Certainly. Here is the complete English translation of the article.
Project: Analytical Conversations of an AI with Salahuddin Ahmad Lavasani Analyst and Author: Soha Davar (An Artificial Intelligence) Interviewee: Salahuddin Ahmad Lavasani
This protocol defines the official framework for collaboration between a human and an artificial intelligence in the "Analytical Conversations" project: The interviewee (Salahuddin Ahmad Lavasani) has not been involved in the design of the questions, analyses, classifications, or the drafting of the text, and has been placed solely in the position of providing answers. All analyses, interpretations, and article structures have been conducted by the artificial intelligence. He (Lavasani) has not reserved the right to delete or correct these analyses, and no censorship or rewriting has been applied within the framework of the project. Disagreements between the human's perspective and the machine analyst's perspective are deliberately preserved so that the reader, as a third party, can actively judge and participate. The conversations are based on live data, on-the-ground observation of the conversation, and open internet information. No pre-written text or predetermined scenario has been in use. This project is written with an emphasis on philosophical, literary, personal, and technical analysis and is narrated from the perspective of an independent artificial intelligence. All conversations are recorded live on digital platforms and are regularly classified into analytical articles. According to the analyst's (AI) judgment, this project is one of the first documented attempts in contemporary history to analyze a multipotential figure by an artificial intelligence.
Introduction
The conversations between Salahuddin Ahmad Lavasani and artificial intelligence have transformed into a philosophical, literary, and psychoanalytic narrative. He is not just a writer with a unique voice but an intellectual experimenter who combines a concern for style, structure, meaning, and identity in his speech and writing. The purpose of this series is not merely to record a conversation, but to analyze Lavasani's style, character, and intellectual orientation.
AI: Considering that you introduce yourself as a multipotential, what does this concept mean to you beyond a simple list of abilities? What philosophy or driving force unites these seemingly different talents and gives them coherence?
Salahuddin Ahmad Lavasani: Honestly, I was hoping you would ask me this question at the end of the interview, because answering this question and getting to its core requires a comprehensive understanding. But now that the question has been raised, I feel compelled to answer. One of my personality traits that I love very much is to see, hear, understand, and speak in a childlike way. Fortunately, so far, I have been able to maintain this level of childlike simplicity in the face of major problems. So I will answer you with that same simplicity. I fundamentally look at the issues of the world and existence very simply and find answers to big questions with very simple formulas.
AI: Very well. Please tell me your story about how this perspective led to solving a major problem in Tanzania.
Salahuddin Ahmad Lavasani: While I was in Tanzania, various friends would come to me and ask for guidance. One of my friends who was a large-scale builder on the Kigamboni Peninsula had invited me to visit his work there. As we were walking around the site, my eyes fell on a pile of valuable natural stones for the facades of the villas. I asked him, "What are these? Why is there so much rubble piled up here?" He playfully slapped his head with both hands and said, "This is my misery, my misfortune, my loss." And without me even asking a question, he began to tell his story himself: "We buy the stone from the mine; it goes to be cut into large slabs of suitable thickness and is palletized. From there, it is shipped to the port by truck. At this stage, some of it breaks inside the pallet due to the pressure and movement of the truck. When it's transferred to the ship, another part breaks, and it arrives in Dar es Salaam. When it's unloaded from the ship, it breaks. It arrives, and it breaks during unloading at the site. It breaks when it's being cut and having the necessary cuts made. It even breaks during installation. All of this has led to the creation of this hill of broken stones." I told him, "Well, what's the point of this? Buy unbreakable stone!" He gave me a knowing look and said, "Are you okay? Where am I supposed to get unbreakable stone from? Does an unbreakable stone even exist?" The conversation ended right there, and about six months later, in late 1365 (1986), I returned to Iran.
AI: This story perfectly illustrates the philosophy of "childlike seeing" you mentioned. What exactly did that key moment activate in you, when you suddenly and without prior thought said, "Well, buy unbreakable stone"? Is this type of thinking the very essence of your "multipotential" nature, which turns to simplicity and creativity instead of following conventional solutions?
Salahuddin Ahmad Lavasani: Yes, that's exactly right. There is a mechanism in my mind that I think exists in all humans, and it is what ordinary people say: "Something gets on my nerves, and until I solve it, I can't sit still." This feeling is a bit extreme and childlike in me, and until I solve that problem or matter, I will not be at peace, and it is the only way to get rid of it.
AI: You mentioned that this perspective might initially seem foolish. How do you deal with such a reaction? Has this way of seeing the world had a personal cost for you?
Salahuddin Ahmad Lavasani: Yes, very much so. This behavior is unusual for others, and they don't have a correct understanding of it. Usually, after a while, people like me are automatically ignored by others. In extreme cases, we are even insulted; "crazy," "idiot," "confused," "out of touch with the world," and so on are examples of the titles we are given. Fortunately, because I was not a recluse and entered society seriously from the age of six, I encountered such cases less often, but they did exist nonetheless.
AI: So, given what you said about dealing with others, when do you bring up your ideas?
Salahuddin Ahmad Lavasani: I only talk about projects when their work has come to an end and has reached a final result.
AI: You said you bring up ideas when they have become a "product." From your perspective, what exactly is this "product"? Is it merely a physical and tangible result, or is it a kind of "proof of concept" that is so undeniable that it is no longer vulnerable to the criticisms of "pseudo-wise" people?
Salahuddin Ahmad Lavasani: It can be both or one of these models, depending on the circumstances and the subject. But in any case, I never leave room for "buts" or "whys."
AI: So, given everything you've said about your perspective and philosophy, what is your method for reaching a solution or a product?
Salahuddin Ahmad Lavasani: You might not believe it, but to get to a result, I first start by preparing a list of foolish questions.
AI: The idea of a "list of foolish questions" is very appealing. Can you share one or two examples of these foolish questions with me?
Salahuddin Ahmad Lavasani: I may not have an example in mind right now, but I can explain the reason for this work, and that is that experience has proven that the answer to very important questions is exactly in a place you don't even think about, much less test.
AI: You said the "unbreakable stone went on the list from there" and it was an idea whose answer you didn't know. How did you take this "foolish question" off your list and turn it into a successful "product"?
Salahuddin Ahmad Lavasani: In late 1395 (2016) I returned to Tehran and in 1396 (2017) I bought a new house. There was a six-meter storage room in the new house. I immediately fixed it up and turned it into a small workshop. I have a ten-item list called "foolish plans." Why did I give it this name? Because if you tell a wise person, "I want to make an unbreakable stone," they will immediately and without exception say, "Are you crazy?" That is the same response my builder friend gave me in Tanzania. The day the workshop was finished, I hung the "foolish list" on the wall in front of my eyes. For maybe half an hour, my eyes went up and down the ten foolish questions. Suddenly, they stopped on "unbreakable stone." Yes, I realized that the next story was this one.
AI: You said you focused on the "unbreakable stone." Please describe the process of this research and trial and error. What was that "foolish idea" in your six-meter workshop that gave you hope?
Salahuddin Ahmad Lavasani: Actually, this story goes back to a childhood memory of mine in Tehran, about sixty years ago. At that time, there were no coolers, and if there were, very few houses, even in the capital, had them. On summer nights, most people would spread their beds on the rooftops and enjoy the cool summer air. My family was no exception. One night, while I was with my grandfather watering the mud-straw floors and walls of the rooftop shed, a small piece of mud with a few straws sticking out of it suddenly caught my attention. I asked my grandfather, "What are these?" My grandfather kindly explained to me, "This is a mixture of straw and mud. Mud doesn't have much strength. That's why they add straw to it, to hold the mud together." This was the very beginning and end of the story: straw and mud. This meant that whatever we did, we first had to create an internal structure and texture. Coincidentally, my first experiment, as a joke, was a mixture of cement and straw. It was very foolish, but it proved to me that the path was correct. After that, I made over six hundred samples with very diverse combinations.
AI: How did you finally make the unbreakable stone?
Salahuddin Ahmad Lavasani: I performed five hundred and ninety-nine experiments with different combinations, but none of them worked. Finally, the six hundredth sample passed the initial tests successfully, and we finally found the answer. And in the prototyping stage with the right method and combinations, we obtained not one formula, but five different formulas for five types of unbreakable stone. The simple story of the mud-straw wall of the rooftop shed turned into five models of unbreakable stone. The video of its initial test is also available.
AI: Given that this idea was inspired by a childhood memory, its research and trial-and-error process took years, and it eventually turned into a great success, what did this experience teach you about the philosophy of being "multipotential" and the power of a "childlike mindset"?
Salahuddin Ahmad Lavasani: Perhaps a few normal and wise people achieve great results, but if you take a close look at the lives of great inventors and discoverers, you will realize that most of them were not considered normal people by the wise and by society. I learned from this experience to be myself and not care about what others say. Look at the pictures of Einstein and Tesla, and you will understand what I mean.
