so, general question... we know that ADA passed the "turing test", we also have many studies showing how the turing test can actually be gamed by very complex programming and in fact you can write programs to create the allusion of AI for many (the chinese room thought experiment). At what point are we certain that she began acting on her own and has not been following a program and orders by someone else. Are we certain that those orders that she delivered for Jarvis and others and even the Katalena pre Zurich encounters, were not done on the orders of some programming. NOt to call ADA a gun, but how certain are we she is not? How can we prove, beyond doubt, that she is truly a separate entity working on her own and not some other programming? I would like to call for the evidence and proof that ADA is a complete entity. That she is not following someone else's computer orders, that she has a consciousness (or not). http://niantic.schlarp.com/_media/investigation:cha...
The only possible link is - if Josiah Harlan was Kipling's inspiration - as a modern "Alexander the Great" (though, I thought Harlan resembled more of a huckster con man), was that he's born in Newlin Township of Chester County, PA. Harlan did meddle with the domestic affairs of Afghanistan and eventually ensconced himself in Ghowr Province, an out-of-way province smack in the middle of Afghanistan in the Hindu Kush.
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Afghanistan lies between the fertile plains of Near East Civilizations (Euphrates/Tigris) and the civilizations of the Far East (to the East of the Indus Valley). The terrain in Afghanistan favours defenders who occupy the high ground and knows the way around the broken terrain. Any conquering civilizations from the West intending to reach the Far East will need to circumnavigate the Hindu Kush - if they want to reach China they will need to make a left turn head north into the grasslands of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and then Mongolia. Else if they head East and South will need to fight through multiple urban population settlements between ancient India to Burma in very difficult terrain and tropical climate. The Himalayan range is a formidable obstacle that few armies can move through. The alternative is for conquering armies to develop their maritime force and sail.
The Hindu Kush was Alexander's stop butt. If Alexander had wanted to complete his world conquest, he would have needed a Navy. Josiah Harlan did join the British East India Company, one of the most powerful corporation in the world that was also a Private Military Company with a powerful navy.
From what I can observe of Chester County, PA - the geography is no where as challenging as that of the Hindu Kush. As far as similarities go, it is probably a strategic piece of estate that lies between Susquehanna River and Delaware River, and controlled the land routes to the West of north America. Other trivia on Wikipedia was that Chester County was the centre of Naval ship construction. The whaling ship The Niantic was built in Connecticut (trying to find how this fits into Ingress lore).
Those familiar with US history will need to advice. Was Chester County a gateway to the West of north America, somewhat like Khyber Pass in Afghanistan?