Hang on...
Where is this taking place?
I don't remember seeing the frosted glass door panel before...
So just label this "Hero's Journey Blend". Not sure yet if this is the "call to adventure" stage or the "supernatural aid" stage. But Ms. Ungulate may be exactly the Obi-wan that Roko needs.
Hang on...
Where is this taking place?
I don't remember seeing the frosted glass door panel before...
What frosted glass panel? They're still at Union Robotics; I think that Bubbles is standing in front of a hand-washing basin, given the tiling and the height.
Hang on...
Where is this taking place?
I don't remember seeing the frosted glass door panel before...
What frosted glass panel? They're still at Union Robotics; I think that Bubbles is standing in front of a hand-washing basin, given the tiling and the height.
It is some cabinet, apparently : http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3482
Hang on...
Where is this taking place?
I don't remember seeing the frosted glass door panel before...
What frosted glass panel? They're still at Union Robotics; I think that Bubbles is standing in front of a hand-washing basin, given the tiling and the height.
We've gotten contradictory information about whether they sleep. Momo said once that she doesn't need to. On the other hand there was a comment from Jeph somewhere that every intelligence needs periodic downtime.
Okay, Faye, you'd better let Bubbles handle the client interaction from now on -- she has a much better bedside manner.
"Do androids dream of electric sheep?"
No they dream of anthropomorphic animals living on a house on the prairie.
Am I the only one who thinks that at least a part of the problem is that Faye is really interested in this subject? She's finding the engineering and materials science of it so fascinating and she can't really get why anyone else would be grossed out by it or even genuinely traumatised by being shown by bits of them that normally don't see the light of day. It's not really a lack of empathy as much as it is excitement at something that genuinely interests her and she wants to share this unequivocally positive experience with others. What she needs to learn, of course, is that not everyone looks at being shown their anatomy the same way as you do to examining it or reacts to the prospect of work being done on their anatomy in the same way as you.
I'm thinking that the countdown clock until Bubbles smacks Faye upside the head (verbally or literally) is running.
I guess in her case extreme stress causes a disruption to her autonomic processes, thus she loses consciousness?
Am I the only one slightly ... bothered by Faye's lack of empathy for Roko's aversion to her own innards?
Police are exposed to hazards all the time, traffic accidents being the most common.In my own personal experience, the sight of other people's blood and parts don't bother me in the least, but I learned long ago to look the other direction when I'm getting an injection or blood draw. (The smell of an abruptly opened bowel is another matter.) Roko can sort though a pile of body parts, human or AI, soaked with hydraulic fluid and/or blood like a trooper*, as long as she isn't the source.
Officer Basilisk is handicapped in her job if she can't stay conscious if parts fall off in a collision.
She shouldn't come to pieces over coming to pieces.
Most organic people can do just that.Yep, but then again, we don't come with USB ports either. To receive data, an AI has to "speak" the USB protocol, just as they have to be able to consciously access and filter data that they access over library databases or the Internet. So, the idea you're proposing is that AI are can use those protocols/their bodies without consciously accessing them, like organics, or even without being _able_ to access them. Which would make less sense, since they get software upgrades (with bugs that they have to patch, that affect their bodies - Thumblord? The many-fingered Momo?) And Hardware upgrades that would come wither different software.
That proposal doesn't seem that unbelievable to me. There could easily be protocols in the software to parse the movement of the foot based on what the AI's consciousness is trying to do, much like you don't need to consciously decide to move every individual muscle involved when you decide to walk somewhere. That would allow an AI to walk without intimate knowledge of their mechanics.Yup. My friend and I both walk just fine, but I just know there's bones and stuff down there. He, OTOH, is licensed by the state to take people's feet apart and put them back together. For money, no less! (He's a DPM and licensed podiatric surgeon.) I'll ask next time I see him, but I very much doubt he thinks about what each muscle and joint is doing unless they start yelling at him about something going wrong.
So, the idea you're proposing is that AI are can use those protocols/their bodies without consciously accessing them, like organics, or even without being _able_ to access them.Think APIs and Object oriented programming.
So, the idea you're proposing is that AI are can use those protocols/their bodies without consciously accessing them, like organics, or even without being _able_ to access them.Think APIs and Object oriented programming.
I think the chassis and its components would have a lot of local processing built in, so the brain would issue command "Put fingertip at co-ordinates x.y.z", but it would be local control on the limb that selected which muscles to contract and release to obtain the desired result. And even if the hardware can't actually do it, the command could still be issued. I can imagine a 6th finger on my hand, and I can think, "wiggle that finger", but nothing happens, whereas if I think "wiggle 4th finger" then it moves.
The idea to mask the functions under layers makes sense to me, what doesn't is that the AI wouldn't have access to them even when they needed to. Wouldn't they need to have a very detailed interface with their chassis? Run diagnostics? Read error logs? How would you know if an update worked? Is "it feels weird" really the most accurate diagnostic you can get from a sophisticated mechanical device with highly sensitive and diverse sensors?
I guess in her case extreme stress causes a disruption to her autonomic processes, thus she loses consciousness?
No; Bubbles hit the nail on the head. It's psychosomatic: Roko really doesn't want to see her detached and flayed foot, so her subconscious systems shut down her higher processes (she 'faints') so she doesn't have to do so.
The only main character that has not as yet displayed passion for a subject as far as I can remember is our erstwhile lead, Marten.
The only main character that has not as yet displayed passion for a subject as far as I can remember is our erstwhile lead, Marten.
Guitars.
Also, how in hell does Roko use her feet without knowing how they work?
Also, how in hell does Roko use her feet without knowing how they work?
You should ask a centipede that question.
The idea to mask the functions under layers makes sense to me, what doesn't is that the AI wouldn't have access to them even when they needed to.Don't reckon so. 25 years ago I used to write assembler programs to interact almost directly with the hardware, but I haven't really been able to do that sort of stuff since Windows NT came out, and more importantly haven't needed to. And also the level of complexity has risen to such a degree that even if you did have access you wouldn't know what to do with it. I used to understand what every component did on my motorcyle, and have a damn good idea how to fix it if it went wrong, but nowadays with fuel injection, electronic ignition and **** knows what I really wouldn't have a clue, and without complex external equipment even an up to date pro is severely limited.
So, question: now that Faye is legitimately employed again and has a genuine career ahead maybe, would she go back to college part-time to get “properly” qualified in robo-fixin?
BTW, I've finally worked out what that tall glass cabinet is. It's an old prop from the set of The Time Tunnel (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Time_Tunnel).
Also, how in hell does Roko use her feet without knowing how they work?
So, question: now that Faye is legitimately employed again and has a genuine career ahead maybe, would she go back to college part-time to get “properly” qualified in robo-fixin?
Sure, she and a friend just started a business by borrowing heavily and using another friend as a co-signer. A business which is struggling through it's start up phase, and for which they've had all of four customers so far. Why not go offer and get thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars into debt while skipping potential work time to get accreditation for what she already knows how to do?
Yes, that was rather acerbic. Might have something to do with how I was pushed by family into a similar situation, though I wasn't starting my own business at the time. It was still two years of wasted time and money to go through schooling for a useless piece of paper to 'learn' what I already knew, just to have that piece of paper saying I knew it.
That piece of paper can be necessary, unfortunately. Faye and Bubbles could work at the skate park without credentials, since everyone there was breaking the law anyway, but I could forsee Union Robotics running into certification issues in the future.Or the field may be so new that there is no globally recognized credentialing body as yet, although I'm sure there are less credible ones aplenty as long as you're willing to pay the tuition.
We've gotten contradictory information about whether they sleep. Momo said once that she doesn't need to. On the other hand there was a comment from Jeph somewhere that every intelligence needs periodic downtime.Downtime could easily be things like routine software maintenance such as fragmentation of their systems and everything else there along with lower powered modes in order to facilitate a better charging cycle.
Here we have another example of a character saying something inappropriate and making someone else uncomfortable.
I am beginning to sense that there is some sort of pattern or theme going on here.
Nah.
since I was born
Quote from: Detective Basilisksince I was born
What does it mean that a synthetic describes their incarnation that way? Is it just a convenient way to communicate with meat-based people? Do they try to relate their experiences to ours?
Raising a fascinating question. Our sweat and grease serve purposes:I had the same question. Bubbles has said she has a coolant pump, but she doesn't have any visible radiators or heatsinks. How do they get rid of waste heat, I wonder?
1. Controlling body temperature
Hanners will soon want to have her consciousness transferred to an AI. You know she's thought about it.
Respiration and internal radiators? Be best to have single directional flow. I might be tempted to go for intake through the "ears" and exhale through the nostrils.Raising a fascinating question. Our sweat and grease serve purposes:I had the same question. Bubbles has said she has a coolant pump, but she doesn't have any visible radiators or heatsinks. How do they get rid of waste heat, I wonder?
1. Controlling body temperature
Internal water tank and breathe out steam?Please, no steampunk influences here! AT ALL.
Speaking of random, Roko looks like equestria girls twilight sparkle in the last panel
.....
I have nieces! Don't judge me!
Too late: 2198 (http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2198)Internal water tank and breathe out steam?Please, no steampunk influences here! AT ALL.
COMIC
So, do we have any synesthetes among the forumites? I must admit, I find the idea to be incredibly difficult to conceptualise.
[email protected] used to be the canonical contact address. I do not know if it still works.
The Horrible Revelation also has a, if not steampunk, then Victorian aesthetic going for it.Too late: 2198 (http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2198)Internal water tank and breathe out steam?Please, no steampunk influences here! AT ALL.
Dang it, I actually already HAD the theory that Emily was a cyborg. Maybe Jeph's playing with us and she's actually full AI? It would explain this strip, Spookybot's interest in her, and possibly her wacky science skills / general wackiness.
Spoiler: Emily is not a cyborg
yet
it's upShe eats food, has parents (http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2329), and has the capacity to feel pain (http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3150). Also, Spookybot would know if she were AI and would have just plugged her directly into Bubbles instead of using the halo interface.
Dang it, I actually already HAD the theory that Emily was a cyborg. Maybe Jeph's playing with us and she's actually full AI? It would explain this strip, Spookybot's interest in her, and possibly her wacky science skills / general wackiness.