Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT
What is the social/ethical/legal status of AnthroPCs?
raoullefere:
And just think what you could duct-tape to a Capybara—and they're amphibious.
(I've seen this 'weaponize your hampster' page before-maybe in Mad?)
raoullefere:
At the risk of double posting, I'll point out that Jeph's comment about anpc libidos may shed fresh light on our subject.
"No one is quite sure who decided it would be useful for artificial intelligences to posess libidos, but it is generally agreed that it would be more trouble than it is worth to remove it. Besides, the horny little buggers would revolt."
Two points:
* One: That anthro-pc (anpc) AIs were designed by more than simply Hannerdad, although he may have been a member of the standards committee.
* Two: Patently the "sex with a computer" origin myth is either outright BS or a highly simplified version of the true story.
* Three: (and the points, they shall be three, not two, despite the compact) There are no ethics implied in this statement; therefore, it seems unlikely that anpcs are considered to have rights, whatever fringe groups like the one Marigold seems to be a member of may say. The objection is one of convenience, not ethics.
* Four: (and four shall e'en be the number of the pointings, yea, verily) That anpcs are considered to be dangerous. No one seriously worries about dogs or cats organizing and revolting because we remove their genitals. At worst there is some individualized sulking, I'm told.
* Five: (and the number of pointings shall be five, for that is indeed the number that came to be) Someone thought libido was important. The announcement of that decision may well be the actual event that gave rise to the myth Pintsize told Winslow, which Hanners denied, but her father tacitly hinted at confirming. The question is, why would it be important for a walking, talking little robot to possess a sex drive?
Wow! Lookit all the material I've managed to milk generate out of one comment! Anyway, feel free to take on any and all and fritter your lives discuss away.
Dliessmgg:
--- Quote from: raoullefere on 05 May 2010, 02:24 ---why would it be important for a walking, talking little robot to possess a sex drive?
--- End quote ---
A fast thinker with no distraction can do a lot. Like taking over the world.
Orbert:
I think that if you worked in AI development, your ultimate goal would be to create an AI that is the most like a human brain as possible. It starts as an ideal, but at some point, you've pretty much nailed down the critical thinking, emotions, and things like sarcasm and subtlety... so what's left? Sex drive! Is it practical? Probably not. Would it be fun to try? Hell yes!
Data: "I am fully functional, and programmed with multiple techniques."
Carl-E:
I tend to think the libido in an anthroPC is more a matter of an accidental legacy issue. Some early AI attempts may have gone in that direction, and once that software's around, you can't hide it, especially on the internet.
In fact, it may have just sprouted up on some AI forum - "Hey guys, what if we did this..."
And "getting rid of it" isn't just a matter of re/deprogramming the individual anthroPC's, but rather a matter of wiping out all traces of such software.
Hence, "more trouble than it's worth"
BTW, is it software or firmware? :evil:
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