Topic: WCDT Strips 3366-3370 (5th-9th December 2016) (Read 47586 times)

Tova · « **Reply #200 on:** 10 Dec 2016, 15:33 »

Quote from: jheartney on 09 Dec 2016, 21:33

I'm betting Jeph never explains the exact mechanics of whatever this encrypted memory business is; he may just leave it at saying that CW has some sort of hold over Bubbles based on some sort of secret data.

I sort of hope this is true, because all the confident theories I'm reading are not 100% convincing to me.

The popular theory seems to be that CW has encrypted some memories of Bubbles that are too traumatic to be endured, and that CW is threatening to unencrypt them. But I have questions. How does that mesh with "defaulting on memories?" How can CW unencrypt Bubbles' memories against her will? How does CW unencrypting those memories force them onto Bubbles? Why can't, or couldn't, Bubbles encrypt them herself?

Another theory is that Bubbles wants the key that CW is holding so that she can access memories that she previously locked away. That meshes a bit better with what CW said, but I'm not seeing that Bubbles currently wants those memories back. Also, if this is the correct scenario, CW already has the key, so what is she threatening in that case? She can't take away something she already has. Or did she promise to give Bubbles the key at a future time or event, which she is now hinting she will not do, or be able to do if she is killed? How can Bubbles trust that she would hold to that, in that case?

Yet another theory, and one that I don't think I've yet seen, is that a third party has access to the memories, but cannot decrypt them because CW has the key. In this scenario, CW is threatening to hand the key to the third party, which would lead to them discovering what the memories contain, causing repercussions for Bubbles. This meshes well with the threat of "defaulting on memories," and also with May's speculation that Bubbles is not innocent. But how did this third party get access to these encrypted memories, anyway?

It's all a bit vague and confusing, and I suspect that this is deliberate. We may well find out more in the future, or the hold CW has over Bubbles may be broken without us learning the details.

My feeling is that the solution will not be technological, regardless of the mechanism of this threat. The challenge for Bubbles will be for her to properly confront the demons of her past and, in so doing, release the hold that CW has over her. That would seem to fit the general theme of Bubbles' overall story arc.

/braindump

riccostar · « **Reply #201 on:** 10 Dec 2016, 16:45 »

Another thought is that the memories contain betrayal by humans, possibly humans sacrificing AIs in military conflict to save their own lives. if (probably when) Bubbles recovers those memories we might see a plot twist where Bubbles then relapses and also has to face a deep seated distrust in humans much like CW.

TheEvilDog · « **Reply #202 on:** 10 Dec 2016, 17:13 »

Quote from: riccostar on 10 Dec 2016, 16:45

Another thought is that the memories contain betrayal by humans, possibly humans sacrificing AIs in military conflict to save their own lives. if (probably when) Bubbles recovers those memories we might see a plot twist where Bubbles then relapses and also has to face a deep seated distrust in humans much like CW.

Which throws away all the development Bubbles underwent in regards to her friendship with Faye. Were those memories that were locked away restored, I doubt they would overwrite the memories developed in the meanwhile. Rather, Bubbles' struggle would then be reconciling with the old memories with the new.

Morituri · « **Reply #203 on:** 10 Dec 2016, 23:55 »

No one has ever claimed that the memories in question are Bubbles' own.

There is an entire other dimension of possibilities if you just imagine that Bubbles may fear the revelation of someone else's memories.

BenRG · « **Reply #204 on:** 11 Dec 2016, 01:17 »

I don't think that Corpse Witch is threatening to unencrypt Bubbles' traumatic memories. It's more nuanced than that. Right now, Bubbles doesn't want to deal with them but the fact that she didn't tell Corpse Witch to just delete the key immediately suggests to me that she wants the option open to confront those memories in her own due time. What Corpse Witch is threatening to do is to take that option away by deleting the key.

I suspect that there is also the possibility that Corpse Witch could be threatening to broadcast the key on an open frequency and then unlock and then reseal the memories at random occasions as an attempt to mentally torture Bubbles.

Tova · « **Reply #205 on:** 11 Dec 2016, 02:03 »

Quote from: Morituri on 10 Dec 2016, 23:55

No one has ever claimed that the memories in question are Bubbles' own.

At least a couple of people have done so, either implicitly or explicitly.

Quote from: Morituri on 10 Dec 2016, 23:55

There is an entire other dimension of possibilities if you just imagine that Bubbles may fear the revelation of someone else's memories.

Yes, definitely.

Zog · « **Reply #206 on:** 11 Dec 2016, 03:43 »

Quote from: Zog on 08 Dec 2016, 22:28

What if she had CW store the memories simply because they were to painful to remember , but CW has convinced her it was because she did something horrible. Maybe she even suspects that this is true and is even more afraid to lose them because of that.

I realized that it was not easy to see here that I meant she suspected that Corpsewitch was lying about the "something horrible".
Also my take on the key thing was that Bubbles had encrypted the data in her own memory, but that that type of encryption was only meant to hide it from someone else who got access to an AI's memory. If they tried to access it themselves it would be automatically decrypted. (most AIs would not need to hide memories from themselves). So she gave Corpsewitch the key and deleted her copy so that she could retain the memories without being ambushed by them. The "people" thing may also have have been an invention of CW.

retrosteve · « **Reply #207 on:** 11 Dec 2016, 07:19 »

Quote from: BenRG on 11 Dec 2016, 01:17

I don't think that Corpse Witch is threatening to unencrypt Bubbles' traumatic memories. It's more nuanced than that. Right now, Bubbles doesn't want to deal with them but the fact that she didn't tell Corpse Witch to just delete the key immediately suggests to me that she wants the option open to confront those memories in her own due time. What Corpse Witch is threatening to do is to take that option away by deleting the key.

I suspect that there is also the possibility that Corpse Witch could be threatening to broadcast the key on an open frequency and then unlock and then reseal the memories at random occasions as an attempt to mentally torture Bubbles.

The first is precisely my reading of the threat. The second is speculative but I wouldn't put it past CW to think of it if she were pissed off.

TheEvilDog · « **Reply #208 on:** 11 Dec 2016, 08:18 »

Of course, Corpse Witch could be a literal form of the Dead Man's Switch.

Is it cold in here? · « **Reply #209 on:** 11 Dec 2016, 21:30 »

Corpse Witch held up her hand to her face after Faye punched her. Why? Presumably they have damage sensors but Jeph has said they don't perceive it as pain the way meat-based people do.

Neko_Ali · « **Reply #210 on:** 11 Dec 2016, 22:00 »

Her face was dented where Faye punched her. You can clearly see the dent in the final two panels of last Friday's comic, and in 3366. Robots may not feel pain the way humans do, but they still know when they have been damaged.

Tova · « **Reply #211 on:** 11 Dec 2016, 22:04 »

AIs may not perceive pain the way organic lifeforms do, but they probably do have some kind of damage sensing mechanism, and as such, the reflex to touch the damaged part may be very similar.

Is it cold in here? · « **Reply #212 on:** 12 Dec 2016, 07:40 »

Pintsize never has, but then he doesn't really have hands.

TheEvilDog · « **Reply #213 on:** 12 Dec 2016, 08:04 »

Quote from: Is it cold in here? on 12 Dec 2016, 07:40

Pintsize never has, but then he doesn't really have hands.

And for that fact alone, we and the rest of humanity are eternally grateful.

Perfectly Reasonable · « **Reply #214 on:** 12 Dec 2016, 16:44 »

We don't know why AIs can't be copied, or why less than satisfactory ones can't be deleted. So I don't think we'll ever know how the memory encryption works.

I join those hoping that Bubbles will be able to face those memories one day.

Method of Madness · « **Reply #215 on:** 12 Dec 2016, 16:48 »

We don't really know that they can't, we know they can be moved from one chassis to another.

Gyrre · « **Reply #216 on:** 12 Dec 2016, 17:15 »

So, what if Detective Basilisk was friends with one of Bubbles' troop and knew Bubbles before she served? And what if Bubbles'memory of Roko was removed and stored along with the rest of said memories?

That might account for Roko's recklessness.

oddtail · « **Reply #217 on:** 13 Dec 2016, 01:23 »

Quote from: Perfectly Reasonable on 12 Dec 2016, 16:44

We don't know why AIs can't be copied, or why less than satisfactory ones can't be deleted.

I'm... not sure what you mean by the second part of the sentence. Surely they "can" be deleted. Why aren't they deleted? I'd assume it's the same reason "less satisfactory" humans are typically not killed.

QC treats AIs as basically sapient beings. Deleting them is the same as killing a person. Unless you meant something I didn't understand, and your post flew way over my head...

Perfectly Reasonable · « **Reply #218 on:** 14 Dec 2016, 17:58 »

Yes, deleting an AI is like killing a person. Not stated, but we have seen that strenuous efforts are made to find a niche for the likes of Gordon and Pintsize.

And if AIs could be copied, Winslow would have a million brothers.

Gyrre · « **Reply #219 on:** 15 Dec 2016, 01:48 »

Quote from: Perfectly Reasonable on 14 Dec 2016, 17:58

Yes, deleting an AI is like killing a person. Not stated, but we have seen that strenuous efforts are made to find a niche for the likes of Gordon and Pintsize.

And if AIs could be copied, Winslow would have a million brothers.

If I lived in the QC-verse, Gordon could crash at my place.
(He's the arachno-PC, right?)

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Faye Threw the Punch! So, What Happens Next?

Author Topic: WCDT Strips 3366-3370 (5th-9th December 2016) (Read 47586 times)

TheEvilDog

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