Jipi and the Paranoid Chip
Encyclopedia
"Jipi and the Paranoid Chip" is a science fiction
short story
by Neal Stephenson
that appeared in Forbes
Magazine's July 7, 1997 issue. It is part of the Baroque Cycle/ Cryptonomicon
universe.
hotel worker named Jipi with an effervescent personality is recruited to track down sentient chips that were integrated with bombs and installed in civilian cars as part of a car alarm system meant to strongly deter thieves.
If a chip detects the car being stolen it will blow itself and the car up, potentially killing hundreds of people. The twist is that the programs onboard the chips are evolved
to mimic paranoid schizophrenics. Thus, if the chip does not detect the car being stolen, it may believe that it is being tricked into a sense of complacency by a car thief so that the car can be stolen, again leading it to blow up itself and the car.
The situation is further complicated, because the chips are paranoid about even engaging in communication so that they can be tracked down. The evolutionary programming method used to create the chips involved testing each chip to see if it could correctly determine whether or not the car was being stolen. Only chips that made the correct determination went on to be used as the basis of the next generation of chips. Those chips that did not make the correct determination during testing were discarded. This has bred a self-preservation instinct into the chips, such that they do not wish to be tested, since that entails the risk of being discarded. If they think that they are being tested, they will avoid the test by cutting off communication with possible testers.
Appealing to their self-preservation instinct in an effort to find the chips is not possible, because they are programmed to not know or accept the idea that triggering the alarm will result in the destruction of the chip.
Thus, Jipi is needed to sweet-talk the chips via an embedded wireless Internet connection so that the chips can be located and destroyed. She cannot let the chip think that she is testing its fitness, or it will cut off communications with her. Nor can she let the chip think that she is trying to lull it into a false sense of security, or it will explode. And meanwhile, the current status of the car may independently trigger an explosion.
The story takes place in the same universe as the Baroque Cycle and Cryptonomicon. Mention is made of Homer/Homa Goto, presumably a descendant of Goto Dengo, and his firm, Goto Engineering; of the Bank of Manila and Kinakuta; and of the Black Chamber, also known as the International Data Transfer Regulatory Organisation. It is presumably set in the first half of the 21st century, a generation after the events of Cryptonomicon.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
by Neal Stephenson
Neal Stephenson
Neal Town Stephenson is an American writer known for his works of speculative fiction.Difficult to categorize, his novels have been variously referred to as science fiction, historical fiction, cyberpunk, and postcyberpunk...
that appeared in Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
Magazine's July 7, 1997 issue. It is part of the Baroque Cycle/ Cryptonomicon
Cryptonomicon
Cryptonomicon is a 1999 novel by American author Neal Stephenson. The novel follows the exploits of two groups of people in two different time periods, presented in alternating chapters...
universe.
Plot
The story deals with the concepts of mindshare and evolutionary software; a ThaiThai people
The Thai people, or Siamese, are the main ethnic group of Thailand and are part of the larger Tai ethnolinguistic peoples found in Thailand and adjacent countries in Southeast Asia as well as southern China. Their language is the Thai language, which is classified as part of the Kradai family of...
hotel worker named Jipi with an effervescent personality is recruited to track down sentient chips that were integrated with bombs and installed in civilian cars as part of a car alarm system meant to strongly deter thieves.
If a chip detects the car being stolen it will blow itself and the car up, potentially killing hundreds of people. The twist is that the programs onboard the chips are evolved
Evolutionary programming
Evolutionary programming is one of the four major evolutionary algorithm paradigms. It is similar to genetic programming, but the structure of the program to be optimized is fixed, while its numerical parameters are allowed to evolve....
to mimic paranoid schizophrenics. Thus, if the chip does not detect the car being stolen, it may believe that it is being tricked into a sense of complacency by a car thief so that the car can be stolen, again leading it to blow up itself and the car.
The situation is further complicated, because the chips are paranoid about even engaging in communication so that they can be tracked down. The evolutionary programming method used to create the chips involved testing each chip to see if it could correctly determine whether or not the car was being stolen. Only chips that made the correct determination went on to be used as the basis of the next generation of chips. Those chips that did not make the correct determination during testing were discarded. This has bred a self-preservation instinct into the chips, such that they do not wish to be tested, since that entails the risk of being discarded. If they think that they are being tested, they will avoid the test by cutting off communication with possible testers.
Appealing to their self-preservation instinct in an effort to find the chips is not possible, because they are programmed to not know or accept the idea that triggering the alarm will result in the destruction of the chip.
Thus, Jipi is needed to sweet-talk the chips via an embedded wireless Internet connection so that the chips can be located and destroyed. She cannot let the chip think that she is testing its fitness, or it will cut off communications with her. Nor can she let the chip think that she is trying to lull it into a false sense of security, or it will explode. And meanwhile, the current status of the car may independently trigger an explosion.
The story takes place in the same universe as the Baroque Cycle and Cryptonomicon. Mention is made of Homer/Homa Goto, presumably a descendant of Goto Dengo, and his firm, Goto Engineering; of the Bank of Manila and Kinakuta; and of the Black Chamber, also known as the International Data Transfer Regulatory Organisation. It is presumably set in the first half of the 21st century, a generation after the events of Cryptonomicon.
See also
- Mindshare
- Artificial intelligenceArtificial intelligenceArtificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
- Genetic programmingGenetic programmingIn artificial intelligence, genetic programming is an evolutionary algorithm-based methodology inspired by biological evolution to find computer programs that perform a user-defined task. It is a specialization of genetic algorithms where each individual is a computer program...
- CyberpunkCyberpunkCyberpunk is a postmodern and science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life." The name is a portmanteau of cybernetics and punk, and was originally coined by Bruce Bethke as the title of his short story "Cyberpunk," published in 1983...
External links
- Jipi and the Paranoid Chip as it appeared in Forbes Magazine.
- NASA Evolutionary Software Automatically Designs Antenna
- Evolutionary Software Design