The ON Button
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- May 27
- 3 min read
FADE IN
Act 1
INT. BEDROOM - 09:30
Thin grey light filters through linen curtains. PETER, sits upright against two pillows. He holds his phone. Scrolling.
On the screen, a shared article.
PETER (V.O.): It's from my academic friend.
Peter taps the screen. Zooms in. Reads the headline.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Jagged intelligence?
Peter researches on jagged intelligence with his phone.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Why AI fails in spectacularly small ways?
Peter researches on examples.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): LLMs will insists "barrier" contains only two R's. And when asked to compare 9.11 and 9.9, 9.11 is larger.
He laughs.
Act 2
FLASHBACK
INT - ESTATE CAR PARK - 09:15 (Sunday)
Peter sits in the driver seat of his 2002 Mercedes.
PETER (V.O.): Yesterday, the car ran a computer diagnostic test, but the radio stayed on.
Peter stares at the control panel.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I pressed a button and the noise stopped. I wasn't sure, though, I had turned the radio off.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Because the radio draws power. I came back this morning to check again.
Peter presses the MUTE button - the noise comes back immediately.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): OMG, I hadn't shut it off. I'd only muted it!
Peter inserts the key. The engine starts. He looks relieved.
INT. FAT BOY AUTO-REPAIR - 13:15
Peter stands beside his Mercedes. He talks to FAT BOY.
PETER: I drove here for an emergency check. Reset the audio system to factory settings. You said that would fix it.
FAT BOY: Yes, I checked with AI.
Fat boy disconnects the negative cable from the main battery under the rear hood.
PETER: We need to wait 10-15 minutes before connecting the cable. Right? I also checked with AI.
Fat boy nods. Later, the cable is reconnected, and they immediately get into the car to check the radio.
But the radio is still on. Peter presses the "AUTO" button on the upper control panel. The air-conditioning comes on.
FAT BOY: Not that one.
Fat boy presses every button on the control panel, and eventually, one shuts the radio.
They stare at the button it's the power (ON) button on the lower control panel.
PETER: Oh...
PETER (V.O.): The most obvious button is the one I never press - because I never see it.
INT. ESTATE CAR PARK - 14:30
Peter parks his Mercedes. Engine off. Key in his hand. He presses the audio ON button. The radio blares. He presses again. Off.
RETURN TO PRESENT
Peter re-reads the article:...AI can be as stupid and dull as a pig (蠢純如豬)...
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But 純 means pure. Dull should be 鈍.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): My friend writes about jagged intelligence - human oversight in AI . Then makes a human oversight in the same para.
Peter smiles.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The AI miscounts two R's. I miss a button on my car's control panel. Both are certain they're right.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Self-knowledge isn't knowing where all the buttons are. It's admitting I might have missed one.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I don't fear the button I can't find. I fear the button that's been there for 23 years - right in front of me.
Act 3
INT. BEDROOM - 21:15
Peter uploads an image to a draft on his laptop. It shows a car dashboard with a circular grey ON power button in the lower-left control panel.
PETER (V.O.): Confidence is the ON button for error. The harder I press, the louder the mistake.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I laugh at the machine that thinks 9.11 is larger than 9.9. But I drove to a mechanic because a radio wouldn't turn off. Same jagged intelligence. Different name.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I know that I know - is just that: an illusion.
The END
FADE OUT
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