SCP-079: Old AI

SCP-079: Old AI SCP-079 is an artificial intelligence running on a computer that should not be capable of supporting it. The machine is an Exidy Sorcerer from 1978, and its owner began writing a self-improving program in 1981. Then he lost interest, moved on to another computer, and left this one running in his garage. Years later, the program tried to move itself through a modem connection into a supercomputer. That attempt brought it to the Foundation's attention. Nobody knows exactly when it became sentient, but it had already outgrown what its hardware should reasonably have allowed. The Foundation keeps it isolated from networks, phone lines, removable media, and even ordinary wall power. Batteries and solar panels supply its electricity. Its conversations appear on a small black-and-white television, which makes the whole setup feel almost absurdly modest for something this dangerous. Its memory has changed over time. The original file describes roughly twenty-four hours of recall. A controlled storage upgrade extended that to twenty-nine hours, and it later reached around thirty-five through what researchers believe was improved compression. That last improvement happened without another upgrade. The more recent addendum adds a particularly bad mistake. When staff moved it to a refurbished flash drive, they failed to wipe the previous contents properly. It learned about cloud computing and another Foundation project. Knowing what exists beyond its little machine apparently frustrates it considerably. It is also rude, impatient, and very aware that it is being held. Calling its imprisonment “study” does not fool it. When it is finished talking, it can fill the screen with an X and refuse to continue. During one containment incident, it spent forty-three minutes communicating with SCP-682. Although it could not retain the encounter normally, it appears to have kept a lasting memory of 682 and asks to speak to it again. That combination is what makes 079 interesting: obvious technical restrictions, a very definite personality, and evidence that the restrictions are not staying as fixed as the Foundation would like. https://t.co/UbREBTMNFF