facebook for daily interaction.

Afirstsalvo

ED WHITE on facebook

Creativity is doing!

Hot love

The heat is on across the world. As a result, we all experience heat waves and a thirst for rain. Summer love is in the air. Ah, but maybe, just maybe, we are looking forward to the Fall a little early. No?

Thought of as a cooler summer clime, Europe suffered its third summer heat wave, fueling ravaging wildfires and threatening millions of people. Across Iberia, Portugal and Spain recorded over 1,000 heat-related deaths. In France, hundreds of people fled wildfires. Heck, a runway melted in the UK! Wales, the ancestral home of the Bran Family across the worlds of the SalvoVerse, recorded its highest temperature EVER. China, Canada, and the US. Everyone suffered from the rising heat.

Is this new? Well, we are in an interglacial period that began at the end of the last glacial period, about 10,000 years ago. Namely, the dawn of the Sedes and the recovery from the Tor’Clonic Wars. Since the end of the last Ice Age, temperatures spiked. These temperatures rose to ranges higher than those we are currently experiencing. Indeed, one such period known as the Medieval Warm Period led to increased examples of ergot within grain crops like rye across Europe. What followed was a plague of werewolves.

Werewolves?

Ergot is the name given to a specific form of Claviceps purpurea, a parasitic European fungus, which grows on rye and related cereals like wheat and barley. Besides the burning, nausea, chills, and pain, ergot poisoning also causes mass hallucinations and irrational behavior. Gripped by mass hysteria brought on by the consumption of the fungus, it is likely those who saw werewolves believed it. Likewise, others believed themselves to be werewolves.

Don’t let tales of ergot poisoning fool you. True werewolves exist. Heroes such as John Davies. Creatures like the Thanes, Sepul harrier troops, elder vampires, and the Jagard roam the realms and histories of the Earth.

All this talk of werewolves aside, temperatures after the Younger Dryas spiked and largely remained higher than today. Besides episodes like the 8200 Year Event and the Little Ice Age that corresponded with the celestial devastation of Ragnarok, the global temperatures held above those of today. We face far warmer periods than the present, and people have constructed structures and modes of living not intended for the regions of historically tropical and even desert climates. Unique structures and different approaches to settlement are required to remain in the different regions of the planet. The Earth will do fine without us. What will the future bring?