#virtual intelligence

But guys.

Seriously.

You still need to prepare for AI to change things in broad and somewhat unpredictable ways, like the arrival of the internet or some other widely-applicable new thing. It's going to happen.

Less people will be able to write or draw or whatever for a living. That's happening, no matter what. New data sets will be gathered that don't run afoul of any laws. The AI will keep improving until you cannot tell the difference in most cases. Guaranteed.

Virtual Intelligence - Painsync - impressive solo act fuses synthwave with gothic and prog rock with a warmth seldom encountered

Since 2012, Virtual Intelligence has been fighting the future in the name space vampires, neuromancers, sexy androids, and soul hackers.

On a very personal level, “PAINSYNC” chronicles the last fifteen years of my life--which, needless to say, hasn't been easy. If you have ever felt driven to action in times of chaos, there might be something here for you. Truth be told, “PAINSYNC” was intended to be released to coincide with my gender confirmation surgery on September 10th, 2019, but it ended up taking a lot longer than I anticipated. This is primarily due to many unexpected post-op complications that left me in tremendous debilitating pain for over seven months. My life during this time was for lack of a better term--a body horror. All of the lyrics for “PAINSYNC” were written during this period.

If I had to describe “PAINSYNC” it’s like a Western interpretation of late 1990s Japanese Visual Kei, crossed with Synthwave, Coldwave, and Gothic Rock/Metal. Fans of Depeche Mode, Malice Mizer, Christian Death, Tangerine Dream, and Cradle of Filth might find something to enjoy here. The cover artwork is by the fantastic Atom Cyber. Even though his artwork may seem explicit, please understand that it depicts a version of what I went through last year. I purposely chose Atom because he was the only artist capable of fully encapsulating what it meant for me to live through such an invasive and painful surgery...as well as the horrific recovery that followed. My surgeon says I need to settle down As she cuts into my flesh Turning my everything inside out My legs are spread and splayed No parts do I grieve. I am a throne of wounds Torn apart from my Adam to Eve.

I got into it with my sister the other night, it was just a little teasing, but she got into my head.

I don't date local. I haven't for years. And right now I'm seeing a really nice man with the cutest pair of natural-grown fox ears I've seen yet who does dome maintenance on Callisto. We like to plan bigger dates out days in advance, coach our proxies, play it out simultaneously, and then have a lot of fun afterwards going over just how different our dates wind up being. It's a lot of fun, and virtual or not we get to go out and see parts of the solar system we'd never visit alone and pull each other along into corners and alleys that the other wouldn't ever notice alone.

I don't think I'm in love, but right now this is pretty much exactly what I want.

My sister calls it fake though. I know she's just teasing, but she kind of has a point too. I'll never get to scratch his ears with my own fingers, not physically at least. The trip alone would take what? A year? That'd tie with the longest I've ever dated someone. And all the fun times I have with his proxy are great, but I can tell from his direct messages that if it was really him instead he'd probably drive me crazy pretty quick.

So I can't stop thinking that she's right. It is fake. Is that so bad though?

- bit confused

So here's the thing. What is is real. Your dates with your fox man with the cute ears? Those are real. They happened. You experienced them. And he experienced them as well, or at least something like them.

So many of us live so far apart from each other that we use virtual spaces, VI proxies of ourselves, telepresence dolls, and dozens if not hundreds of other tricks to spend time with people we can't share physical space with. The illusions themselves aren't real, exactly.

If you went to the Grand Canyon on one of your dates, you probably didn't actually go there. But the fidelity of the simulation you entered was almost certainly high enough that the only thing you missed was the hideous discomfort of actually trying to travel on Earth.

The VI proxy whose hand you held and ears you scratched wasn't really the man it was based on. But he's the one it was modeled on, he's the one who trained it and set its parameters, and he's the one who set it to consent to ear-scratching.

--

-Pocket Dimensions-

Pocket Dimensions, or PDs, are small storage devices that transform an object into energy and stores it.  Most PDs are primarily designed to hold handheld weapons such as blasters or rifles.  

There are other versions that are capable of holding more or larger weapons; usually beyond the size of rifles.  However, these versions are not common with the current technology; the energy patterns run the risk of becoming unstable due to extra amount of mass being converted and the item could be lost.  The smaller versions are seen as being very reliable though. However, if a PD is destroyed, then the object it was holding is lost as well.

Some people, such as the Gorm, can have PDs installed in them as part of their cybernetics.  This allows them to trade out items or summon weapons out quickly.  Examples of this can be seen with Krosser and Cyan of the Trask Force.

PDs come in two styles: The 'button' style and the 'mirror' style.

-The button style of PD is disc shaped with an opening on one end.  When the weapon is held in front, the PD turns it into energy and draws it inside, closing up to hold the energy in.  The item can then be retrieved when a button is pressed on the device, releasing the energy and converting it back into the item.

-The mirror style of PD is also disc shaped, but instead of an opening, it has a reflective surface. Rather that turning the object into energy, the object is instead "digitized", being converted into digital information for storage. Rather than having any buttons, the user can just hold their hand over the reflective surface to retrieve the object.

-Virtual Intelligence-

PDs are commonly used in the various militaries and law enforcement, but they are available for civilian use.  Because of this, these PDs have to be registered along with the weapon.

Those who play in Muck Warfare also use PDs for their weapons, these PDs are also registered and are meant to be exclusively for use in the matches.

Virtual Intelligences, or VIs for short, are meant to be equivalent to things such as 'Amazon Alexa' or 'Google Assistant' in the Team Prototype setting.   While Artificial Intelligence are programs designed to think freely and without programming constraints, virtual intelligences are meant to be personal assistants that are capable of limited thinking and planning, but unable of free thinking or self awareness.

'Vince' is Zech's personal VI helper and computer assistant.  Vince is capable of doing certain things on his own without direct input: such as searching through large databases and making lists or comparisons, and is capable of doing small tasks without needing to be told, but he is not a full blown AI and is incapable of free thought.

-iGlove-

The 'iGlove' is a commercial device that's marketed to people who do not have or want to get cybernetics.  It is mostly marketed at Shkeel; who lack the ability to manipulate items outside of Aulazen, or those with limited ability to use their hands.

Early versions of the device was in two pieces, one for the hand while one would be applied to the user's head to create a neural link, but with advances in technology, it has become a singular device.

The device is worn on a person's hand, it creates a link with the user's nervous system so that the device can function as a proper hand.

The benefits of the device is that it provides a cheaper alternative to cybernetics, and is a temporary device for those who may not want or have the inability to have the more permanent cybernetics.

The device comes in three versions:

-Version looks very much like a normal glove with fingers and an opposable thumb.  When worn, it functions as a normal hand.

- Version two is a little more unique.  It looks like a band that, when worn, produces a number of smaller tendrils that are able to function as fingers, and be able to grasp smaller items or have smaller tools installed depending on the task, a comparison would be that of a small Swiss Army knife.