Exploring Immortality Cultivation
Chapter 453 - 206: Artificial Intelligence, Writing Programs

Acquired Will, when put in a more fashionable term, is "artificial intelligence." Wang Qi vaguely knew that, just like on Earth, the Immortal Alliance had also prioritized the development of Acquired Will.

However, he was puzzled. This artificial intelligence thing, it's about simulating human consciousness and thought processes, a complex and massive algorithm, but this refined calculator should refer to a "bare machine" that hasn't been equipped with an operating system or any other path ranks, right?

Bare machine! Could a computer without even Windows installed play interstellar games? And a smart machine without iOS could certainly not use Siri!

Could it be that Sage Zhi Long, who had previously only made a decimal-based primitive calculator, had in a few short hours learned binaries, set theory, mathematical logic, taught himself programming, and then developed an operating system, followed by artificial intelligence?

Who would believe such a story?

Fortunately, Feng Luoyi offered an explanation, "Didn't you previously use Emperor's Liquid and Soul Origin to condense into Yin Yang Yao outside your body, enhancing your computing power? Those Soul Origins were absorbed by these two calculators, weren't they?"

Wang Qi nodded dumbly, "That works?"

"Hearts and wills are special algorithms. Your will connected with those clusters of Yin Yang Yao, so your consciousness entered into the system they formed. When your consciousness disconnected from this system, some algorithms remained. Then..." Feng Luoyi pointed at mathematics, discrete, and said, "These algorithms came to be contained here."

"This..." Wang Qi was so stunned he didn't know what to say.

Feng Luoyi smiled and said, "If you like, you can invest some time to research it. This is a key project of the Immortal Alliance currently, and it's not difficult to apply for research funding."

Wang Qi asked, "This... is this Acquired Will too? Don't I need to hand it over?"

Feng Luoyi laughed heartily, "Honestly, if the Acquired Will in your hands were written by ancient immortals, the Immortal Alliance would have demanded it no matter what. But what was born by coincidence... Although it's a rare find, the Immortal Alliance isn't short of such."

After listening to Feng Luoyi's explanation, Wang Qi finally understood the true value of the thing in his hands.

In this cosmic domain, consciousness isn't something extremely difficult to arise. If a system has enough redundancy and low enough entropy, it may give birth to will. A powerhouse proficient in Negative Entropy Force can simply create consciousness. The saying "The law has a Primordial Spirit" works on the same principle. As long as it's sufficiently complex, even a spell can give birth to will.

This can be seen as a typical "black box operation," where one doesn't need to know all the principles of consciousness or understand the logic of mathematics and physics. However, the Acquired Will developed by the Immortal Alliance is not this kind of broadly defined "Acquired Will."

The real Acquired Will can only come from scratch, created entirely by hand, step by step.

The construction difficulties of both can be roughly compared to assembling the same shape from six one-ton blocks or sixty thousand one-hundred-gram blocks. The former only requires brute force, whereas the latter demands attention to every detail and considerable patience.

To an Ancient Method Practitioner, this seems purely like making work for oneself – if it works why make things so hard? But not being satisfied with the black box, obstinately wanting to open and surpass the black box, is the path of a Modern Cultivator.

"The Acquired Will within your Immortal Artifact is originally a copy of your will, so it can hardly be considered 'Acquired' in a narrow sense. However, since the will connected to your own is through Yin Yang Yao, these wills have also been binary-transformed, changing from indistinguishable chaos to being analyzable," said Feng Luoyi. "The Immortal Alliance already has quite a few similar things, so we don't lack this one of yours."

"However, if you can sort out this will and transform it into real calculator algorithms, it will greatly benefit your understanding of will, thought, and soul. In the future, this thing could become your best assistant—because it comes from yourself and understands you well enough."

Wang Qi's eyes lit up, and he began to consider whom he should involve in playing with this calculator.

Firstly... consciousness is a chaotic algorithm... In terms of probability, Junior Sister Chen and Junior Sister Bao could both be of help. Speaking of which, I used fuzzy algorithms the last time I tricked that stubborn guy; fuzzy algorithms are also suitable for handling this. And since it involves cognition, there's Chen Feng, the readily available strong labor force... cough, as an employee, how could I not share my boss's troubles? This is definitely excellent research material for him! He mentioned when the little girl arrived before, that artificial intelligence can also be worked on in the future. If I do it, it's for his work! Additionally... ah, that's why they say it's good to have friends; Wu Chengdao from Thousand Mechanism Pavilion just happens to specialize in this area...

Wang Qi was in Shenzhou, recruiting strong men in his consciousness. Feng Luoyi interjected, "Another thing. That Magic Artifact jar that can transform Emperor's Liquid is a relic the Immortal Alliance pays handsomely for due to its high research value. Remember to lend it to the Immortal Alliance or hand it over to the Immortal Alliance for a sizeable amount of Merit—you don't need it, do you?"

"I have no use for it momentarily," said Wang Qi. "What about the Demon Clan's Holy Object?"

"The Ancient Demon Clan is also an unbroken line of a glorious civilization spanning countless years. With Saints changing every hundred and thousand years, not a few petal Holy Artifacts have been left behind." Feng Luoyi seemed to recall something and added, "If you're going back to Divine Capital, it's best to first report in safe to Chen Feng and then clear your name at the Immortal Alliance Branch—your friend reported you missing a few days ago at the Immortal Alliance."

Wang Qi showed resignation, "Those two guys, don't they realize who I am..."

Zhen Chan ridiculed in Wang Qi's consciousness, "Deep down you're thinking 'I didn't expect to have such close friends', so stop pretending..."

Wang Qi calmly took off the ring from his finger and placed it into the Storage Bag. Responding to Feng Luoyi's odd look, Wang Qi said with a smile, "You know, keeping an old antique inside a ring is actually quite bothersome."

"That... should also be a person, I hope you don't talk about them like you would cats or dogs…" Feng Luoyi didn't know what to say.

Wang Qi then asked, "By the way, Teacher Feng, wasn't the ring supposed to only hold one soul? Why is it that when this Acquired Will was added, the old man didn't feel anything at all?"

"Storing a Residual Soul is not a function the refiner gave; it's purely due to the special nature of the materials. That elder's Residual Cloud does not partake in the calculators' operations, nor can it interfere with them."

Upon Feng Luoyi's explanation, Wang Qi understood. It's like a ghost attached to a monitor or a keyboard! (To be continued. If you like this work, we welcome you to vote for it at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)