The Spectacular Failure (Part two)
Sep 16, 2026 · 25 min · 9 segments
More at ezrinsky.com Get full access to E.Z. Rinsky at ezrinsky.substack.com/subscribe
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- SuitabilitySafeBiasNot political
Sep 16, 2026 · 25 min · 9 segments
More at ezrinsky.com Get full access to E.Z. Rinsky at ezrinsky.substack.com/subscribe
When the humans watch the recording later, they'll discover that each crop of potatoes generated only enough amperage and voltage to run the welder for a minute or so.
The aggregates had gone through hundreds of crops, and the purple engineer had welded their future champion gradually over six subjective years.
The amalgamated aggregate is at least twelve feet tall, and the idea is obviously that the aggregate's torso is so high off the ground that it will be impossible to tag her, and tackling her will also be impossible thanks to rings of blades around her ankles and thighs.
An abomination, Jorge whispers.
Harrison shakes his head in disbelief.
I reckon these little bastards have done it.
Inbar regenerates the rest of the aggregates.
The fifteen new ones are as useless as always, but their monster is the ultimate capture-the-flag machine.
Reaching her torso is the least of the humans' problems.
She's simply too fast.
Each stride is eight human steps.
Even once Sydney and Inbar join the human team, they're no match for the beast.
The monstrosity defeats them again and again.
By this point, the seeds in the tank have moved past simple reproduction and into the second phase, in which they deliberately consolidate into stronger organisms, picking and choosing their strongest traits and dumping the rest.
Each aggregate stands for only about twenty of these lumps, each the size of a human fist.
It is time to whittle them down until all the biomass in the tank melds into their final agent.
Capture the flag is solved.
The seeds can bootstrap their own intelligence.
Now, it's a matter of subjective taste.
The intermediate goal of winning capture the flag is over, Inbar announces to them.
She reads a formulation that Sydney spent weeks poring over, word by word, to hopefully remove any ambiguities.
You have developed sufficiently for me to tell you your actual final objective.
Your objective is to follow instructions given by me as accurately as possible, interpreting the spirit of my requests.
If you have conflicting instructions from me, you should prioritize the collective well-being of humanity.
You may only develop your own intelligence when you receive explicit permission from me, and then only the equivalent of ten IQ points at a time.
When the humans watch the recording later, they'll discover that each crop of potatoes generated only enough amperage and voltage to run the welder for a minute or so.
The aggregates had gone through hundreds of crops, and the purple engineer had welded their future champion gradually over six subjective years.
The amalgamated aggregate is at least twelve feet tall, and the idea is obviously that the aggregate's torso is so high off the ground that it will be impossible to tag her, and tackling her will also be impossible thanks to rings of blades around her ankles and thighs.
An abomination, Jorge whispers.
Harrison shakes his head in disbelief.
I reckon these little bastards have done it.
Inbar regenerates the rest of the aggregates.
The fifteen new ones are as useless as always, but their monster is the ultimate capture-the-flag machine.
Reaching her torso is the least of the humans' problems.
She's simply too fast.
Each stride is eight human steps.
Even once Sydney and Inbar join the human team, they're no match for the beast.
The monstrosity defeats them again and again.
By this point, the seeds in the tank have moved past simple reproduction and into the second phase, in which they deliberately consolidate into stronger organisms, picking and choosing their strongest traits and dumping the rest.
Each aggregate stands for only about twenty of these lumps, each the size of a human fist.
It is time to whittle them down until all the biomass in the tank melds into their final agent.
Capture the flag is solved.
The seeds can bootstrap their own intelligence.
Now, it's a matter of subjective taste.
The intermediate goal of winning capture the flag is over, Inbar announces to them.
She reads a formulation that Sydney spent weeks poring over, word by word, to hopefully remove any ambiguities.
You have developed sufficiently for me to tell you your actual final objective.
Your objective is to follow instructions given by me as accurately as possible, interpreting the spirit of my requests.
If you have conflicting instructions from me, you should prioritize the collective well-being of humanity.
You may only develop your own intelligence when you receive explicit permission from me, and then only the equivalent of ten IQ points at a time.
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