Does Pluribus Episode 3 deal with AI? Details revisited

Pluribus isn't about AI. Okay, whatever you say, Vince, but it’ll take a lot to convince us. The sci-fi show on Apple TV has made quite a buzz since the day it started streaming. It's good to see a fresh story that's about happiness, which isn't making the show's protagonist, Carol Sturka (Rhea Seehorn), comfortable.

It is down to eight episodes now, and the final one is due on December 24, 2025. That's just a day before Christmas. And a writer's room for season two has already been set up. There are so many questions surrounding the show that a follow-up season is likely to answer.

However, there's still the question of the show dealing with AI. Or, is it about AI? Again, we believe you, Vince. But then episode 3 of Pluribus was telling us something else. The hive mind was trying to please Carol. And it didn't know its limits, it seems, because it handed her a grenade. And then? Boom! Zosia was seen in a hospital next.

The hive mind in Pluribus Episode 3 acted exactly as an AI bot would

Artificial intelligence doesn't really know what it's doing. It's doing whatever it thinks 'can help' people. In the case of Vince Gilligan’s show, it's doing whatever it thinks can make Carol happy.

Take the Sprouts scene, for example. When she visits the store, she finds every single shelf empty. That's because the hive mind is trying to preserve things as best they can while redistributing supplies to people outside the hive mind who need them.

However, Carol doesn't want all that stuff. She just wants to live a regular life, which is impossible at this point in the show, so she calls them and tells them to return everything to Sprouts. And within just a few minutes, you'll see a fleet of worker bees, acting like machines, restoring life to the store.

Though it's a brief moment in Pluribus, Carol seems to be satisfied as she shops. If you'll look at this closely, it's terrifying. Because the AI, I mean, the 'hive mind,' just created an illusion for her that made her happy. And now the 'hive mind' is happy.

Algorithm is pleased!

And look at it trying to be a Sherlock Holmes

AI wants to solve problems. But to solve a problem, it needs a problem. Now, whatever is fed to it, it comes up with something. Like if you ask a certain thing to an AI bot, it'll 'think' and give you an answer based on its data.

In Pluribus Episode 3, this same thing happens just before the grenade goes off in Carol's home. When they are talking, Zosia explains to Carol that the 'hive mind' is trying to save her by finding a way for her to join it. She says,

"If you were walking by a lake and you saw somebody drowning, would you throw them a life preserver?"

Not just this, Zosia implies that Carol is drowning. She "just don’t know it."

Do you see what's happening there? The 'hive mind' just tried to go into Sherlock Holmes mode based on the data it witnessed in Carol's life.

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What do you think about this? Does this Pluribus episode deal with AI? Do tell us in the comments.

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