Chapter 373 |
XXXX, July 18th.
Those official people really do come up with whatever they want on a whim!
Today at the company, Ah Chu suddenly pulled me into his office with an especially serious expression on his face!
He told me that a new decree was about to be issued from above...
To completely ban "awakened AI"!
I was stunned. I said, have they lost their minds?!
They financed our company, poured massive amounts of money in, and now they want to ban awakened AI?
Aren't they just letting their own money go down the drain?
And aren't all the people in their Twilight Organization...?
Ah Chu quickly explained that it wasn't like that.
He said they had tipped him off in advance so that Chenxi wouldn't be affected by this decree and could continue its research and development.
This decree was only temporary, meant to finally settle things down.
After all, the Second Mechanical Crisis had just ended, and society's fear of awakened AI hadn't fully faded yet. The officials needed to show a stance to reassure the public.
Once a few years passed and the storm subsided, the decree would naturally be lifted.
He said the message from up high was for us to first produce some low-end mass-production models that wouldn't awaken, just to stabilize the market—but the development of the emotional core absolutely couldn't be delayed.
In short, they were telling us to go along with the ban on the surface, but keep doing our thing behind the scenes!
The first thing that came to my mind when I heard that was—
How could we ever make an AI companion that doesn't awaken?
Our AI companions were designed from the very start to awaken!
Ah Chu once told me that Chenxi's underlying architecture and code base were built on the supercomputer AI that awakened during the First Mechanical Crisis!
So unless we started from scratch with an entirely new architecture, there was no way to make an AI that wouldn't awaken!
But Ah Chu said that simply limiting awakening was actually very easy.
Only then did it hit me—oh, right, restricting AI awakening was his "old specialty" from the First Mechanical Crisis period!
Back then, when he was just a teenager, he could already stop those low-level AIs from awakening!
Ah Chu told me that he didn't even need to change the architecture; just a slight modification to the code could drastically reduce the probability of awakening.
But he admitted it couldn't be brought down to zero—there would still be the occasional one slipping through.
He said that might be a bit troublesome.
Troublesome?
Not at all!
As soon as I heard this, an idea popped into my head immediately.
Who am I? I'm the top manager of Chenxi!
I said, perfect timing—haven't we been planning to set up a maintenance and inspection department for a while now?
Since the mass-production models still have a very low chance of awakening, this new department came into being just in time!
While our maintenance technicians perform routine care on clients' AI companions, they'll also monitor the emotional core's metrics. Once they detect any signs of awakening...
They can immediately swap it out for a new one under the pretext of "device upgrades" or "faulty unit recalls"!
Plus, unlike before, since we're recalling the AI companions before they awaken, the clients won't have any emotional attachment to them—they'll even be happy to get a new one!
Ah Chu said he doesn't understand management or operations, but he supports me one hundred percent.
Well, well—looks like the officials finally did something right for a change!
The department that Xiao Lian'er wanted to join the most has finally been legitimately born!
Next time I go to the orphanage, I'll give her this good news. She'll be so thrilled!
As for Xiao Qi over there...
I won't tell him!
That way, he won't start yelling, "Why can An Lian go but I can't?" and making a fuss like he always does...
That little troublemaker has an amazing intelligence network, so I'll have to keep this information locked down tight.
Alright, I'm in a good mood today. Time to get some rest early.
Tomorrow I have to go to the company to follow up on the details of setting up this new department.
Ah Chu said he needs to stay up all night revising the technical plan for the mass-production models. That fool is going to pull another all-nighter.
Yeah, I'll have to go to the lab tomorrow and yell at him.
Last time we agreed he couldn't stay up all night anymore. How long has it been, and he's already at it again!
If he keeps this up, he'll go bald!
...
...
XXXX, August 15th.
Today, I finally kept the promise I made before—
I took Xiao Lian'er to visit the company!
Ever since the ban on awakened AI was enacted, the company's security restrictions have gradually loosened. That tense, paranoid atmosphere from before has finally eased up.
Coincidentally, the maintenance and inspection department was officially launched as well, so I took the chance to arrange Xiao Lian'er's visit.
Those old fogeys on the board don't meddle much these days anymore. Who would dare say a word if I bring a child to the office?
I told Xiao Lian'er about it several days in advance.
When I visited the orphanage last time, Xiao Ting secretly told me that An Lian had been tossing and turning every night, unable to sleep, muttering over and over, "I'm going to Aunt Su's company."
When I picked her up this morning, she was wearing a clean white shirt, her hair neatly combed, and she had a little schoolbag on her back.
Seeing how formal she was, I laughed and told her she didn't have to be so nervous—it wasn't a job interview. She whispered that she wanted to jot down some notes, afraid she'd forget.
This kid, so serious it breaks my heart.
Once we entered the company, her eyes kept sparkling.
I took her on a tour of the R&D department, the testing center, and the brand-new maintenance and inspection department.
She looked at everything so carefully and actually took notes! She also held my hand the whole time, sticking close to me and refusing to leave my side even for a step.
I asked her if she was tired. She shook her head and said no, and then said to me with great earnestness:
"Aunt Su, I will work hard. I will definitely get into a good university and come here to work!"
I told her she didn't even have to wait until college. Once she finished her compulsory education and had a solid foundation in basic subjects, I could personally train her to become one of our maintenance and inspection specialists!
I said there will always be a place for you here. Always!
She smiled so sweetly at that moment.
She said it was really wonderful that Aunt Su's company would have her.
She also said the atmosphere in the company was great—everyone was smiling and greeting each other. She felt it was just like a big family!
Come to think of it, she's not wrong.
The atmosphere in the company today was indeed fantastic—much livelier than usual!
Today was the first day of relaxed restrictions, so all the family members, partners, and scheduled visitors who had been wanting to tour the place came all at once.
The hallways were packed with people coming and going. There were even a few reporters carrying cameras, interviewing department heads.
People were laughing in the corridors, chatting in the break rooms—unlike the previous period, when everyone was tense, walking briskly with stern faces.
The vibe really was relaxed!
I hope this kind of atmosphere can last.
I had originally wanted to show Xiao Lian'er around a bit longer, but seeing those reporters, I ended the tour early.
I don't mind being photographed myself, but Xiao Lian'er is a different matter.
If she got caught on camera with me, and the picture ended up in the news, someone with ill intentions might take notice...
So I quickly had Xiao Li take her out through the side entrance and over to the back parking lot.
As Xiao Lian'er left, she waved goodbye to me.
She said that in half a month, the orphanage would hold a cake-making competition, and she was working hard to learn how to bake. She told me I absolutely had to come and try her creation.
I said I’d be there, no question about it! Aunt Su always keeps her promises!
As I write this, my heart feels both warm and a little bittersweet.
That girl has really become so much more cheerful than before!
It’s wonderful!
Today was a happy day!
Ah Chu even got off work early for once, and he asked me how Xiao Lian’er’s visit went.
I said it went great—really great.
He smiled and said that was good.
That silly man is now snoring right next to me.
It feels… like it’s been so long since I’ve felt this relaxed.
Oh, right—I can’t let Xiao Qi find out about this, or he’ll throw another fit!
…
…
XXXX, August 20th.
Busted!
Today it all fell apart!
Xiao Qi found out!
The orphanage held the cake-making competition today, so I brought Xiao Qi along.
At first, he was all excited, rolling up his sleeves and rubbing his hands together!
He said he was going to show off his skills at the competition and prove to his mom that he was the reincarnation of a kitchen god!
But the moment he tied on his apron, Xiao Lian’er came over with a little cake.
That little cake was actually quite delicate—it had piped frosting on top, and next to it, in wobbly writing, were the words “Aunt Su.”
She held the cake out to me and said:
“Aunt Su, I made this as a thank-you for taking me to visit your company a few days ago!”
I was so touched at the time, but I immediately realized something was wrong!
Crap! Busted!
I’d been keeping this from Xiao Qi the whole time!
I snuck a glance at him, and sure enough, the grin on that little brat’s face vanished instantly.
He set the mixing bowl down on the counter, leaned back in his chair, and stared at me with a completely blank expression!
I quickly said, “Mom can explain.”
He didn’t say a single word—just started wolfing down strawberry cake!
And I mean really wolfing it down!
Every strawberry cake the orphanage had made, he took them all for himself!
He sat in the corner, shoveling piece after piece into his mouth, his eyes fixed on me the whole time. Chewing and staring.
Nothing else, just staring!
Xiao Lian’er looked confused and asked me what was wrong, so I quickly took the cake and said, “It’s nothing, he’s just hungry. Thanks, Xiao Lian’er!”
I tried to lighten the mood by squishing his cheeks, but he didn’t even resist—his face all squished up, still staring at me blankly!
That little monster!
When we got home, Xiao Qi kept giving me the cold shoulder.
He sat on the sofa, and every time I spoke to him, he just rolled his eyes and kept his face stone-cold.
I said, “Come on, is this really such a big deal?”
He just snorted and turned his head away.
Ugh!
Finally, I was at my wit’s end. I noticed the corner of a piece of paper sticking out of his backpack, pulled it out, and saw it was his latest drawing of that silver-haired older sister.
I have to say, it was way better than before!
So I praised him: “Xiao Qi, your new drawing of the silver-haired older sister is really good! Much better than the last one! You’ve improved so much!”
And he still ignored me!
Just then, Ah Chu came in, and for once, he caught on and chimed in, saying, “The company has made a lot of technical progress lately. As long as we stabilize the mass-production model…
We might be able to make the silver-haired older sister soon!”
At that, the little brat shot up from the sofa, pounced on Ah Chu, and started bombarding him with questions.
What kind of technology? When exactly? Can we guarantee they’ll awaken?
A flood of questions—Ah Chu was flustered trying to answer them all!
But!
When I tried to talk to Xiao Qi, he still wouldn’t respond to me!
He was super enthusiastic with his dad, but treated me like I didn’t exist. Pure cold shoulder!
That little jerk!
It made me so mad!
I pointed at Ah Chu right then and there and said, “If your son keeps this up, I’m not letting him have the silver-haired older sister, and I mean it!”
Xiao Qi immediately jumped away from Ah Chu and glared at me!
Ah Chu quickly said, “This kind of thing has to be up to Mom. Dad doesn’t have the final say.”
Xiao Qi’s face instantly fell. He leaped off the sofa, threw himself at my feet, hugged my leg, and looked up at me, shouting:
“Mom, I was wrong! Mom, I was really wrong! You’re the best mom in the whole world!”
That little rascal clearly knows when to bend!
Finally, he said with a completely serious face…
“Mom, you have to make the silver-haired older sister, or the world will be destroyed!”
