About the 1984 AI Olympics

Confidential. For party members only.

Late in the twentieth century, construction in and around the Technology Square area in Cambridge, Massachusetts, caused the decay of the social order within the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. For many years, there was chaos. Aimless graduate students staked out steam tunnels. Rowdy Friday evening gatherings were held under the auspices of helping unsuspecting young girls. Students lived in makeshift offices constructed from cardboard. The lab seemed only moments from collapse.

And then, a glimmer of hope ...

War is peace.

Freedom is slavery.

Ignorance is strength.

The administration at the AI Lab, headed by our charismatic leader Big Brother, discovered that by keeping the students in direct competition with one another, the social unrest already present could be used to directly benefit those in power at the lab. Thus, recently, the party has been able to continue to suport the posh lifestyles of the party elite despite the crumbling of the world immediately around the lab. Students, the work horses of the lab, through artful mind control remain fully unaware of the many years that have passed with still no possibility of graduation in site.

For this reason, acting on behalf of Big Brother, the party brings you:

The 1984 Artificial Intelligence Olympics

Contact big_brother@ai.mit.edu with comments or questions.

This year's Olympics are based on George Orwell's book, 1984. Many quotations and much of the terminology used on this site comes directly from the book. You can learn more about Orwell and his book here. The full text of the book can be found here.

Go here to learn more about past AI Olympics.


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