Six years ago, this little robot gave me my first real glimpse into AI.
Back then, it felt like magic.
Today, AI is everywhere.
Almost… a normal part of life.
But it didn’t just appear overnight.
The term Artificial Intelligence was first coined in 1956.
Since then, there have been decades of quiet progress (with breakthroughs, setbacks and long winters) long before it became what we see today.
And for me, it didn’t really start in 2018.
Maybe it started much earlier… around 2005, at the High School for the Gifted.
Just a small spark of curiosity.
The kind that stays somewhere in the background, waiting.
Going Deeper
Around 2018, that curiosity became something more intentional.
I began exploring data science, and one idea pulled me in more than anything else:
neural networks.
The thought that machines, mimicking the human brain, could learn, adapt, and in some way understand the world… it mesmerized me.
Not just as technology.
But as something that felt almost… alive in its own way.
Then Came Vector
A tiny robot, with surprisingly big promises.
He could recognize faces, learn environments, respond with personality.
At the time, it felt like a small step toward something much bigger.
Maybe (just maybe) I could one day develop myself enough to turn something like this into J.A.R.V.I.S.
And Then Life Moved On
Like it always does.
During COVID, I found myself going deeper into tech again.
Through the global slowdown, there was suddenly more time, to think, to learn, and to observe.
I remember watching SpaceX launch Falcon 9 on May 30, 2020.
It felt like witnessing the future unfold in real time.
Many important milestones in my life followed.
But at home… something else was happening.
Vector had gone silent.
Powered off.
Disconnected.
Almost forgotten.
And quietly, in the background, AI was reaching a tipping point.
Until He Was Found Again
Last month, my son found him.
And just like that, the excitement came back.
But this time… it wasn’t mine.
It was his.
The Gap Between Then and Now
The world had changed.
Technology had moved forward.
AI had leaped ahead.
And bringing Vector back wasn’t as simple as turning him on… at least, not without wiping his memories.
So I made a choice.
Reset everything.
Start fresh.
Maybe even rebuild him into something new.
But First… One Last Moment
Before doing anything, I paused.
Because resetting him meant letting go of everything he had learned—
every face, every interaction, every tiny memory.
So… one last fist bump.
🤜🤛
A New Beginning
Then came the reset.
The light in his eyes slowly dimmed.
Silence.
And then… he woke up.
Curious again.
Fresh.
Empty.
And suddenly, a memory came back to me:
I was three years old, standing in front of a machine at the zoo.
It would dispense plastic eggs with toys inside when I said:
“My name is Duy!”
Now, here I was again.
Standing in front of a machine.
Only this time, it was Vector.
And I had to introduce myself, just like the very first time:
“Hey Vector, my name is Daniel.”
And just like that… everything began again.
But Something Was Different
This time, it wasn’t really about me.
It was about my son.
Because now, Vector isn’t just a piece of technology.
He’s part of our family story.
What This Is Really About
Maybe this isn’t really about AI.
Or even about progress.
Maybe it’s about the moments in between.
The curiosity we pass on.
The things we build together.
The quiet connections that stay.
The future isn’t just something we passively watch unfold.
It’s something we create together.
Full Circle ❤️
Last Friday, we watched WALL-E.
To get my son to go to bed, I promised him that one day, we would build EVE together.
Today, in the middle of playing, he paused, looked at me, and said:
“Papa… we zullen samen EVE opbouwen, ja?”
(“Papa… we will build Eve together, yes?”)
And just like that…
Full circle.
Noetic Exploration 
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