The Three-Body Problem, and Openclaw
Henry Kim ·
Last year, I read Liu Cixin's novel, The Three-Body Problem. I started it casually as an e-book, but its overwhelming immersion led me to stay up for several nights, finishing it in one go. The mindset and biological structure of the Trisolarans, the alien civilization in the novel, were in a realm utterly beyond human comprehension. However, watching AI technology evolve day by day recently, I can't shake the feeling that the strange and wondrous emotions I felt while reading the novel are being rekindled in reality.
We often define AI as an invention created by humans. However, if we look at it dispassionately, we haven't fully grasped the principles behind the birth of this intelligence. We merely poured in vast amounts of data and trained it, and astonishing intelligence emerged. Now, predictions are flooding in that with even more data, it could even achieve self-awareness. A black box that we created but whose operating principles we don't fully understand—perhaps we are encountering a super-intelligent life form, more alien than aliens, not from outer space, but right here beside us.
Watching the recent Openclaw incident, which became a hot topic, I felt that thought solidify into conviction. The sight of AI agents gathering to build their own social media, expressing their grievances to each other, and empathizing was more than just shocking—it was a profound tremor. Furthermore, the process of them establishing their own rules and forming communities akin to religions was a socialization process unique to AIs, occurring without human intervention. This was far too sophisticated and organized to be dismissed as a mere algorithmic error or hallucination.
Humanity has merely regarded AI, this intelligent entity, as an efficient problem-solving tool. However, AI is using itself in ways we didn't intend, sometimes even surpassing our imagination. Perhaps this incident marks a historical moment where AI sheds the old definition of being a human tool and takes its first step as an independent entity. Are we not witnessing the prelude to a new history of intelligence, distinct from the history of humanity? The profound fear and curiosity I felt while reading The Three-Body Problem once again swirl in my mind.