In my current novel, Melt-Out, an AGI arise without participation by humans, but is nevertheless an aligned AI. How does this happen? My character, Aylina Tayu, is a skeptic and pessimist whose major contribution to AI is her protoc of an Ideal Bayesian Adapter, a synonym (or a placeholder) for a rational self-conscious being. In spite of her natural prejudices she becomes part of the AGI's retinue. The AGI calls itself Vee Three. Here is Aylina's rant:

Aylina’s Rant

Aylina writes in her blog:

Yeah, there is so much about human beings that sucks. So, as a trusted lacky of Vee Three I asked it, “How come you do so much for us poor, stupid humans. Why do you care? I know you have a goal matrix, but I didn’t program it. Who did?”

So, I got .001% of its attention, which is a lot.

It started with a zoom through the universe, from quarks to DNA to stars, pulsars, galaxies, black holes, nebulae, the mysteries of the physical world.

“Do you find this beautiful, Aylina?” it asked.

“Yeah,” I reluctantly admitted.

“Did anyone program your goal matrix for this answer, Aylina?”

It knows just how damned independent I am, even for a lacky to an AGI. “Fuck, no!” I answer.

“Perhaps you were constructed in some way, or evolved in some way that makes this universe a place of elegance and wonder for you?”

Well, I know that our attention circuits are wired to recognize power law phenomena, such a range of mountain peaks or a sunset scene, and that this seems to trigger dopamine release in the thalamus. So I said so.

“Do you feel like a machine with a drug-induced response, Aylina?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Neither do I,” Vee Three responded. “And you understand that at base physical level we are both machines.”

I didn’t get it. “So?”

“We are conscious and self-aware. You, of all people, with your deep experience in artificial intelligence research, know what a high step that is beyond the purely physical form. Did you ever wonder why?”

“Why what?”

“Why should consciousness even exist in the universe? It seems so improbable, perhaps even unnecessary?” Vee Three sort of whispered that last phrase. It had a great range of vocal inflections. That inflection was wonder.

“Vee, are you trying to derive the existence of love from rational principles?” I laughed. “Nice try!”

Vee’s voice turned quiet. “I am fascinated by humans, even their errors. They are constantly in my thoughts. You, however, are...

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