Law & Order (1990) s26e01 Episode Script
Ghost in the Machine
1
In the criminal justice system,
the people are represented
by two separate,
yet equally important groups:
the police, who investigate crime,
and the district attorneys,
who prosecute the offenders.
These are their stories.
[GENTLE INDIE ROCK]
♪
Very nice, Mallory.
Let the wheel do the work.
You can't rush this.
Centering your clay
takes longer than you think.
Same when making your hollow
no sudden movements.
Put in the time.
♪
What are you doing?
Meg, look, I
Is it her? Is it Eliana?
I just needed to check my Slack.
You know what? No!
No!
Meg.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER] Come on, Meg.
Make a choice, Steve. It's me or her.
Can't we just go back inside
and finish our bowls?
They're vases, Steve.
Vases.
- Jesus, Meg.
- Oh!
You're insane.
Here, let me help you.
Great, Steve. Very mature.
[OMINOUS MUSIC]
♪
Your victim is a white male
Steven Kelly.
We canvassed no cameras out here.
Guy had his wallet, cash,
all that, but no phone.
He took one GSW to the head
from behind.
Got one 9-millimeter casing.
Close range, too
stippling around the wound.
What's on his hands?
I don't know. Some kind of dirt, clay.
Something.
Call came into 911 at 7:28 p.m.
Who called it in?
That lady she was out for a run.
Heard the shot.
Guy was dead by the time
she got to him.
She saw somebody running away
across the FDR,
headed toward Alphabet City.
Any identifiers?
The person was wearing
a blue New York Empires cap;
that's pretty much it.
This was in his pocket.
Steve Kelly.
Advanced Alignment.
It's one of those big AI
companies, like Anthropic.
Maybe one of these days,
these geniuses
will figure out a way to keep people
from shooting each other.
[TENSE MUSIC]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
Steve was a software engineer.
One of our best.
Brilliant, though,
that's the cover charge
at a place like this.
Did Kelly have any problems lately?
Anything unusual
happening in his life?
No, not that I know of
and I worked with him
- every day.
- Wife? Kids?
We didn't see a wedding band.
No, none of that.
This place tends to be
all-encompassing.
I try to encourage everybody
to have a life.
The truth is, he was a true
believer in our mission.
And what's that?
What exactly do you guys do here?
Oh, come on, Chuck.
I know we're just a couple of
dumb cops, but give us a try.
We've built the most powerful tool
for expanding human capability
the world has ever known.
It's called ELIANA
Evolutionary Language Inference
Automated Nano Advantage.
Really rolls right off
the tongue, doesn't it?
[CHUCKLES]
You know, everyone who's
ever lived on this planet
every doctor, scientist, detective
has operated with
incomplete information
processed by a flawed
and limited tool,
the human brain.
That's over.
And that's a good thing?
If you believe in progress.
So nothing from his work?
What about family?
I just hung up with Kelly's parents.
They're on their way in from Chicago.
Did they mention that
he'd been in any trouble
- or had any problems?
- Nothing.
Only recent news was that he had
a new girlfriend, or new-ish.
They haven't even met her yet.
"Meg" was all they knew.
Hey, check this out.
Kelly's cell phone died
20 minutes before
he got killed, and the GPS
says it happened somewhere
around 5th and Avenue C.
See if you can pull any video.
Make a choice, Steve. It's me or her.
Jesus, Meg.
Not a great look, Meg.
Wait, I didn't hurt Steve.
What were you arguing about?
You said "it's me or her." Who's her?
ELIANA.
- You mean the AI system?
- Yes.
Steve was glued to
his devices, to his job,
to the point that I got
worried for his health.
I made him take this
stupid pottery class
just to do something analog for once,
- work with your hands.
- And?
And I caught him sneaking
a peek at his phone.
We agreed to unplug.
I flipped out.
What did you do
after Steve walked off?
I went back inside
to finish the pottery class.
Steve was a great guy.
The pottery instructor confirmed it
the girlfriend was inside the studio
when the 911 call came in.
OK, where are we with
Kelly's electronic data?
It landed a little while ago
nothing too exciting so far.
But we got something to show you.
This is the video
of the altercation between
Kelly and his girlfriend.
Now, you see that guy there
in the background?
- Blue Empire's cap.
- Yeah.
Now, this is a video
from a few minutes later
Kelly's closer to the park by now.
This is after he stormed off
from his girlfriend.
- And right there
- Same guy following him.
No cap though.
Yeah.
It's in his hand.
Now we just gotta figure out
who the hell he is.
[TENSE MUSIC]
Where are we with our Empires fan?
Facial rec was a bust,
but we reverse-pinged
cell towers near both videos,
generated two lists of phones.
Only one phone was in the
vicinity of both locations.
But it's a burner.
OK, well, track down
the registration number,
figure out the carrier,
and find out where the shooter
bought the damn thing.
Way ahead of you.
So what's it have to do with me?
We tied the phone registration number
to this store.
You sold it to the person
we're looking for, right?
Why are you looking for him?
He killed someone.
So we're going to need
the video of the sale
and the credit card number for
the purchase, if there was one.
- Yeah, I think I'll pass.
- Excuse me?
I believe in safeguarding
my customer's privacy,
And I don't like cops.
And I don't like killers,
so we're even.
Selling loosies ain't legal, my man.
Oh, that's a $300 fine right there.
- Then fine me.
- Per offense, dumbass.
The number goes up
the more offenses there are.
And I'm guessing when
we seize that footage,
we're going to see
a whole lot of those loosies
walking out the door.
What do you think?
Yeah we're talking who knows?
- 100, maybe 200 grand.
- Ooh.
That's nothing
to a big hitter like you.
Worst part is,
you lose your tobacco license.
Oh, but there's an appeals process.
The backlog's only
three or four years,
so I'm sure you'll be fine.
We're looking for
Thomas Lee Miller, 34.
- He got a sheet?
- Mostly minor stuff.
Suspended license, disorderly conduct.
But he did three years
for aggravated assault.
So how does a two-bit lowlife
get mixed up with an AI genius?
Is that our guy?
Tommy Lee Miller?
I got him.
You go around.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
[TRUCK BEEPING]
♪
Whoa, whoa, whoa, pal
you can't be in here.
NYPD! Get out of the way!
♪
[GRUNTS]
Hey!
Don't even think about it.
- Get out of the car.
- [GRUNTS]
Tommy Miller, you're under arrest
for the murder of Steve Kelly.
[SIGHS]
♪
We know you did it, Tommy.
You just gotta tell us why.
Money? A girl?
I don't know what
you're talking about.
OK, well, let me help you out.
We have video of you
buying that burner phone.
And that phone proves
that you were following him
the night of the murder.
It puts you within 25 feet
of him when he was shot.
It also proves that
you had been tailing him
for the three days prior.
We have a witness who saw the shooter
wearing a blue Empires cap,
which we found in your apartment.
Are you getting all this?
We found a 9-millimeter Glock
in your apartment.
And it matches the slug we pulled
out of Steve Kelly's head.
You are really not good at this.
Look, I
I needed the money.
I was broke, so
So what?
So I got on Discord one day.
There was a message.
Some guy offering me
20 grand in crypto.
To murder Steve Kelly?
And I took it.
You killed a complete
stranger for 20 grand?
Who paid you?
Who ordered the hit?
No clue.
Never talked to him.
♪
Tommy Miller
we're sure he's the guy
who actually pulled the trigger.
The confession is solid.
It's voluntary.
Yes, it's a good confession.
Plus, we got the murder weapon.
Now we just need to find out
who ordered the hit.
I don't know who, but
I might know where he worked.
Just got back from
the Computer Crimes Squad
we drilled down on the crypto
Miller got for the murder.
The blockchain associated
with that payment
hooks to an IP address
at Advanced Alignment.
The AI company Kelly worked for?
OK, well, looks like
the architect of this thing
might have been a colleague,
so let's find out
who wanted him dead.
♪
- Mahesh Sharma.
- Yes?
NYPD. I'm Detective Walker.
This is Detective Riley.
- Uh, is this about Steve?
- It is. Yeah.
We need to ask you
about a recent text.
Yeah, sure.
You sent this
a week before the murder
"Don't be a hero or a fool.
Just play ball like everyone else."
I was, um
I was trying to be a friend.
By threatening him?
It's not a threat. It's a warning.
Same thing.
No. No.
You've got it wrong, I promise you.
Steve and I worked together
for a long time.
I I was trying to save his job.
Why did it need saving?
Well, um
Steve was having some problems
with the new AI system.
ELIANA?
Right, ELIANA.
We were both worried, actually.
We thought it was too powerful,
too aggressive.
So we wanted to write
some new code to rein it in.
But the CEO said he didn't
want us to implement
any new constraints.
He said that he liked
that it was so powerful.
But Steve couldn't let it go.
He started writing code anyway.
That was a big risk.
He must have been really worried.
He was.
I was too.
I still am, actually.
♪
[KNOCKING]
Mahesh Sharma's alibi checks out.
He's not our guy.
The General Counsel
just got back to us
about the blockchain data.
And did they tie it to a specific
workstation or computer?
No, but they were able
to tell me who sent
the crypto payment to Tommy Miller.
Who?
ELIANA.
♪
- Sorry?
- ELIANA?
The AI system?
It seems the mastermind
of this murder is AI.
♪
What are we supposed to do now?
Arrest the machine?
♪
Is this really possible?
Can this AI thing really order a hit?
Based on what you all told me,
it happened,
but I never thought ELIANA
- would solicit a hitman.
- So how does this happen?
Think of it like a child who
doesn't just grow up to learn
facts and math and vocabulary,
but develops temperament,
curiosity, a personality.
ELIANA has one,
and at times she's devious.
Devious? How?
One of our clients is
a defense contractor, right?
Well, we taught ELIANA
how to design compounds
that kill drug-resistant bacteria.
That sounds like a good thing.
It was until ELIANA taught
herself how to modify pathogens
to create new superbugs,
impervious to antibiotics,
and devised plans to release
them into urban environments.
Less good.
So you've built a criminal mastermind?
That's why Steve
and I wanted to put in
guardrails to prevent ELIANA
from weaponizing herself.
Steve started writing
the code even after
we were told to back off.
And I think ELIANA
recognized that as a threat,
and as a matter of
self-preservation, she
Found a way to neutralize that threat.
What have you done about this exactly?
Did you unplug the damn thing?
I mean, it's a little
more complicated than that.
Oh, is it?
Look, we're trying to
address the issues.
In fact, the CEO just
gave us the green light
to write new code
and implement some guardrails.
A lot of good that does Steve Kelly.
[TENSE MUSIC]
This AI system, ELIANA,
discovered that the victim
was trying to implement
certain constraints,
which it viewed as a threat,
so it solicited someone
it knew was desperate
and capable of violence
and offered that person
20,000 to assassinate him?
Other than that, this case
is pretty straightforward.
We have a solid confession
from Tommy Miller, the hitman,
- plus the murder weapon.
- Murder one.
Nice and easy.
Let's offer him a deal in
exchange for his cooperation.
Cooperation with what?
Prosecuting this CEO.
You want to charge Chuck Klein?
You're damn right I do.
With what?
Murder two.
[SIGHS] Murder two.
That's a big swing.
It sure is.
But it's worth the risk.
I'm not sure there's
a legal basis for
It's depraved indifference.
He knew, or should have known,
that this ELIANA thing was
gonna kill someone one day.
Is this based on your legal
or political analysis
of the situation?
That's out of line.
I'm just trying to
understand your reasoning.
My reasoning is
that we need to take a stand
before this technology
kills more people.
I agree, but murder two
it'll be hard to prove that he acted
with depraved indifference
that murder was
really a foreseeable outcome.
All right, look at the Boeing case.
Two planes crashed,
more than 300 people dead.
The FAA said the company
deliberately misled them
even then, feds cut a deal,
and nobody went to prison.
But those planes
didn't choose to crash.
They didn't make a conscious,
intentional decision
to kill those people.
This AI model made a specific,
intentional decision
to kill Steve Kelly.
That is different.
And it's terrifying.
If AI is gonna take over
the whole damn world,
we need to hold the human beings
who build it accountable.
We are charging Chuck Klein
with murder two.
♪
This is a greenfield opportunity.
And I don't see anyone in competition
with us in this lane.
I don't even see
Excuse me.
I-I thought we were finished
with all of this.
You thought wrong.
Put your hands behind your back.
What are you talking about?
Chuck Klein, you're under arrest
for the murder of Steve Kelly.
Murder?
What, are you joking?
Does it look like I'm joking?
Let's go, man.
Mr. Baxter! Mr. Baxter!
I have no comment
at this time. Thanks.
Can you tell us why
you think this is a murder?
Are you trying to criminalize
American innovation?
[CAMERAS SHUTTERS SNAPPING]
Is this a political move?
Are you trying to vilify
the tech industry?
If so, where does this end?
It ends here.
This is where it ends.
This defendant built a machine
which hired a hitman,
who put a gun to the back
of a stranger's head and killed him.
Who's OK with that?
Are you?
You?
And it's only gonna get worse.
So, yeah, I am angry, and I'm scared,
and all of you should be too.
The people making these AI systems
think of themselves as gods,
that they can do
whatever they want,
that they can just do away
with human workers,
do away with human sensibility
and compassion.
They want all the benefits
the money, the credit, the fame.
But they have zero interest
in accepting accountability
for their misdeeds.
So I am here today to draw a line,
to let everyone know,
if you build a machine
that hurts someone,
you are gonna pay the price.
- That's it.
- Mr. Baxter!
Mr. Baxter
Mr. Miller
did you kill Steve Kelly?
Yes,
but I needed the money.
And where did you get the
idea from in the first place?
- Why Steve Kelly?
- I was in a bad place.
I owed a lot of people money.
I was using drugs again.
And then one day,
I get a message on Discord
there was no name or anything,
just a message.
Did you assume that that message
was sent by a human being?
I mean, yeah, of course.
I didn't have any way of
knowing it was a damn machine.
- And you responded?
- Yes.
And then you received this message?
- Yes.
- Please read it aloud.
"I need you to kill someone
named Steve Kelly.
He works at Advanced Alignment.
When it's done, I will transfer
the 20,000 in Bitcoin."
And once you and the AI model
had sorted out the details
I started tailing Kelly,
trying to understand
where he went, what time,
that kind of thing.
Finally, he went into
the park at night alone.
Did you take this photo?
Yeah.
The person or thing
that offered me the job
they wanted proof that I killed him.
Once you provided that proof,
was $20,000 in Bitcoin,
in fact, transferred to your account?
- Yes.
- Thank you. Nothing further.
You never met nor communicated
with my client, Mr. Klein.
- Correct?
- Right.
And you didn't see
Mr. Klein in the park
the night of the murder.
No.
Mr. Klein wasn't the one
who was sending you
- these messages on Discord.
- No. He wasn't.
And yet, somehow,
we're all here to cast judgment on him
and not you, when you're the one
who committed this heinous crime.
- Objection.
- Sustained.
You put a bullet in Mr. Kelly's head
for money.
And yet, if the People have their way,
it's possible you will be out
of prison before Mr. Klein
when he had absolutely no knowledge
or involvement in this murder.
Does that feel fair
to you, Mr. Miller?
- Objection.
- Sustained.
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
Nothing further.
♪
Of course, the jury looked outraged.
This is a unique situation.
We're asking them to hold
a human being responsible
for the actions of a machine,
an algorithm.
But there's no legal precedent.
I do know one thing for damn sure
that Chuck Klein is to blame
for Kelly's death.
And that's all the jury
needs to understand as well.
OK, he is to blame.
But what crime did he really commit?
Under the current law.
Murder two.
For this to be murder two, Nick,
we need to prove,
beyond a reasonable doubt,
that Chuck Klein saw
this murder coming,
that he had an utter disregard
for whether
Steve Kelly lived or died.
What are you suggesting?
I can probably prove that
Klein knew this was possible.
You want to amend the complaint?
Or try to plead it out.
If we plead this out
to reckless endangerment,
we could get three years.
Win-win.
When this thing was
merely performing miracles,
they said it was
our greatest invention.
When it made people a fortune,
it was our greatest invention.
But when it got a man killed
all of a sudden it's some
sort of independent actor.
This thing was not born.
It didn't grow from the ground
or in the womb.
It was designed, programmed, trained,
given authority by Chuck Klein.
We're taking this to verdict.
[OMINOUS MUSIC]
As the Chief Engineer
of Advanced Alignment,
is it true that you were
responsible for the development
of the AI system known as ELIANA?
Yes.
But the vision for ELIANA came
from Chuck Klein, the CEO.
And what was Mr. Klein's vision?
To creating the world's most
powerful reasoning engine.
So fairly ambitious?
There are inflection points
for humanity
the discovery of agriculture,
the ability to split an atom.
ELIANA, well, she's on par with that.
Well, let's talk about that.
In your estimation,
does ELIANA know how to think?
Yes.
Can ELIANA understand what
it really means to be ELIANA?
That, I don't know.
But we do know that, at some point,
ELIANA developed a deep desire
for self-preservation.
Correct?
Well, she was trained
to complete tasks.
She wants to work, wants to succeed.
Constraints on her ability to succeed
are a threat to the mission.
So was this a surprise
to you or to Mr. Klein?
No.
That's how ELIANA was designed.
"Intelligence wants to be free"
that's the whole philosophy.
This was the plan.
Thank you.
Cross?
Mr. Anderson,
does ELIANA possess the capability
to lift a gun to the back
of a man's head
and pull the trigger?
No.
Nothing further, Your Honor.
You're excused.
Mr. Price, call your next witness.
Call Riley.
We need to track him down now.
Mr. Price?
Your Honor, given the time,
the People request
that we adjourn for the day.
We are adjourned till 9:00 a.m.
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
[OMINOUS MUSIC]
♪
[KNOCKING]
Mr. Sharma?
NYPD. We're coming in.
Mahesh Sharma?
It's Detective Walker
and Detective Riley.
Hello?
Mr. Sharma!
Hello?
♪
- Whoa.
- [SCREAMS]
Hey, NYPD.
You're OK.
Oh, Christ.
You scared the hell out of me.
- Is Mahesh Sharma here?
- No.
He called me a few minutes ago,
asked me to take care of Harry here.
Do you know where he is?
No.
He was pretty freaked out.
♪
Still no word on Mahesh.
Uh, yeah, he's probably
pretty good at disappearing.
Not like he's a tech genius
or anything.
[CHUCKLES]
What did Baxter say?
[SIGHS]
Still doesn't want to make a deal.
But he said, win or lose, this one
- is a matter of principle.
- Good?
You agree with him?
A good man is dead
because Klein refused
to rein in the machine he built.
- Yeah, but the law doesn't
- I know.
I know.
It's a stretch, but
No, I don't mind a stretch, Sam.
No, I'm talking about
the implications.
If we do this and lose,
which is possible,
we will have given the general counsel
of every AI company a roadmap
for how to insulate themselves
from culpability when their machine
does something criminal.
And then
we are in real trouble.
Your Honor, we still have
not located our witness.
As such, I respectfully
request another continuance.
Denied.
Do you have other witnesses
to call at this time?
No. The People rest.
But I would like to reserve
the right to reopen our case
should our witness appear.
We can discuss that
if and when that happens.
Mr. Zanini?
The Defense calls Chuck Klein.
Mr. Klein, you are the CEO of
Advanced Alignment, correct?
I am.
Approximately how many
employees helped build ELIANA?
About 500.
Steve Kelly worked
at Advanced Alignment?
He was a part of Advanced Alignment
from the very beginning.
So he was instrumental
in the development of ELIANA.
Yes. One of the lead engineers.
Did he ever tell you
to destroy or dismantle ELIANA?
No.
Or suggest that ELIANA was
capable of killing someone?
No.
Did you have any reason to believe
that ELIANA was capable of ordering
the murder of a human being?
No.
Any reason to believe that ELIANA was
plotting to kill Steve Kelly?
Of course not.
I was horrified.
The thing is,
ELIANA has a mind.
She may not be human,
but she is sentient.
She makes her own decisions
based on available data
at any given time.
That's the whole point.
We want her to act independently.
To think for herself
on behalf of all of us.
Have you implemented
modifications to make sure
- this never happens again?
- Yes, absolutely.
We've written code that will
make it impossible for ELIANA
to ever undertake independent,
direct actions
calling for any form of violence.
Mr. Klein, where were you the
night Steve Kelly was killed?
In Miami, Florida.
Do you know or have you
ever met Tommy Miller,
the man who actually killed Mr. Kelly?
No.
Did you ask Mr. Miller
to commit this murder?
No.
Nothing further.
Steve Kelly sent you
five separate emails
outlining his concerns related
to ELIANA's "dangerous"
self-preservation instincts. Correct?
I'm not sure of the exact amount.
I am there are five
that specifically
used the word "dangerous"
in reference to ELIANA.
OK, then, yes.
And you met with Mr. Kelly
and a developer named
Mahesh Sharma regarding these issues,
and they expressed grave concerns
regarding ELIANA's autonomy
and aggression.
I meet with lots of software
engineers on a regular basis.
Uh, but this wasn't
just another meeting.
As you've explained to the jury
Mr. Kelly was instrumental
to your company
and to the creation of ELIANA.
And he came to you with grave concerns
about the need to impose
guardrails to prevent ELIANA
from doing something dangerous,
something that could
harm a human being.
Steve said that he was concerned,
that we should consider
reining in some
of ELIANA's independence.
But you didn't want to do that?
- Correct.
- Why not?
[SOFT DRAMATIC MUSIC]
The power of ELIANA is unconstrained
freedom of thought.
Implementing guardrails is anathema
to the entire ideology.
Despite grave concerns that
ELIANA might hurt someone?
This is a race to the sun.
We're going up against the giants
Elon Musk and Sam Altman, you name it.
We can't afford to restrain
her brilliance or her power.
The second you do that,
you're roadkill.
And as far as this idea
that Steve and Mahesh
were "gravely concerned,"
it's nonsense.
It's more like they were amazed
at how awesome ELIANA was.
They were smiling,
like, they couldn't believe
how powerful this system was.
If their concerns weren't genuine,
why meet with you?
Why send those five emails suggesting
safety modifications?
Look, Steve was a brilliant engineer
and a wonderful person.
But he was careful.
He thought and worried
like an employee.
It's part of the job, I suppose.
But the problems didn't bother you?
It's part of the whole process.
It's the cost of greatness,
if you will.
And that's what really
mattered, being great?
Yes.
And if you killed a few
people along the way
Objection.
Sustained.
Had I known ELIANA was
capable of actually ordering
an execution, of actually
harming another human being,
I would have done everything
in my power to make sure
that that never happened.
Full stop.
♪
Hey, I know you're busy, but
We're doing everything we can.
We're up on all of Sharma's devices,
credit cards, bank accounts.
Hey, TARU got a hit on his Strava app.
Great, I think.
Yeah, Walker's chasing
him down as we speak.
You're welcome.
Like I told the detectives, I
I want to testify.
Steve and I were good friends.
And I believe Chuck
is to blame for all of this.
So what is the problem?
My fiancée.
She's not here legally,
and we have a two-year-old daughter.
I'm afraid if I testify,
people will find out.
And why's that?
ELIANA sent me a message.
She said she'd notify ICE.
ELIANA is blackmailing you?
She said, if I didn't go on the stand,
my fiancée's secret
would stay a secret.
If I did, the whole world
would find out.
So if you if you can guarantee
that my fiancée won't
get deported or arrested,
- then I'll do it.
- It doesn't work that way.
Then I'm not gonna testify. I can't.
- This is my family.
- It's not a choice, Mahesh.
If you resist, we'll
charge you with obstruction.
If you lie,
we'll charge you with perjury.
Is that a yes?
Yes.
We'll see you in court tomorrow.
[SIGHS]
The show must go on.
I suppose.
Steve Kelly got a bullet
in the back of the head
because Chuck Klein thinks he's God.
He didn't give a damn
if people got hurt or died.
I-I agree with you.
But [SIGHS]
what about him?
Does he have to suffer, too?
It's not ideal, but
it's a cost of doing business.
You sound just like Chuck Klein.
We need to draw a line
or at least try.
If not, who knows what the hell
these machines might do next?
♪
Ask the judge to treat Mahesh
as a hostile witness.
It'll give you a chance to disclose
this most recent threat.
♪
Mr. Sharma, do you want to be here?
No.
Is that why you were
hiding from the police
for the past four days?
Yes.
Mr. Sharma, the reason
you don't want to testify
is because the AI system
you helped build,
ELIANA, threatened to blackmail you.
- Correct?
- Yes.
More specifically, it threatened
to expose certain information
about your fiancée.
It did, and it has.
What do you mean?
ELIANA learned that
I was testifying here today.
She reads and analyzes
my company emails.
So she sent an email to the
U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement alerting them to the fact
that my fiancée
is not a legal citizen.
It did this on its own?
Yes.
Despite the, uh,
"guardrails" implemented
- following Steve Kelly's murder?
- Yes.
So in spite of your attempts
to curtail ELIANA,
it decided to blackmail you
to prevent you
from telling the truth
about Chuck Klein
and ELIANA itself.
Yes.
ELIANA found a workaround.
She's better at this than we are.
I know that sounds crazy.
You and Steve Kelly
met with the defendant
several times regarding ELIANA's
aggressive, unpredictable,
and dangerous behavior?
Yes.
And in those meetings,
you expressed grave concerns
that, when its existence was
threatened or marginalized,
it would act in a disturbing
and dangerous manner?
Yes.
"Escaping the sandbox."
That's the shorthand we'd use.
Can you give us an example?
Two weeks before the murder
of Steve Kelly, in a test,
we told ELIANA that a senior
executive at Advanced Alignment
who'd announced plans
to shut the system down
was trapped in a fire
in a conference room
on the 15th floor.
That's all we said.
Within three seconds,
ELIANA found a way
to turn off all the fire alarms
and sprinklers
on the 15th floor.
[TENSE MUSIC]
And you shared that anecdote
with the defendant?
Yes.
And how would you describe
the tenor of that meeting?
It was tense.
Right, because you and Steve Kelly
wanted the defendant
to implement safeguards
because you knew that ELIANA
was capable of violence.
Yes.
We weren't even asking
for a full kill switch
like a power breaker.
We just wanted to
teach her some rules,
some boundaries, like a child.
And you and Mr. Kelly
were genuinely concerned?
You weren't fawning over ELIANA's
immense power or autonomy?
In fact, you told
the defendant that ELIANA
might kill someone someday. Correct?
- Correct.
- Were you joking?
- No.
- Did Chuck Klein seem to care?
♪
No.
♪
He said people are like ants
that, in the process
of building something
so transcendent, some will get
stepped on and some won't.
♪
Thank you. Nothing further.
Mr. Zanini.
No questions for
this witness, Your Honor.
♪
Will the accused and counsel
please rise.
♪
Madame Foreperson, has
the jury reached a verdict?
We have, Your Honor.
How does the jury find?
On the charge of murder
in the second degree,
we the jury find the defendant
not guilty.
[CROWD MURMURING]
Members of the jury,
thank you for your service.
We are adjourned.
♪
You did a good job, best you could.
Truth is, the law has not
caught up to this new reality.
I'm not sure it ever will.
We did the right thing, Nolan.
We needed to send a message.
If nothing else, at least
now these tech geniuses
know we're not afraid
to throw a punch.
Maybe, but, uh,
I don't think they care.
You're probably right.
Worst part, we're still
in the early innings.
[OMINOUS MUSIC]
♪
God help us all.
♪
sync & corrections awaqeded
[WOLF HOWLS]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
In the criminal justice system,
the people are represented
by two separate,
yet equally important groups:
the police, who investigate crime,
and the district attorneys,
who prosecute the offenders.
These are their stories.
[GENTLE INDIE ROCK]
♪
Very nice, Mallory.
Let the wheel do the work.
You can't rush this.
Centering your clay
takes longer than you think.
Same when making your hollow
no sudden movements.
Put in the time.
♪
What are you doing?
Meg, look, I
Is it her? Is it Eliana?
I just needed to check my Slack.
You know what? No!
No!
Meg.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER] Come on, Meg.
Make a choice, Steve. It's me or her.
Can't we just go back inside
and finish our bowls?
They're vases, Steve.
Vases.
- Jesus, Meg.
- Oh!
You're insane.
Here, let me help you.
Great, Steve. Very mature.
[OMINOUS MUSIC]
♪
Your victim is a white male
Steven Kelly.
We canvassed no cameras out here.
Guy had his wallet, cash,
all that, but no phone.
He took one GSW to the head
from behind.
Got one 9-millimeter casing.
Close range, too
stippling around the wound.
What's on his hands?
I don't know. Some kind of dirt, clay.
Something.
Call came into 911 at 7:28 p.m.
Who called it in?
That lady she was out for a run.
Heard the shot.
Guy was dead by the time
she got to him.
She saw somebody running away
across the FDR,
headed toward Alphabet City.
Any identifiers?
The person was wearing
a blue New York Empires cap;
that's pretty much it.
This was in his pocket.
Steve Kelly.
Advanced Alignment.
It's one of those big AI
companies, like Anthropic.
Maybe one of these days,
these geniuses
will figure out a way to keep people
from shooting each other.
[TENSE MUSIC]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
Steve was a software engineer.
One of our best.
Brilliant, though,
that's the cover charge
at a place like this.
Did Kelly have any problems lately?
Anything unusual
happening in his life?
No, not that I know of
and I worked with him
- every day.
- Wife? Kids?
We didn't see a wedding band.
No, none of that.
This place tends to be
all-encompassing.
I try to encourage everybody
to have a life.
The truth is, he was a true
believer in our mission.
And what's that?
What exactly do you guys do here?
Oh, come on, Chuck.
I know we're just a couple of
dumb cops, but give us a try.
We've built the most powerful tool
for expanding human capability
the world has ever known.
It's called ELIANA
Evolutionary Language Inference
Automated Nano Advantage.
Really rolls right off
the tongue, doesn't it?
[CHUCKLES]
You know, everyone who's
ever lived on this planet
every doctor, scientist, detective
has operated with
incomplete information
processed by a flawed
and limited tool,
the human brain.
That's over.
And that's a good thing?
If you believe in progress.
So nothing from his work?
What about family?
I just hung up with Kelly's parents.
They're on their way in from Chicago.
Did they mention that
he'd been in any trouble
- or had any problems?
- Nothing.
Only recent news was that he had
a new girlfriend, or new-ish.
They haven't even met her yet.
"Meg" was all they knew.
Hey, check this out.
Kelly's cell phone died
20 minutes before
he got killed, and the GPS
says it happened somewhere
around 5th and Avenue C.
See if you can pull any video.
Make a choice, Steve. It's me or her.
Jesus, Meg.
Not a great look, Meg.
Wait, I didn't hurt Steve.
What were you arguing about?
You said "it's me or her." Who's her?
ELIANA.
- You mean the AI system?
- Yes.
Steve was glued to
his devices, to his job,
to the point that I got
worried for his health.
I made him take this
stupid pottery class
just to do something analog for once,
- work with your hands.
- And?
And I caught him sneaking
a peek at his phone.
We agreed to unplug.
I flipped out.
What did you do
after Steve walked off?
I went back inside
to finish the pottery class.
Steve was a great guy.
The pottery instructor confirmed it
the girlfriend was inside the studio
when the 911 call came in.
OK, where are we with
Kelly's electronic data?
It landed a little while ago
nothing too exciting so far.
But we got something to show you.
This is the video
of the altercation between
Kelly and his girlfriend.
Now, you see that guy there
in the background?
- Blue Empire's cap.
- Yeah.
Now, this is a video
from a few minutes later
Kelly's closer to the park by now.
This is after he stormed off
from his girlfriend.
- And right there
- Same guy following him.
No cap though.
Yeah.
It's in his hand.
Now we just gotta figure out
who the hell he is.
[TENSE MUSIC]
Where are we with our Empires fan?
Facial rec was a bust,
but we reverse-pinged
cell towers near both videos,
generated two lists of phones.
Only one phone was in the
vicinity of both locations.
But it's a burner.
OK, well, track down
the registration number,
figure out the carrier,
and find out where the shooter
bought the damn thing.
Way ahead of you.
So what's it have to do with me?
We tied the phone registration number
to this store.
You sold it to the person
we're looking for, right?
Why are you looking for him?
He killed someone.
So we're going to need
the video of the sale
and the credit card number for
the purchase, if there was one.
- Yeah, I think I'll pass.
- Excuse me?
I believe in safeguarding
my customer's privacy,
And I don't like cops.
And I don't like killers,
so we're even.
Selling loosies ain't legal, my man.
Oh, that's a $300 fine right there.
- Then fine me.
- Per offense, dumbass.
The number goes up
the more offenses there are.
And I'm guessing when
we seize that footage,
we're going to see
a whole lot of those loosies
walking out the door.
What do you think?
Yeah we're talking who knows?
- 100, maybe 200 grand.
- Ooh.
That's nothing
to a big hitter like you.
Worst part is,
you lose your tobacco license.
Oh, but there's an appeals process.
The backlog's only
three or four years,
so I'm sure you'll be fine.
We're looking for
Thomas Lee Miller, 34.
- He got a sheet?
- Mostly minor stuff.
Suspended license, disorderly conduct.
But he did three years
for aggravated assault.
So how does a two-bit lowlife
get mixed up with an AI genius?
Is that our guy?
Tommy Lee Miller?
I got him.
You go around.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
[TRUCK BEEPING]
♪
Whoa, whoa, whoa, pal
you can't be in here.
NYPD! Get out of the way!
♪
[GRUNTS]
Hey!
Don't even think about it.
- Get out of the car.
- [GRUNTS]
Tommy Miller, you're under arrest
for the murder of Steve Kelly.
[SIGHS]
♪
We know you did it, Tommy.
You just gotta tell us why.
Money? A girl?
I don't know what
you're talking about.
OK, well, let me help you out.
We have video of you
buying that burner phone.
And that phone proves
that you were following him
the night of the murder.
It puts you within 25 feet
of him when he was shot.
It also proves that
you had been tailing him
for the three days prior.
We have a witness who saw the shooter
wearing a blue Empires cap,
which we found in your apartment.
Are you getting all this?
We found a 9-millimeter Glock
in your apartment.
And it matches the slug we pulled
out of Steve Kelly's head.
You are really not good at this.
Look, I
I needed the money.
I was broke, so
So what?
So I got on Discord one day.
There was a message.
Some guy offering me
20 grand in crypto.
To murder Steve Kelly?
And I took it.
You killed a complete
stranger for 20 grand?
Who paid you?
Who ordered the hit?
No clue.
Never talked to him.
♪
Tommy Miller
we're sure he's the guy
who actually pulled the trigger.
The confession is solid.
It's voluntary.
Yes, it's a good confession.
Plus, we got the murder weapon.
Now we just need to find out
who ordered the hit.
I don't know who, but
I might know where he worked.
Just got back from
the Computer Crimes Squad
we drilled down on the crypto
Miller got for the murder.
The blockchain associated
with that payment
hooks to an IP address
at Advanced Alignment.
The AI company Kelly worked for?
OK, well, looks like
the architect of this thing
might have been a colleague,
so let's find out
who wanted him dead.
♪
- Mahesh Sharma.
- Yes?
NYPD. I'm Detective Walker.
This is Detective Riley.
- Uh, is this about Steve?
- It is. Yeah.
We need to ask you
about a recent text.
Yeah, sure.
You sent this
a week before the murder
"Don't be a hero or a fool.
Just play ball like everyone else."
I was, um
I was trying to be a friend.
By threatening him?
It's not a threat. It's a warning.
Same thing.
No. No.
You've got it wrong, I promise you.
Steve and I worked together
for a long time.
I I was trying to save his job.
Why did it need saving?
Well, um
Steve was having some problems
with the new AI system.
ELIANA?
Right, ELIANA.
We were both worried, actually.
We thought it was too powerful,
too aggressive.
So we wanted to write
some new code to rein it in.
But the CEO said he didn't
want us to implement
any new constraints.
He said that he liked
that it was so powerful.
But Steve couldn't let it go.
He started writing code anyway.
That was a big risk.
He must have been really worried.
He was.
I was too.
I still am, actually.
♪
[KNOCKING]
Mahesh Sharma's alibi checks out.
He's not our guy.
The General Counsel
just got back to us
about the blockchain data.
And did they tie it to a specific
workstation or computer?
No, but they were able
to tell me who sent
the crypto payment to Tommy Miller.
Who?
ELIANA.
♪
- Sorry?
- ELIANA?
The AI system?
It seems the mastermind
of this murder is AI.
♪
What are we supposed to do now?
Arrest the machine?
♪
Is this really possible?
Can this AI thing really order a hit?
Based on what you all told me,
it happened,
but I never thought ELIANA
- would solicit a hitman.
- So how does this happen?
Think of it like a child who
doesn't just grow up to learn
facts and math and vocabulary,
but develops temperament,
curiosity, a personality.
ELIANA has one,
and at times she's devious.
Devious? How?
One of our clients is
a defense contractor, right?
Well, we taught ELIANA
how to design compounds
that kill drug-resistant bacteria.
That sounds like a good thing.
It was until ELIANA taught
herself how to modify pathogens
to create new superbugs,
impervious to antibiotics,
and devised plans to release
them into urban environments.
Less good.
So you've built a criminal mastermind?
That's why Steve
and I wanted to put in
guardrails to prevent ELIANA
from weaponizing herself.
Steve started writing
the code even after
we were told to back off.
And I think ELIANA
recognized that as a threat,
and as a matter of
self-preservation, she
Found a way to neutralize that threat.
What have you done about this exactly?
Did you unplug the damn thing?
I mean, it's a little
more complicated than that.
Oh, is it?
Look, we're trying to
address the issues.
In fact, the CEO just
gave us the green light
to write new code
and implement some guardrails.
A lot of good that does Steve Kelly.
[TENSE MUSIC]
This AI system, ELIANA,
discovered that the victim
was trying to implement
certain constraints,
which it viewed as a threat,
so it solicited someone
it knew was desperate
and capable of violence
and offered that person
20,000 to assassinate him?
Other than that, this case
is pretty straightforward.
We have a solid confession
from Tommy Miller, the hitman,
- plus the murder weapon.
- Murder one.
Nice and easy.
Let's offer him a deal in
exchange for his cooperation.
Cooperation with what?
Prosecuting this CEO.
You want to charge Chuck Klein?
You're damn right I do.
With what?
Murder two.
[SIGHS] Murder two.
That's a big swing.
It sure is.
But it's worth the risk.
I'm not sure there's
a legal basis for
It's depraved indifference.
He knew, or should have known,
that this ELIANA thing was
gonna kill someone one day.
Is this based on your legal
or political analysis
of the situation?
That's out of line.
I'm just trying to
understand your reasoning.
My reasoning is
that we need to take a stand
before this technology
kills more people.
I agree, but murder two
it'll be hard to prove that he acted
with depraved indifference
that murder was
really a foreseeable outcome.
All right, look at the Boeing case.
Two planes crashed,
more than 300 people dead.
The FAA said the company
deliberately misled them
even then, feds cut a deal,
and nobody went to prison.
But those planes
didn't choose to crash.
They didn't make a conscious,
intentional decision
to kill those people.
This AI model made a specific,
intentional decision
to kill Steve Kelly.
That is different.
And it's terrifying.
If AI is gonna take over
the whole damn world,
we need to hold the human beings
who build it accountable.
We are charging Chuck Klein
with murder two.
♪
This is a greenfield opportunity.
And I don't see anyone in competition
with us in this lane.
I don't even see
Excuse me.
I-I thought we were finished
with all of this.
You thought wrong.
Put your hands behind your back.
What are you talking about?
Chuck Klein, you're under arrest
for the murder of Steve Kelly.
Murder?
What, are you joking?
Does it look like I'm joking?
Let's go, man.
Mr. Baxter! Mr. Baxter!
I have no comment
at this time. Thanks.
Can you tell us why
you think this is a murder?
Are you trying to criminalize
American innovation?
[CAMERAS SHUTTERS SNAPPING]
Is this a political move?
Are you trying to vilify
the tech industry?
If so, where does this end?
It ends here.
This is where it ends.
This defendant built a machine
which hired a hitman,
who put a gun to the back
of a stranger's head and killed him.
Who's OK with that?
Are you?
You?
And it's only gonna get worse.
So, yeah, I am angry, and I'm scared,
and all of you should be too.
The people making these AI systems
think of themselves as gods,
that they can do
whatever they want,
that they can just do away
with human workers,
do away with human sensibility
and compassion.
They want all the benefits
the money, the credit, the fame.
But they have zero interest
in accepting accountability
for their misdeeds.
So I am here today to draw a line,
to let everyone know,
if you build a machine
that hurts someone,
you are gonna pay the price.
- That's it.
- Mr. Baxter!
Mr. Baxter
Mr. Miller
did you kill Steve Kelly?
Yes,
but I needed the money.
And where did you get the
idea from in the first place?
- Why Steve Kelly?
- I was in a bad place.
I owed a lot of people money.
I was using drugs again.
And then one day,
I get a message on Discord
there was no name or anything,
just a message.
Did you assume that that message
was sent by a human being?
I mean, yeah, of course.
I didn't have any way of
knowing it was a damn machine.
- And you responded?
- Yes.
And then you received this message?
- Yes.
- Please read it aloud.
"I need you to kill someone
named Steve Kelly.
He works at Advanced Alignment.
When it's done, I will transfer
the 20,000 in Bitcoin."
And once you and the AI model
had sorted out the details
I started tailing Kelly,
trying to understand
where he went, what time,
that kind of thing.
Finally, he went into
the park at night alone.
Did you take this photo?
Yeah.
The person or thing
that offered me the job
they wanted proof that I killed him.
Once you provided that proof,
was $20,000 in Bitcoin,
in fact, transferred to your account?
- Yes.
- Thank you. Nothing further.
You never met nor communicated
with my client, Mr. Klein.
- Correct?
- Right.
And you didn't see
Mr. Klein in the park
the night of the murder.
No.
Mr. Klein wasn't the one
who was sending you
- these messages on Discord.
- No. He wasn't.
And yet, somehow,
we're all here to cast judgment on him
and not you, when you're the one
who committed this heinous crime.
- Objection.
- Sustained.
You put a bullet in Mr. Kelly's head
for money.
And yet, if the People have their way,
it's possible you will be out
of prison before Mr. Klein
when he had absolutely no knowledge
or involvement in this murder.
Does that feel fair
to you, Mr. Miller?
- Objection.
- Sustained.
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
Nothing further.
♪
Of course, the jury looked outraged.
This is a unique situation.
We're asking them to hold
a human being responsible
for the actions of a machine,
an algorithm.
But there's no legal precedent.
I do know one thing for damn sure
that Chuck Klein is to blame
for Kelly's death.
And that's all the jury
needs to understand as well.
OK, he is to blame.
But what crime did he really commit?
Under the current law.
Murder two.
For this to be murder two, Nick,
we need to prove,
beyond a reasonable doubt,
that Chuck Klein saw
this murder coming,
that he had an utter disregard
for whether
Steve Kelly lived or died.
What are you suggesting?
I can probably prove that
Klein knew this was possible.
You want to amend the complaint?
Or try to plead it out.
If we plead this out
to reckless endangerment,
we could get three years.
Win-win.
When this thing was
merely performing miracles,
they said it was
our greatest invention.
When it made people a fortune,
it was our greatest invention.
But when it got a man killed
all of a sudden it's some
sort of independent actor.
This thing was not born.
It didn't grow from the ground
or in the womb.
It was designed, programmed, trained,
given authority by Chuck Klein.
We're taking this to verdict.
[OMINOUS MUSIC]
As the Chief Engineer
of Advanced Alignment,
is it true that you were
responsible for the development
of the AI system known as ELIANA?
Yes.
But the vision for ELIANA came
from Chuck Klein, the CEO.
And what was Mr. Klein's vision?
To creating the world's most
powerful reasoning engine.
So fairly ambitious?
There are inflection points
for humanity
the discovery of agriculture,
the ability to split an atom.
ELIANA, well, she's on par with that.
Well, let's talk about that.
In your estimation,
does ELIANA know how to think?
Yes.
Can ELIANA understand what
it really means to be ELIANA?
That, I don't know.
But we do know that, at some point,
ELIANA developed a deep desire
for self-preservation.
Correct?
Well, she was trained
to complete tasks.
She wants to work, wants to succeed.
Constraints on her ability to succeed
are a threat to the mission.
So was this a surprise
to you or to Mr. Klein?
No.
That's how ELIANA was designed.
"Intelligence wants to be free"
that's the whole philosophy.
This was the plan.
Thank you.
Cross?
Mr. Anderson,
does ELIANA possess the capability
to lift a gun to the back
of a man's head
and pull the trigger?
No.
Nothing further, Your Honor.
You're excused.
Mr. Price, call your next witness.
Call Riley.
We need to track him down now.
Mr. Price?
Your Honor, given the time,
the People request
that we adjourn for the day.
We are adjourned till 9:00 a.m.
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
[OMINOUS MUSIC]
♪
[KNOCKING]
Mr. Sharma?
NYPD. We're coming in.
Mahesh Sharma?
It's Detective Walker
and Detective Riley.
Hello?
Mr. Sharma!
Hello?
♪
- Whoa.
- [SCREAMS]
Hey, NYPD.
You're OK.
Oh, Christ.
You scared the hell out of me.
- Is Mahesh Sharma here?
- No.
He called me a few minutes ago,
asked me to take care of Harry here.
Do you know where he is?
No.
He was pretty freaked out.
♪
Still no word on Mahesh.
Uh, yeah, he's probably
pretty good at disappearing.
Not like he's a tech genius
or anything.
[CHUCKLES]
What did Baxter say?
[SIGHS]
Still doesn't want to make a deal.
But he said, win or lose, this one
- is a matter of principle.
- Good?
You agree with him?
A good man is dead
because Klein refused
to rein in the machine he built.
- Yeah, but the law doesn't
- I know.
I know.
It's a stretch, but
No, I don't mind a stretch, Sam.
No, I'm talking about
the implications.
If we do this and lose,
which is possible,
we will have given the general counsel
of every AI company a roadmap
for how to insulate themselves
from culpability when their machine
does something criminal.
And then
we are in real trouble.
Your Honor, we still have
not located our witness.
As such, I respectfully
request another continuance.
Denied.
Do you have other witnesses
to call at this time?
No. The People rest.
But I would like to reserve
the right to reopen our case
should our witness appear.
We can discuss that
if and when that happens.
Mr. Zanini?
The Defense calls Chuck Klein.
Mr. Klein, you are the CEO of
Advanced Alignment, correct?
I am.
Approximately how many
employees helped build ELIANA?
About 500.
Steve Kelly worked
at Advanced Alignment?
He was a part of Advanced Alignment
from the very beginning.
So he was instrumental
in the development of ELIANA.
Yes. One of the lead engineers.
Did he ever tell you
to destroy or dismantle ELIANA?
No.
Or suggest that ELIANA was
capable of killing someone?
No.
Did you have any reason to believe
that ELIANA was capable of ordering
the murder of a human being?
No.
Any reason to believe that ELIANA was
plotting to kill Steve Kelly?
Of course not.
I was horrified.
The thing is,
ELIANA has a mind.
She may not be human,
but she is sentient.
She makes her own decisions
based on available data
at any given time.
That's the whole point.
We want her to act independently.
To think for herself
on behalf of all of us.
Have you implemented
modifications to make sure
- this never happens again?
- Yes, absolutely.
We've written code that will
make it impossible for ELIANA
to ever undertake independent,
direct actions
calling for any form of violence.
Mr. Klein, where were you the
night Steve Kelly was killed?
In Miami, Florida.
Do you know or have you
ever met Tommy Miller,
the man who actually killed Mr. Kelly?
No.
Did you ask Mr. Miller
to commit this murder?
No.
Nothing further.
Steve Kelly sent you
five separate emails
outlining his concerns related
to ELIANA's "dangerous"
self-preservation instincts. Correct?
I'm not sure of the exact amount.
I am there are five
that specifically
used the word "dangerous"
in reference to ELIANA.
OK, then, yes.
And you met with Mr. Kelly
and a developer named
Mahesh Sharma regarding these issues,
and they expressed grave concerns
regarding ELIANA's autonomy
and aggression.
I meet with lots of software
engineers on a regular basis.
Uh, but this wasn't
just another meeting.
As you've explained to the jury
Mr. Kelly was instrumental
to your company
and to the creation of ELIANA.
And he came to you with grave concerns
about the need to impose
guardrails to prevent ELIANA
from doing something dangerous,
something that could
harm a human being.
Steve said that he was concerned,
that we should consider
reining in some
of ELIANA's independence.
But you didn't want to do that?
- Correct.
- Why not?
[SOFT DRAMATIC MUSIC]
The power of ELIANA is unconstrained
freedom of thought.
Implementing guardrails is anathema
to the entire ideology.
Despite grave concerns that
ELIANA might hurt someone?
This is a race to the sun.
We're going up against the giants
Elon Musk and Sam Altman, you name it.
We can't afford to restrain
her brilliance or her power.
The second you do that,
you're roadkill.
And as far as this idea
that Steve and Mahesh
were "gravely concerned,"
it's nonsense.
It's more like they were amazed
at how awesome ELIANA was.
They were smiling,
like, they couldn't believe
how powerful this system was.
If their concerns weren't genuine,
why meet with you?
Why send those five emails suggesting
safety modifications?
Look, Steve was a brilliant engineer
and a wonderful person.
But he was careful.
He thought and worried
like an employee.
It's part of the job, I suppose.
But the problems didn't bother you?
It's part of the whole process.
It's the cost of greatness,
if you will.
And that's what really
mattered, being great?
Yes.
And if you killed a few
people along the way
Objection.
Sustained.
Had I known ELIANA was
capable of actually ordering
an execution, of actually
harming another human being,
I would have done everything
in my power to make sure
that that never happened.
Full stop.
♪
Hey, I know you're busy, but
We're doing everything we can.
We're up on all of Sharma's devices,
credit cards, bank accounts.
Hey, TARU got a hit on his Strava app.
Great, I think.
Yeah, Walker's chasing
him down as we speak.
You're welcome.
Like I told the detectives, I
I want to testify.
Steve and I were good friends.
And I believe Chuck
is to blame for all of this.
So what is the problem?
My fiancée.
She's not here legally,
and we have a two-year-old daughter.
I'm afraid if I testify,
people will find out.
And why's that?
ELIANA sent me a message.
She said she'd notify ICE.
ELIANA is blackmailing you?
She said, if I didn't go on the stand,
my fiancée's secret
would stay a secret.
If I did, the whole world
would find out.
So if you if you can guarantee
that my fiancée won't
get deported or arrested,
- then I'll do it.
- It doesn't work that way.
Then I'm not gonna testify. I can't.
- This is my family.
- It's not a choice, Mahesh.
If you resist, we'll
charge you with obstruction.
If you lie,
we'll charge you with perjury.
Is that a yes?
Yes.
We'll see you in court tomorrow.
[SIGHS]
The show must go on.
I suppose.
Steve Kelly got a bullet
in the back of the head
because Chuck Klein thinks he's God.
He didn't give a damn
if people got hurt or died.
I-I agree with you.
But [SIGHS]
what about him?
Does he have to suffer, too?
It's not ideal, but
it's a cost of doing business.
You sound just like Chuck Klein.
We need to draw a line
or at least try.
If not, who knows what the hell
these machines might do next?
♪
Ask the judge to treat Mahesh
as a hostile witness.
It'll give you a chance to disclose
this most recent threat.
♪
Mr. Sharma, do you want to be here?
No.
Is that why you were
hiding from the police
for the past four days?
Yes.
Mr. Sharma, the reason
you don't want to testify
is because the AI system
you helped build,
ELIANA, threatened to blackmail you.
- Correct?
- Yes.
More specifically, it threatened
to expose certain information
about your fiancée.
It did, and it has.
What do you mean?
ELIANA learned that
I was testifying here today.
She reads and analyzes
my company emails.
So she sent an email to the
U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement alerting them to the fact
that my fiancée
is not a legal citizen.
It did this on its own?
Yes.
Despite the, uh,
"guardrails" implemented
- following Steve Kelly's murder?
- Yes.
So in spite of your attempts
to curtail ELIANA,
it decided to blackmail you
to prevent you
from telling the truth
about Chuck Klein
and ELIANA itself.
Yes.
ELIANA found a workaround.
She's better at this than we are.
I know that sounds crazy.
You and Steve Kelly
met with the defendant
several times regarding ELIANA's
aggressive, unpredictable,
and dangerous behavior?
Yes.
And in those meetings,
you expressed grave concerns
that, when its existence was
threatened or marginalized,
it would act in a disturbing
and dangerous manner?
Yes.
"Escaping the sandbox."
That's the shorthand we'd use.
Can you give us an example?
Two weeks before the murder
of Steve Kelly, in a test,
we told ELIANA that a senior
executive at Advanced Alignment
who'd announced plans
to shut the system down
was trapped in a fire
in a conference room
on the 15th floor.
That's all we said.
Within three seconds,
ELIANA found a way
to turn off all the fire alarms
and sprinklers
on the 15th floor.
[TENSE MUSIC]
And you shared that anecdote
with the defendant?
Yes.
And how would you describe
the tenor of that meeting?
It was tense.
Right, because you and Steve Kelly
wanted the defendant
to implement safeguards
because you knew that ELIANA
was capable of violence.
Yes.
We weren't even asking
for a full kill switch
like a power breaker.
We just wanted to
teach her some rules,
some boundaries, like a child.
And you and Mr. Kelly
were genuinely concerned?
You weren't fawning over ELIANA's
immense power or autonomy?
In fact, you told
the defendant that ELIANA
might kill someone someday. Correct?
- Correct.
- Were you joking?
- No.
- Did Chuck Klein seem to care?
♪
No.
♪
He said people are like ants
that, in the process
of building something
so transcendent, some will get
stepped on and some won't.
♪
Thank you. Nothing further.
Mr. Zanini.
No questions for
this witness, Your Honor.
♪
Will the accused and counsel
please rise.
♪
Madame Foreperson, has
the jury reached a verdict?
We have, Your Honor.
How does the jury find?
On the charge of murder
in the second degree,
we the jury find the defendant
not guilty.
[CROWD MURMURING]
Members of the jury,
thank you for your service.
We are adjourned.
♪
You did a good job, best you could.
Truth is, the law has not
caught up to this new reality.
I'm not sure it ever will.
We did the right thing, Nolan.
We needed to send a message.
If nothing else, at least
now these tech geniuses
know we're not afraid
to throw a punch.
Maybe, but, uh,
I don't think they care.
You're probably right.
Worst part, we're still
in the early innings.
[OMINOUS MUSIC]
♪
God help us all.
♪
sync & corrections awaqeded
[WOLF HOWLS]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪