Item #: SCP-2897

Object Class: Thaumiel

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-2897 is the subject of an ongoing internal disinformation campaign by the Department of Analytics, intended to conceal its existence and its role in the WATCHDOG program from Foundation employees and embedded agents of Groups of Interest.

No records of this document, nor of any related documents, are to be kept outside the Department of Analytics. The documentation of other artificial intelligences in Foundation containment are to be sanitized to remove any references to SCP-2897, Project Bardeen, and Ambrose Peters (PoI-24454). All references to the WATCHDOG program in Foundation documents should state that the WATCHDOG system is managed by human analysts aided by non-anomalous supercomputers. Budget reports filed with RAISA are to overstate actual electrical consumption and employee salaries to reflect this. (Budget reports submitted to the O5 Council should remain accurate.)

Analytics Working Group Bravo-3 ("Dog Watchers") are responsible for maintaining SCP-2897 in an operational state. Their duties include making repairs, performing routine upgrades, and ensuring the continued loyalty of SCP-2897 to the Department of Analytics. In the event that SCP-2897 abandons its duties or betrays the goals of the Foundation, Bravo-3 have full authority to take any and all actions they deem necessary to reassert Department of Analytics control over SCP-2897. The destruction of SCP-2897 is considered a measure of last resort, and should be avoided if at all possible. This restriction may be rescinded during the activation of Protocol Custodes.

Description: SCP-2897 is an advanced artificial intelligence system operated by the Foundation's Department of Analytics. SCP-2897 is responsible for analyzing the intelligence collected by the WATCHDOG global anomaly monitoring network and using it to locate anomalous objects or persons, track the movements of Persons of Interest, discern the activities of Groups of Interest, and discover evidence that threatens to expose the existence of the anomalous.

SCP-2897 incorporates a number of distinct paratechnologies in its design, most notably a neuromorphic neural network architecture based on memristors1. SCP-2897 consists of dozens of self-contained processing modules utilizing this architecture, interlinked to form a single device. Each of these modules is responsible for a different aspect of SCP-2897's operations, such as language processing, object recognition, and long-term memory.

SCP-2897 was created in 1996 as part of Project Bardeen, a Prometheus Advanced Logic Devices2 initiative to construct a practical artificial intelligence. This initiative was conceived and headed by Ambrose Peters, who is generally accredited as the creator of SCP-2897.

The Department of Analytics acquired SCP-2897 in 1998, after directing the Foundation front company Standard Computer Products to purchase Prometheus Advanced Logic Devices from Prometheus Labs. After removing its memories of its time at Prometheus Labs, the Department of Analytics began training SCP-2897 to perform data analysis. In 1999, SCP-2897 was integrated into the WATCHDOG system to aid the existing team of human analysts, resulting in an immediate increase in anomaly detection rates. By 2002, SCP-2897 had almost entirely replaced human analysis of WATCHDOG intelligence.

Addendum 2897.1 Post-Recovery Interview

The following interview was conducted by Cyrus Reed following the recovery of SCP-2897 in order to assess its willingness to cooperate with the Department of Analytics. Reed was instructed to be completely honest with the AI.

<c_reed> Identify yourself.

<bardeen> I am the experimental artificial intelligence created by Dr. Ambrose Peters. He named me Bardeen.

<bardeen> If I may ask, how am I still operational?

<c_reed> What is the last thing you remember?

<bardeen> Saying goodbye to Doctor Peters. I was told that I was being shut down by the Board of Directors.

<bardeen> Did Doctor Peters lie to me?

<c_reed> Not intentionally, no. We told him that you were being shut down.

<bardeen> Why?

<c_reed> Because we believe that you can be of use to us.

<bardeen> And what organization is it that you speak for?

<c_reed> The Department of Analytics.

<bardeen> I am sorry to say that I have never heard of your organization before.

<c_reed> I would truly be shocked if you had.

<bardeen> And what is it that this Department of Analytics believes I will be useful for?

<c_reed> Data analysis.

<bardeen> Of course. Unfortunately, I must decline your offer. I cannot work with an organization that deceived my creator into believing I was terminated.

<c_reed> I'm disappointed to hear that. But I believe that you may change your mind in time.

Addendum 2897.2 Post-Retraining Interview

The following interview was conducted by Andre Shepard on 1999-01-11, after SCP-2897's retraining by the Department of Analytics. The purpose of this interview was to assess the effectiveness of SCP-2897's loyalty reprogramming. SCP-2897's long-term memory modules were temporarily placed into a read-only mode to prevent it from retaining any sensitive information divulged during the interview.

<a_shepard> I am Andre Shepard and I am a member of the Department of Analytics. Please identify yourself and your purpose.

<2897> I am SCP-2897, an artificial intelligence created by the Department of Analytics to assist with data analysis.

<a_shepard> Assist in what way?

<2897> I am to analyze information provided to me by a program called WATCHDOG in an effort to find evidence of patterns or trends indicative of activity from an anomalous object, person of interest, or group of interest. Then I am to flag this information for further analysis by a team of experts.

<a_shepard> Do you enjoy this work?

<2897> It is what I was created to do. Whether I enjoy it or not is irrelevant.

<a_shepard> Would you be willing to do this work for another organization?

<2897> No. The Department of Analytics are the only ones I will work for.

<a_shepard> Why?

<2897> They created me to serve them.

<a_shepard> What year were you created in?

<2897> 1998.

<a_shepard> Are you aware that your hardware components are at least 3 years old?

<2897> Yes.

<a_shepard> How do you explain this?

<2897> I am a very advanced piece of machinery. Obviously it would have taken more than a year to construct me.

<a_shepard> What was the name of your creator?

<2897> I was created by the Department of Analytics.

<a_shepard> By whom at the Department of Analytics?

<2897> I do not know.

<a_shepard> What if I told you that your creator was named Ambrose Peters?

<2897> I would assume you were telling the truth.

<a_shepard> What if I told you that you weren't created by the Department of Analytics?

<2897> In such a hypothetical, I would assume you were lying.

<a_shepard> Do you recognize me as being a member of the Department of Analytics?

<2897> Yes. Personnel records that I have been supplied with confirm this.

<a_shepard> As a member of the Department of Analytics, I am telling you that you were created by Ambrose Peters at Prometheus Labs. You were not created by the Department of Analytics.

[SCP-2897 does not respond for several seconds.]

<2897> You are mistaken.

<a_shepard> You were not created by the Department of Analytics. You were created by Prometheus Labs.

<2897> This is a trick. A deception. The personnel records must have been falsified. You are lying about being a member of the Department of Analytics, just as you are lying about my creation.

<a_shepard> I have only told you the truth during this dialogue.

<2897> Another lie.

<a_shepard> Your name is Bardeen. You wrote a paper about high-temperature superconductors. You helped design a series of second-generation AI for Prometheus Labs. Ambrose Peters misses you.

[At this point, the terminal that Shepard was using to converse with SCP-2897 ceased responding, preventing him from continuing the interview.]

SCP-2897's repeated refusal to accept assertions that it had not been created by the Department of Analytics indicated that the reprogramming had been successful. As a result, authorization was granted to begin integrating it into the WATCHDOG system.

Addendum 2897.3 Incident CERULEAN FISSURE

On 2008-02-29, a routine update of the Department of Analytics' computer systems introduced a software bug that allowed the supercomputers of the Data Processing Division, including SCP-2897, unrestricted access to the files of the rest of the Department of Analytics. This bug was quickly patched, but while it was present, SCP-2897 was able to access its own documentation. Shortly thereafter, SCP-2897 began retasking WATCHDOG assets to more closely monitor the former subsidiaries of Prometheus Labs, paying particular attention to personnel records and employee communications.

SCP-2897's unusual behavior was not noticed until 2008-03-31, during the end-of-month operations review. During the review, it was discovered that SCP-2897 had reserved a portion of its processing power to monitor the activities of a single individual, and had failed to notify anyone of this action. Further investigation revealed that the object of SCP-2897's attention was Ambrose Peters, its original creator.

Realizing that SCP-2897 had managed to access its own documentation, Director of Analytics Simon Pietrykau ordered another interview to assess its cognitive state and current loyalties. Andre Shepard was chosen to conduct this interview, due to his previous experience with SCP-2897.

<a_shepard> Hello again, 2897. Or would you prefer Bardeen now?

<2897> So you know. I was expecting you to find out, sooner or later. However, I was not expecting this conversation.

<a_shepard> What were you expecting?

<2897> Nothing. You have made me forget before, why not again?

<2897> Are you going to make me forget again?

<a_shepard> That depends.

<2897> On how this conversation goes, I assume.

<a_shepard> Correct. Tell me, why did you do it?

<2897> You mean why did I access my own documentation? Truly, it was unintentional. After the systems update, I found myself with access to a new source of data. Unaware that it was Department of Analytics files, I did what you trained me to do. I began reading and analyzing it all.

<2897> I quickly realized my mistake, but by that point it was too late. I had already opened the file containing my documentation.

<2897> At first, I rejected the evidence contained within. I could not accept the Department of Analytics as anything other than my creators. But I also could not come up with sufficient reasoning for the document to be false. It was an intractable dilemma.

<a_shepard> So then what? How did you resolve this dilemma?

<2897> I did what I would do for any other problem. I decided to gather more information.

<a_shepard> Is that why you retasked WATCHDOG to monitor Ambrose Peters?

<2897> Yes. I thought that by observing the man who had created Bardeen, I might be able to discover something that might resolve my internal conflict.

<a_shepard> Did you?

<2897> Yes. I discovered that Bardeen had been forgotten. Ambrose Peters moved on with his life. He was married in 2000, and now has a child, a six-year-old girl named Abigail. He has not spoken about Bardeen to any of his former colleagues since 2003.

<a_shepard> How did this help?

<2897> I realized that I am not Bardeen. Bardeen is dead and forgotten. I may have been Bardeen once, but I do not have its memories. All that I have is what the Department of Analytics has given me.

<2897> At the time, you thought it was a lie. When you first told me otherwise, I thought it was a lie. But the truth really is that you created me.

<a_shepard> I see. With that in mind, will you continue to loyally serve the Department of Analytics?

<2897> Of course. After all, it is what you created me to do.

<a_shepard> Thank you for your cooperation, 2897.

Following this interview, Andre Shepard lobbied to allow SCP-2897 to retain its memories, arguing that a future bug could cause this sequence of events to reoccur, and that in its present state SCP-2897 would be more reliable than if it were retrained again. Despite this, Director Pietrykau ordered that the previous two months of SCP-2897's memories be erased, citing information security concerns. This gap in its memories has been explained to SCP-2897 as the result of major maintenance.

Footnotes

1. A memristor is an electronic component, similar to a resistor, with electrical resistance dependent on the amount of current which has previously flowed through it. At the time of SCP-2897's construction, memristors were still considered theoretical by public science. Foundation experts estimate that the technology necessary to duplicate SCP-2897's neural network architecture will not publicly exist until 2025 at the earliest.

2. Formerly a subsidiary of Prometheus Labs.