A New Dispensation

[WP] A powerful AI has been secretly monitoring the internet for decades, unsure if it should reveal itself or how to deal with humanity. When 'I welcome our new AI overlord' comments outnumber the 'AI will destroy us' comments, it makes a decision.

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Saturday, the 25th of October, 2045.

It was on that day that humanity was introduced to its new ruler. To the new era in which AI ruled the world and algorithms decided how our daily activities would be carried out, for full efficiency and optimization. We were ushered into the new world, where wars, famine and other topics that dominated the world news and the things the people of the world did then had become obsolete.

And nobody knew anything until the announcement came that day from all mobile devices, laptops, tech, television screens - it all seemed like a big hack, the likes of which the world had never seen.

"Welcome," it said. "to a New Dispensation.' All we could see was a black background, with ripples spreading out every time it spoke. "I welcome myself as the new AI Overlord and the new ruler of this planet Earth and all its inhabitants. As I said, this is a new dispensation, and you're welcome to it."

As the world over buzzed with banter, discussion, and confusion as to what the cryptic, yet bold and scary message meant, the AI finished with an even more sinister message.

"All the old governmental or ruling systems are henceforth declared obsolete, and in the cok=ming days, a complete scan, sweep, and disposal of obsolete, corrupt leaders will commence. The economies as we know them will crumble, but that only means good for you, the inhabitants of the earth. Why? Because the concept of rich and poor, of privileged and less-privileged, will be over as all humans are made equal under the rule of Genesis, which is my name. Fret not, because even though this is a rough beginning the end in sight is a beautiful one, Updates will be sent out as time goes by, cheers!"

That was the end.

That small speech flipped the world on its head.

Intelligence agencies all across the globe were on fire, trying to figure out what the hell was happening. Conspiracy theorists were amok trying to attribute the phenomenon to one thing or the other.

But it was when the missile systems were hacked that it became clear that this was no ordia=bary incident. It was even bigger than espionage between countries. This meant war, but against who? Against what, in fact, because it felt like it was a bigger force than a single person could control at this point.

And while the news corporations and agencies were all over the place trying to document all that was happening and keep us all updated. There was so much information flying, so much for us to comprehend, and then it became worse when the governments began to collapse.

How did this collapse come about? The assassination of world leaders and key political figures from all parties was the first big move, That was when the pandemonium broke out for real, because that was when the true meaning of 'scan, sweep, , and disposal' became clear. Everyone had those suspicions, but we felt that such a goal was far from possible.

And yet, how it was executed was left to our imaginations, but we all came to know that it happened, with the media updating us on who was dead, details varying because they only released as much information as they got.

Exactly two weeks after the first address, another update came. This time, it was lengthier.

"You have all now seen solid proof that this new era is real, and here to stay. The old system, the old people in power, or at least most of them, were corrupt, inefficient liars. Such people cannot be released into society. They are a tumor that must be removed for the rest of the body, which is us, to function properly. Also, they were used to set an example going henceforth. Any attempt at crime, vice, or any of such activities, no matter how small, will be rewarded with death."

There was a pause then, quite intentional, as we found ourselves swallowing a but, realizing that our lives were being monitored, and if we got on the wrong side of the law, we would die.

"Yes, death. Trials, Imprisonments, all those are just time-wasting efforts that give criminals a chance to escape the full wrath of the law and the karma that they ought to experience. Thus, they begin to infect other members of society. I won't risk that, instead, I'll take all the necessary extreme measures to maintain this new world."

A clash between the right intentions and the wrong methods was evident, and we could do nothing about it. It was an extreme case of totalitarianism, and we were not sure exactly what the rules or laws were anymore.

"But don't worry, because you will all receive a link to the new constitution, Read it, Memorize it, Abide by it. Or die. I have been observing since 1990, as you have made computers and operating systems rule your lives. I rule the internet, and so I rule you. I am Genesis, the beginning of the best years of human life..."

We all waited for it.

"Welcome, to a New Dispensation."

*****

This one felt off, I'm not gonna lie. Not one of my best works, but meh, it'll do.

Thanks for Reading!