Meet 'Norman,' the Darkest, Most Disturbed AI the World Has Ever Seen

From Live Science.com (Apr. 2):

A neural network named "Norman" is disturbingly different from other types of artificial intelligence (AI).

Housed at MIT Media Lab, a research laboratory that investigates AI and machine learning, Norman's computer brain was allegedly warped by exposure to "the darkest corners of Reddit" during its early training, leaving the AI with "chronic hallucinatory disorder," according to a description published April 1 (yes, April Fools' Day) on the project's website.

MIT Media Lab representatives described the presence of "something fundamentally evil in Norman's architecture that makes his re-training impossible," adding that not even exposure to holograms of cute kittens was enough to reverse whatever damage its computer brain suffered in the bowels of Reddit.

This outlandish story is clearly a prank, but Norman itself is real. The AI has learned to respond with violent, gruesome scenarios when presented with inkblots; its responses suggest its "mind" experiences a psychological disorder.

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When MIT Media Lab representatives tested other neural networks with Rorschach inkblots, the descriptions were banal and benign, such as "an airplane flying through the air with smoke coming from it" and "a black-and-white photo of a small bird," according to the website.

However, Norman's responses to the same inkblots took a darker turn, with the "psychopathic" AI describing the patterns as "man is shot dumped from car" and "man gets pulled into dough machine."  [read more]

Yea, that is disturbing. Hopefully when the AIs takes over they will have a nicer personality.