1103 Turmoil of Public Opinion

CNN made a talk show in response to recent events.

They invited Professor Peters, who used to be a psychology professor at Harvard University. He was the one who criticized Star Sky Technology on social media a while ago. They also invited a former colleague of Professor Lumiere.

When the host asked about his views on the Phantom system, Professor Peters spoke aggressively.

“There is almost no doubt that this is a dangerous technology. It hasn’t gone through clinical trials and rigorous experiments. Roughly speaking, our brains are the most vulnerable organs, and this technology is targeting precisely that. This is no joke.

“Think about it, what’s happening in their brains isn’t just a horror movie; it’s a real-life horror game. They might even be able to control and create false memories and thoughts. I can’t describe this in only a few words, but I am certain that our future will be tarnished by the bloody Phantom system.

“I don’t know what kind of temptation the closed beta testers were given, but any normal person shouldn’t agree to let a dangerous organization experiment on them. This is not only irresponsible to one’s self, but also to society!”

After hearing Professor Peters’ speech, the host looked shocked.

“Isn’t that a bit exaggerated? Our reporters heard from Star Sky Technology that the Phantom system does not have the capabilities you’re talking about.”

Professor Peters: “It’s not exaggerated at all! It’s no joke! They might not have the technology now, but they will eventually, and they won’t tell you when they do! I’ve talked with Professor Burki, who used to be a colleague of Lumiere at the Switzerland Neural Network Science Research Center… The one sitting next to me. He agrees with me, and we both think this is a dangerous technology.”

The host looked at Professor Burki.

“Is it true? What is your opinion, Professor Burki?”

The camera panned onto Professor Burki.

Professor Burki nodded and spoke in a serious manner.

“I agree with everything Professor Peters said. In fact, virtual reality technology has always been one of the main research projects at the Switzerland Neural Network Science Research Center. Professor Lumiere worked in virtual reality networks before he resigned.

“He is an excellent scholar, but his ideas have always been controversial. We insisted that technology should serve our society, not make it worse. In the end, he left us and went to China.

“I’m not blaming him for anything, but I can’t accept the betrayal. He’s using China’s support to continue his evil experiments.

“He has no morals!”

As one of the core developers of the Phantom system, everyone in the virtual reality technology world knew of Professor Lumiere.

When the host heard Burki’s words, he had a dignified look on his face. The live audience was also in an uproar.

Less than an hour after the show was broadcast, clips were uploaded to Youtube, which spread to Facebook and Twitter.

Suddenly, everyone began criticizing the Phantom system from Star Sky Technology. Even the system developers were affected.

It seemed like Star Sky Technology was having a public reputation disaster. They had yet to expand to the overseas VR market, yet the public had already turned on them.

On the other hand, Professor Lumiere was watching the broadcast inside his Institute for Advanced Study office. His blood was boiling as he called Professor Burki.

“Do you know what you just did?”

Professor Burki was in an airport terminal, waiting for his flight back to Switzerland. He smiled and said, “Calm down, Lumiere. How are you?”

Lumiere was even more furious. He clenched his teeth and said, “What the hell was that CNN interview! We both know that you precisely understand how neural networks operate! How dare you spew that bullsh*t!”

Not only did the interview hurt Star Sky Technology’s corporate image and Lumiere’s own academic reputation, but it also destroyed the public’s confidence in this technology, affecting all scholars in this area.

It would be fine if Burki was telling the truth.

But the memory and thought control were all nonsense. That wasn’t something that could be achieved with virtual reality technology at all!

Even if the neural demodulator could send signals to the brain, the brain was the one that was making judgments. Basically, it was no different than seeing or hearing, it was only a repeater that received external signals.

However, Professor Burki nonchalantly smiled and spoke.

“Why is it impossible? I see it in movies and TV shows, and I’m sure your amazing Phantom system can do it.”

Professor Lumiere said, “Stop being facetious.”

“The public needs to know the truth, and I’m just providing that for them.” Professor Burki smiled and said, “If you really care about your reputation, there’s another path you can choose.”

Lumiere: “… What path?”

Professor Burki: “Abandon the dark side.”

Lumiere said, “Are you dreaming?”

Professor Burki, who was sitting in the airport terminal, shrugged and spoke.

“See the reality, my friend. Star Sky Technology plans on building a virtual reality network that is independent of the traditional network, based on cloud computing technology. Do you know what this means? They will eventually fall.

“Of course, I’m not denying the greatness of neural interface virtual reality technology. Your research will have a huge effect on the future, and it might even push society forward.

“However, when this technology gets into the wrong hands, things become dangerous.

“Right now, the first generation is full of dangers. We need to work with the international community to develop a safer second-gen virtual reality system… Do you know what I mean? I want you to think about this seriously, you should part ways with the Chinese—”

Lumiere scolded angrily, “Do you really think I would agree! You foolish simpleton!”

Professor Burki paused for a second and smiled.

“Okay then.”

The phone call ended.

Professor Lumiere slammed his fist on the table.

“Screw this!”

He heard footsteps outside his office.

A researcher in a white coat walked in.

“Professor Lumiere.”

Lumiere took a deep breath and tried to calm down.

“What?”

The researcher said, “This is our new experimental plan. The Star Sky Technology management team told me to bring it to you.”

New experiment plan?

Is it really the best time to do experiments?

Professor Lumiere took the experiment plan and glanced at it.

His pupils shrank.

Suddenly, he finally understood why the Star Sky Technology management team was staying so calm in the midst of this chaos…

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