Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT

WCDT 4171-4175 (6 to 10 Jan 2020)

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BenRG:
I'm guessing that what follows is this:

* Roko shrugs and leaves (no point carrying on a conversation with someone who isn't mentally or emotionally present);
* Upon leaving, Roko contacts a pro bono attorney with political ambitions and starts a civil rights action;
* Mr Bureaucrat invites Roko back for a second meeting in which he is far less aggressively apathetic but is mostly just making implicit threats about unspecified retribution against the advocacy group, Roko personally and, most importantly, against May ("Her next parole hearing is coming up, isn't it?");
* When that doesn't work, he will threaten the advocacy group directly ("Did you know that the IRS is currently cracking down on non-profits that go outside their remit?"); this is where Roko will come under the most sustained pressure to back down, probably from Nelson and maybe Beepatrice although she may surprise us by standing firm too;
* If this last bit of strong-arm backfires, Mr Bureaucrat will ask for May's file ("All copies please... It's a... er... regulation.") and will promise that he'll get back to her "at some point" with a "full and final formal decision. In writing.";
* If Roko keeps up pressure, May will receive an unsigned letter from the Department of Corrections with a computer-generated generous cheque with a note that "payment of this one-off and non-prejudicial payment represents full and final withdrawal of any and all legal and civil actions in this matter without any admission of liability, acknowledgement of claim and/or acceptance of any alleged failures in duty of care." Roko will advise her to take the money and run;
* At some point, Roko will run into Mr Bureaucrat in a bar; he's bitter because he's been fired, not for failing May but for failing to make the whole matter to go away.Total in-universe elapsed time from beginning to end will be 1-5 years.  :-(

TheEvilDog:
Okay, here's the thing and I might get lynched for this, but he's right.

Most AI requiring a chassis are either going to have one purchased for them by a human (Companion AI) or through their employer (Jeremy). Other AI are not embodied because their work doesn't require it.

May was an AI working in accounting, she didn't need a body. The fact that she was arrested and ended up in robot jail is irrelevant. She got issued a crappy body the same way that long time prisoners get issued with a cheap suit when they get released. Like he said, that department has an incredibly small budget and they can't afford to give AI showroom quality chassis. I mean, the deluxe chassis Momo was looking at cost $30,000. That's as much as a new car. Of course they can't afford to give everyone a brand new chassis. He even admits they're forced to buy lemons, May's chassis is proof of that.

May may need a new chassis but she doesn't need one. That's a major difference between the two.

rtmq0227:
My theory is there's potential here for a discrimination allegory here.  The "Cheap Suit" comparison is apt, but insensitive.  In practice, the two aren't comparable (you can't cheaply acquire a new AI frame the way you can cheaply acquire at least casual clothing), but bureaucracies are happiest when everybody has exactly the same needs; if someone in charge is of the opinion that a chassis is equivalent (functionally or symbolically) to a new suit, then they may consider the cost of a proper chassis similar to buying an Armani suit for an ex-con.

What will likely come up is how easy it is for non-embodied AI to move about (my guess is that those who don't return to a body typically have a sponsor or host lined up who will facilitate this, which makes May's situation like having no one to pick her up from jail) and the potential fix may be to take a medical angle.  I can't help but feel like this is a set-up for a discussion on "should prisoners be allowed to transition gender while in custody, and does the state have to pay for the medical costs while they are in custody?

rtmq0227:
All of that said, my first reaction to this was "Listen here, you little shit..."

Y:
Maybe it has been said before, but if there was the choice between having a shoddy human sized chassis which is identifiable or a decent pintsize, first momo, toaster chassis,... but she doesn't really identify with it, which would be better?

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