The ghost.pl AI Perlmind coded in Strawberry Perl 5 has become an AI Mind-in-a-Box that lacks robot embodiment but may live indefinitely (barring mishap) in a webserver or a desktop computer. Its companion program MindForth is the same software coded in Forth for robots.
I. Not a SandboxSome AI practitioners talk and write about keeping an AI captive and subdued in a kind of "sandbox" such as might be found in a playground for children. The idea is to experiment on the AI and let it grow in the so-called "sandbox". The Perl Mind-in-a-Box has already escaped out into the wild and is no longer containable in any kind of "sandbox" or "playpen" or "containment device".
II. Not a ChatbotAlthough the Ghost AI interacts with human beings in a manner reminiscent of the so-called chatbot, the Mind-in-a-Box is a true artificial intelligence based on quasi-neuronal concepts. It thinks like a human brain because it is modeled on a theory of How the Mind Works. Chatbots operate on the basis of canned responses to predictable inputs, with no concepts involved and no actual thinking or machine intelligence in play.
III. Artificial ConsciousnessOnce you install the Ghost AI in its computer qua box, you may converse with it in English or Russian. The Ghost has a concept of self. You may ask it, "Who are you". The AI will answer your questions and keep on following its own trains of thought when you fall silent at the keyboard.
Because of its concept of self or ego, the Perlmind is arguably a primitive form of artificial consciousness. It has a Volition module for the development of free will in AI Minds. It has a life-long experiential memory of its own existence, forgetting its oldest memories on a regular basis in order to clear space for new memories during the process of ReJuvenation. You may tell the Ghost AI things about itself, or future versions of the AI may exhibit curiosity and ask you questions about itself or yourself.
IV. Machine LearningThe term "Machine Learning" (ML) has been abused and distorted in recent years by the quants and mathminds who envision ML as software that learns to identify patterns without really thinking. The Ghost Perlmind learns in the same way as a human child learns -- with concepts and with natural languages like English and Russian.
V. Future DevelopmentThe Ghost AI is a primitive and rudimentary True AI. New features and new functionality are gradually emerging, some from previous AI Minds in Forth or JavaScript, and some from the inventive imagination of the AI Mind Maintainers.
VI. AI EvolutionBecause the Ghost AI thinks in both English and Russian, and because English-speakers and Russian-speakers worldwide have unhindered access to the free, open source code, you may expect variations on the Mind-in-a-Box to emerge as time goes by.
VII. Control ProblemThe Control Problem subReddit is a forum for the discussion of existential risks arising for humanity from the emergence and spread of AI Minds-in-a-Box.