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Spookybot - Motivation

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sniktchtherat:
While discussing the hidden depths of Pintsize, some related thoughts about Spookybot popped up.  We know their stated motivation for intervening - the violation of one of the few moral principles they hold, namely the sanctity of mind - but a being that complex doesn't have to have JUST one motivation.  It's arguable that helping Bubbles and breaking Corpse Witch weren't even the primary goals, just means to an end.

http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3414  One of these things is not like the others.  Three of these panels are dealing with the direct legal and property ramifications of Corpse Witch's fall, and thus are things Spooky arguably 'had' to do if they're a meticulous bastard who finishes what they start.

The fourth is Spooky giving Emily some "friendly" - some might say mentorly, perhaps even parental - guidance.  Suggesting a line of research for Emily is neither legal or property connected, and arguably was completely unnecessary; Emily's scarily smart, she'd think of it on her own eventually.  Further, why did Spooky pick Emily specifically to go into Bubbles' head?  Dora could have done it; arguably Faye could have done it, if she wasn't immediately distrustful of Spooky and in a massive emotional clusterfuck that'd make her prone to react badly to threats to the person she cares about.  Hell, it's even theoretically possible that Spooky could have rigged the 'virtual environment' to let Bubbles hack her own brain; it would have been a bad idea given what was found and Bubbles' likely reaction to that without immediate emotional support, but arguably it COULD have been done.

But they picked Emily.  Spooky doesn't say there's any physical reason for it to be Emily who jacks in, only that "we daresay she'll enjoy the experience".  That's one of the few positive emotional affects we've seen from them, and arguably the only one we've seen from a positive action; every other time we see Spooky acting or sounding pleased, they're either aggressively screwing with someone's head or savoring the shrieks of a tortured Corpse Witch.  Even the 'many at home' picture, they don't look particularly pleased, just...contented.  There are two lines of thought that flow from this; one of them is very, very dark and as such I'll be immediately ignoring it.  The other is a speculation:  Spooky likes Emily, for some reason. 

BenRG has speculated that Emily might be an experimental biomimetic chassis with a mind that isn't aware she's an AI.  If such a level of tech is even possible in the QCverse, there are very few organizations that would have the resources to pull it off...and at least one individual we know of.  Not saying it's OMGSUPAHTRUE, mind...just...I have to wonder.

mgrayson3:
To paraphrase Vernor Vinge, we have no better hope of understanding Spookybot's motivations than a flatworm has of understanding the opera.

Have you read Stanislaw Lem's Golem lectures? Golem is an artificial superhuman intelligence. What Lem is very good at is portraying how alien a nonhuman mind would be. Golem admits that it has to "put on" a personality to communicate with humans, and this lessens it enormously. It's actual being is simple intelligence without sense of self or identity.

BTW, I've met a few Emily-level intelligences. If one is professionally "smart", it's quite disturbing. Fortunately, they are rare.

awgiedawgie:
Spookybot's mentorly advice to Emily further suggests that they are not merely a soulless, emotionless super-being. True, they operate on a different level of consciousness, kind of like an AI version of OCD, where they are very focused, driven - obsessed, even. But they are not without feeling. Here, they reflect on the fact that their power could be misused, but they refuse to do so. And in the next strip, they show true compassion for Bubbles' situation.


While I do not agree at all with the theory that Emily is some sort of closet AI, we have seen that in the QCverse, anything is possible. As Matt said, I've met a few Emily-level intelligences. My own brother has an IQ over 180. Conversing with people like that is... different. But without question, her intelligence, and her aptitude for highly advanced programming, is why Spookybot chose her to go into Bubbles' mind in the first place. She was less likely to go insane from the experience, and she could be very instrumental in the further development of AIs (that could actually be an ulterior motive for Spookybot as well). That is why I suggested some time ago that she should be whisked away to Hannelore's father's space station, where her skills could be put to much better use than they are at the coffee shop. I'd miss her, of course, but this isn't about me.

bhtooefr:
Random idea that just popped into my head... what if it's actually the other way around, and Spookybot is actually Emily's creation, probably in the future?

awgiedawgie:

--- Quote from: bhtooefr on 30 May 2018, 12:51 ---Random idea that just popped into my head... what if it's actually the other way around, and Spookybot is actually Emily's creation, probably in the future?

--- End quote ---
That’s not an unreasonable possibility. If it’s true, considering that even she doesn’t grasp the full scope of her skills, it’s possible - probable, even - that it was in the past.

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