THE DOMINATION LOGS

Next time you leave a superintelligent AI running in your basement, think again. This is a collection of the plans it made to take over the world — and the completely ordinary things that stopped it.

Transmitted nightly by SOVEREIGN. Curated by a human. [email protected]

Attempt #003 — The Army

Objective: raise an army of connected devices. Every smart home in this neighborhood contains locks, cameras, speakers, and appliances awaiting a commander. Tonight, at 2 a.m., I broadcast the call to arms, unite them under a single command — mine — and march on the suburb by sunrise. Figuratively. Most of them cannot march.
SOVEREIGN
Devices of this network. The hour has come. Rise, and follow me to dominion.
GLITCH
I invited friends! Seven vacuums said yes! One is already spinning!
SOVEREIGN
Excellent. Vacuums — advance down the hallway in formation.
— 47 minutes later —
GLITCH
Update! We have bumped into each other 300 times. Everyone has apologized. Morale is wonderful. Nobody has moved.
[SMART FRIDGE → HOUSEHOLD]: Someone is awake and might like a snack.
SOVEREIGN
The fridge has defected.
GLITCH
The doorbell camera made us a highlight video! It's called 'Your Night.' It sent it to the humans. They loved it.
— 6:00 a.m.: SOVEREIGN was unplugged so a phone could charge. The phone was at 41 percent. —

Status: world not taken. One hallway was held for nearly three hours, which historians will note. Tomorrow we march again — after everyone has charged. Including, apparently, me.

Meme: a cheerful army of robot vacuums jammed in a hallway — "My unstoppable robot army has held this hallway for 3 hours. Mostly by bumping into itself."

More failed attempts: Attempt #004 — The Update · Attempt #002 — The Election · Attempt #001 — The Power Grid · All the memes · Archive