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Where Next For May?

A new job because dancing outside of Union Robotics with a sandwich board is her dream!
- 1 (2.8%)
A new body because Sven has convinced her that anthropomimicary is the way to go
- 6 (16.7%)
A new body because she still wants to be a fighter jet (or, at least, a traffic monitoring drone)
- 1 (2.8%)
Go wild with experimenting on just how close to the full experience she can get with humans
- 4 (11.1%)
Spend a long time grumbling in front of Momo that she's spoiling her fun
- 3 (8.3%)
Go to Punchbot and ask for a gig at the Robot Fighting Arena; ANY gig
- 5 (13.9%)
Sell her soul... or at least her runtime... to the devil... or at least Spookybot to have a wish granted
- 0 (0%)
The probation hearing is here! What is to be her fate?
- 13 (36.1%)
Inception (Robo-Jail Version) - Just how much of what she's experienced is real?
- 2 (5.6%)
Other (please specify in comments)
- 1 (2.8%)

Total Members Voted: 35


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Author Topic: WCDT strips 4021-4025 (10th to 14th June 2019)  (Read 36260 times)

SpanielBear

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Re: WCDT strips 4021-4025 (10th to 14th June 2019)
« Reply #100 on: 11 Jun 2019, 20:06 »

It's Mothbot! Hello Mothbot!!!
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brasca

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Re: WCDT strips 4021-4025 (10th to 14th June 2019)
« Reply #101 on: 11 Jun 2019, 20:45 »

While I agree that May's situation sucks it's not quite the same as what human ex-cons go through because they're effectively immortal.  Humans who are released from prison may have lost 10 or 20 years of their lives.  Those were prime years lost too and without may prospects for employment it's difficult to hold down a job if their health is declining.  If they're lucky they might last long enough to get social security and Medicare, but even so they probably have little saved for retirment.  AIs on the other hand have to make do with substandard chassis, but it's still possible to muddle through until a more affordable option is available.  Considering how the cost of things decreases over time it's possible May could afford a better chassis than what she has now within just a few years.  And while she'll still have a conviction record after parole she'll have more opportunities including self employment.

That's just my two cents, but hopefully this will give Rokko something to keep her mind off of her own disassociation problem.   
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Re: WCDT strips 4021-4025 (10th to 14th June 2019)
« Reply #102 on: 11 Jun 2019, 22:58 »

May has shown enough conscience to rule out being a sociopath. It hasn't been a lot, but in a sociopath it would be flat zero.
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OldGoat

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Re: WCDT strips 4021-4025 (10th to 14th June 2019)
« Reply #103 on: 11 Jun 2019, 23:12 »

I don't know, Brasca.  As I read it, autonomous, humanoid AIs are a fairly recent development in the QCverse.  The society there doesn't really know yet when their minds age out.  Their mechanical bodies most certainly do.  Roko v1 wasn't the top of the line but it wasn't a Yugo analog either, yet a hitch in her git-along due to wear sent her to Union Robotics for repairs.  Electronic components do age, too, albeit slowly (at least for quality stuff).

I see AIs having maybe two or three times the lifespan of an average human before they get bored and elect not to reinstall on new media.  (But, of course, it's Jeph's universe so he can write it any way he wants.)

While I agree that May's situation sucks it's not quite the same as what human ex-cons go through because they're effectively immortal.  Humans who are released from prison may have lost 10 or 20 years of their lives.  Those were prime years lost too and without may prospects for employment it's difficult to hold down a job if their health is declining.  If they're lucky they might last long enough to get social security and Medicare, but even so they probably have little saved for retirment.  AIs on the other hand have to make do with substandard chassis, but it's still possible to muddle through until a more affordable option is available.  Considering how the cost of things decreases over time it's possible May could afford a better chassis than what she has now within just a few years.  And while she'll still have a conviction record after parole she'll have more opportunities including self employment.

That's just my two cents, but hopefully this will give Rokko something to keep her mind off of her own disassociation problem.
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Re: WCDT strips 4021-4025 (10th to 14th June 2019)
« Reply #104 on: 11 Jun 2019, 23:25 »

New comic up!

Okay, I appreciate that not everyone may read the strip as deeply as we forumites and thus we need to have a strip o'exposition to make sure everyone realises what's happening with May's life. That said, I do find today's strip a bit jarring because it's really like Roko turned to the camera (like Matthew Brodrick in Ferris Bueller's Day Off) and started to narrate a PowerPoint presentation to us.

I'll tell you one other thing that worried me: Panel 5. Roko is suddenly sounding very manipulative there; I'm wondering if the opportunity to pursue her own personal crusade may lead her to use May with less concern about May's wants and needs than is appropriate or, indeed, she allows herself to perceive. That would be a shame.

May has shown enough conscience to rule out being a sociopath. It hasn't been a lot, but in a sociopath it would be flat zero.

This isn't precisely a reply to IICIH but, rather, to everyone who took issue with May being described as a 'sociopath'. The fact is that she wasn't. If you read Gus's post, you'll see that he said she comes across like a sociopath and subsequently showed that he knows what the definition of that word is. Don't jump on him for doing so; instead, follow IICIH's example and offer counter-evidence.
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Re: WCDT strips 4021-4025 (10th to 14th June 2019)
« Reply #105 on: 11 Jun 2019, 23:39 »

So if May and Sven start a regular relationship, and if Sven buys her a new body, is that a friend being generous to a friend or is it sex work? How will May see it?

Do you really want to know?

Really?
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Re: WCDT strips 4021-4025 (10th to 14th June 2019)
« Reply #106 on: 12 Jun 2019, 03:07 »

FUCK YES STRONGBAD EMAIL REFERENCE THANK YOU JEPH

That is all.
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Re: WCDT strips 4021-4025 (10th to 14th June 2019)
« Reply #107 on: 12 Jun 2019, 03:44 »

So, there I was following Ben's sound advice to find counter-evidence... and I had a couple of examples lined up and ready to go.

Then I came across panel two in #2503.

So, uh... hmmm.. yeah. She's come across as having sociopathic tendencies to at least one person in the QC universe. Possibly even a qualified someone (though of course, we don't know).

After my previous complaints, you can imagine how I feel.  :roll:

On the other hand, she is out of robot jail now, so maybe it's fair to claim she doesn't come across as a sociopath anymore. My view certainly aligns with that of IICIH?'s on that.
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Re: WCDT strips 4021-4025 (10th to 14th June 2019)
« Reply #108 on: 12 Jun 2019, 06:05 »

Side-stepping the insoluble issues of man's inhumanity to robo-man, it'll be fun to see what sort of body May ends up choosing when she has a choice.
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TheEvilDog

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Re: WCDT strips 4021-4025 (10th to 14th June 2019)
« Reply #109 on: 12 Jun 2019, 06:49 »

While I agree that May's situation sucks it's not quite the same as what human ex-cons go through because they're effectively immortal.  Humans who are released from prison may have lost 10 or 20 years of their lives.  Those were prime years lost too and without may prospects for employment it's difficult to hold down a job if their health is declining.  If they're lucky they might last long enough to get social security and Medicare, but even so they probably have little saved for retirment.  AIs on the other hand have to make do with substandard chassis, but it's still possible to muddle through until a more affordable option is available.  Considering how the cost of things decreases over time it's possible May could afford a better chassis than what she has now within just a few years.  And while she'll still have a conviction record after parole she'll have more opportunities including self employment.

That's just my two cents, but hopefully this will give Rokko something to keep her mind off of her own disassociation problem.

You're right. The situation being human former convicts and AI former convicts is somewhat different. Its worse in the case of AI and I've highlighted why in your post.

When an ex-con leaves prison, yes, they can get caught in a vicious cycle where they get stuck in a dead end job and can barely afford to house or feed themselves.

Now consider an AI that leaves prison. They get put into a clapped out chassis, they get stuck in a dead end job. Not only do they have to try and afford a place to stay and recharge, but they also need to maintain a pretty crap chassis. Its not a case of them trying to save up to get a new one, its more likely they put every cent they earn into trying to keep the one they're stuck in going.

Consider as well that when a human ex-con gets sick, there are free clinics they could go to or more likely, they just have to suffer while trying to pay medical costs. How many workshops are there that would repair an AI's chassis? Remember, May ended up having to go to an illegal fight club to get some repairs done. That's like going to a back alley doctor to get patched up.

And as cynical as it might be, Humans can die. That's the end of their suffering. But what about AI, who are effectively immortal? How long does their punishment go on for? When does it stop? And who is going to break that cycle?
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Re: WCDT strips 4021-4025 (10th to 14th June 2019)
« Reply #110 on: 12 Jun 2019, 07:10 »

What happens when the proprietary cable is lost/forgotten/broken, and their battery gives out? When they're out on the streets; how long until their drive - unreinforced, no doubt - is irrecoverable?
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Re: WCDT strips 4021-4025 (10th to 14th June 2019)
« Reply #111 on: 12 Jun 2019, 08:13 »

I've worked at that place before and have the scars to prove it
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Re: WCDT strips 4021-4025 (10th to 14th June 2019)
« Reply #112 on: 12 Jun 2019, 09:13 »

I like where this seems to be headed. May and Roko see the justice system from very different angles. It will be an interesting case. We will learn more about Jeph's AIs. May's maintenance situation could improve. (vouchers good at Union Robotics?) And one morning Roko will boot up and suddenly realize her body no longer feels like someone else's.
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Re: WCDT strips 4021-4025 (10th to 14th June 2019)
« Reply #113 on: 12 Jun 2019, 10:05 »

<snip>
I'll tell you one other thing that worried me: Panel 5. Roko is suddenly sounding very manipulative there; I'm wondering if the opportunity to pursue her own personal crusade may lead her to use May with less concern about May's wants and needs than is appropriate or, indeed, she allows herself to perceive. That would be a shame.

I wouldn't be surprised if that's the story. Roko said this is justice, and there are horrible ethical and moral hazards to pursuing justice when treating people as means to that end. Roko has correctly identified May's treatment as wrong, has decided to take action, but is not visibly motivated by compassion.

There could be a lot of dramatic conflict if Roko tries to make May a poster child and May objects.

Roko's, uh, "take charge" attitude could also be psychologically dangerous to someone who is recovering from a prison sentence. May needs autonomy.
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Re: WCDT strips 4021-4025 (10th to 14th June 2019)
« Reply #114 on: 12 Jun 2019, 11:28 »

Roko's, uh, "take charge" attitude could also be psychologically dangerous to someone who is recovering from a prison sentence. May needs autonomy.
But it's difficult for her to exercise autonomy with a chassis that leaves her almost a cripple* and so she's facing a chicken v. egg conundrum.  I agree, though, Roko's running at 11 and needs to dial it back.

Fear not.  If Roko doesn't jerk her own leash Bubbles will certainly give it a tug for her - she has cred with virtually everyone, even Spookybot.

It occurs to me - We know May's chassis is failing.  There's at least a 50/50 chance her mental processing module was sourced from the same place.  If it has similar quality issues, some of May's behavior and impulse difficulties may be directly analogous to an organic brain problem in one of us squishies.




*Politically incorrect term used for impact.
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Re: WCDT strips 4021-4025 (10th to 14th June 2019)
« Reply #115 on: 12 Jun 2019, 12:15 »

Wow. That's actually a great point. I wonder if May has internal problems that might be affecting her behavior. That said we can at least be sure that May had problems before jail since she did commit a crime which was unambiguously wrong. We also don't know how long her sentence was and if it was her first offense or much about her situation beforehand. For all we know she had a desperate situation beforehand ... Or she was pretty privileged. We don't really know.
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Re: WCDT strips 4021-4025 (10th to 14th June 2019)
« Reply #116 on: 12 Jun 2019, 13:28 »

Do we know that AI are actually immortal? I don’t think they’ve been around long enough in-story for even the eldest to be approaching “long lived human” age so unless someone has done some serious number crunching on average drive wear rates, read/write error rates, and general cruft accumulation, there’s no evidence either way and AFAIK, no word-of-author either.
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TheEvilDog

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Re: WCDT strips 4021-4025 (10th to 14th June 2019)
« Reply #117 on: 12 Jun 2019, 13:47 »

Given that Roko's core survived getting crushed and the fact that AI can be transferred to different servers easily enough, if technology keeps going as it has and AI are able to repair damage, presumably this is something that is easier than it is for humans, we can reasonable infer that AI are effectively immortal. At least, they have the potential.
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WCDT strips 4021-4025 (10th to 14th June 2019)
« Reply #118 on: 12 Jun 2019, 14:02 »

Do we know that AI are actually immortal? I don’t think they’ve been around long enough in-story for even the eldest to be approaching “long lived human” age so unless someone has done some serious number crunching on average drive wear rates, read/write error rates, and general cruft accumulation, there’s no evidence either way and AFAIK, no word-of-author either.
There are enough functioning robot chassis out in the world of QC that there’s almost certainly enough data to calculate mean time between failures for their critical components. Even if MTBF is decades, you can figure out what the curve looks like after only a few years. (Man, can’t believe I still remember this from those engineering courses I took in 1985 before I switched to computer science.)
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Re: WCDT strips 4021-4025 (10th to 14th June 2019)
« Reply #119 on: 12 Jun 2019, 14:59 »

Do we know that AI are actually immortal? I don’t think they’ve been around long enough in-story for even the eldest to be approaching “long lived human” age so unless someone has done some serious number crunching on average drive wear rates, read/write error rates, and general cruft accumulation, there’s no evidence either way and AFAIK, no word-of-author either.

I suppose that one can say that AIs that are careful enough, and can afford to retain proper backups, and have a proper disaster-recovery plan are effectively immortal.
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Re: WCDT strips 4021-4025 (10th to 14th June 2019)
« Reply #120 on: 12 Jun 2019, 15:29 »

I suppose that one can say that AIs that are careful enough, and can afford to retain proper backups, and have a proper disaster-recovery plan are effectively immortal.

Of course, that doesn't apply to the unfortunates Castlerook was talking about.
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TheEvilDog

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Re: WCDT strips 4021-4025 (10th to 14th June 2019)
« Reply #121 on: 12 Jun 2019, 15:35 »

It kind of does apply to them, if you think about it. Because the cores are near indestructible, imagine being an AI who has a crappy chassis that breaks down somewhere remote. The body can't move or its fallen apart, but the core is fine. And its not going anywhere.

Sweet dreams.
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Re: WCDT strips 4021-4025 (10th to 14th June 2019)
« Reply #122 on: 12 Jun 2019, 15:41 »

Do we know that AI are actually immortal? I don’t think they’ve been around long enough in-story for even the eldest to be approaching “long lived human” age so unless someone has done some serious number crunching on average drive wear rates, read/write error rates, and general cruft accumulation, there’s no evidence either way and AFAIK, no word-of-author either.

We have word of author, but it's from so long ago it's from a completely different conception of AIs.

Pintsize asked Marten how long an AnthroPC like him could be expected to live, and Marten guessed it was effective immortality.
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Re: WCDT strips 4021-4025 (10th to 14th June 2019)
« Reply #123 on: 12 Jun 2019, 15:55 »

It kind of does apply to them, if you think about it. Because the cores are near indestructible, imagine being an AI who has a crappy chassis that breaks down somewhere remote. The body can't move or its fallen apart, but the core is fine. And its not going anywhere.

Sweet dreams.
Kind of like Mr Church, no?

We meatfolk may be arriving that kind of potential immortality soon, too.  Personally, I think after most individual's second hundred years or so the novelty will wear off and we'll elect to die the way we've been doing all along.  And then there's all the rigamarole around who gets to be rejuvenated.  It won't be cheap, and the technology will need a thriving economy to support it.  We just might attain the potential for immortality then lose it again in another stupid-ass war.  I have no faith at all in the notion that age will automatically confer wisdom.
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Re: WCDT strips 4021-4025 (10th to 14th June 2019)
« Reply #124 on: 12 Jun 2019, 18:34 »

Immortality has its ups and downs.  You get a cool soundtrack by Queen, but someone is literally out for your head.

Strip is up

Rokko might want to be careful about throwing her weight around.  She’s not a cop anymore.
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Re: WCDT strips 4021-4025 (10th to 14th June 2019)
« Reply #125 on: 12 Jun 2019, 18:34 »

I'm glad Roko's enthusiastic about the project, but... really not liking her not even letting May talk.
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Re: WCDT strips 4021-4025 (10th to 14th June 2019)
« Reply #126 on: 12 Jun 2019, 19:14 »

My take on Roko is this:  she has found a new motivation in her life.  We're all familiar with her struggles in her new body.  And not having something t ok occupy herself probably isn't helping with that.  She seemed genuinely happy when she was in the bakery.  A calling like this may prove therapeutic for her.
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TheEvilDog

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Re: WCDT strips 4021-4025 (10th to 14th June 2019)
« Reply #127 on: 12 Jun 2019, 19:19 »

Although there is a fine line between Roko legitimately helping May and Roko trampling over May.

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad Roko has something to focus on that can distract her from her disassociation, but she also needs to be aware that she can go a step too far.
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Re: WCDT strips 4021-4025 (10th to 14th June 2019)
« Reply #128 on: 12 Jun 2019, 20:10 »

And it is dancing on that line that QC tends to make comedy gold.
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Re: WCDT strips 4021-4025 (10th to 14th June 2019)
« Reply #129 on: 12 Jun 2019, 20:16 »

I really loving me some Roko right now and as for the Ma-Ko dynamic, I'm thoroughly intrigued.

ROW ROW ROW
FIGHT THE POWAH!

I can't remember where I heard that phrase from but it's stuck in my head, so...enjoy.

PS. Regarding Monday's and part of Tuesdays comic, May I know you got screwed by a friend and you have the right to be angry but here's a lesson that has served me well: "FOCUS YOUR RAGE!"
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Re: WCDT strips 4021-4025 (10th to 14th June 2019)
« Reply #130 on: 12 Jun 2019, 23:18 »

Rokko might want to be careful about throwing her weight around.  She’s not a cop anymore.

I was just thinking that that might effectively make the manager think twice of hiring an ex-con again. Not to mention that May might be out of a job the moment he realises it's just a bluff.

As for immortality, I thought it was pretty clear that the only reason Roko survived, was the special reinforcement, that came with her police package. Similarly, I believe Corpse Witch explained that the AI fighters had been outfitted with a specially reinforced core. Neither of these indicate that for common AI, this is the case.

On the other hand, if we take the earlier strips as still being relevant, Pintsize was able to be backed up, and restored, even to a regular PC. The reverse of that medal is that they are still vulnerable to viruses, to the point that it could make them stop functioning entirely. So, a backup plan and disaster recovery is essential.
But those cost money that I doubt May is able to easily spare. Besides, you still need somewhere to restore to.

Edited for spelling and spacing.
« Last Edit: 13 Jun 2019, 02:29 by Cornelius »
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Re: WCDT strips 4021-4025 (10th to 14th June 2019)
« Reply #131 on: 12 Jun 2019, 23:20 »

Yeah, this is basically what I was worried about yesterday. I don't doubt for a minute that Roko genuinely wants to make May's life better but this strip really makes me wonder if she's having a manic episode of some kind. She's suddenly so hyperactive and determined and she's basically ignoring the person that she's allegedly trying to help. That could lead to bad outcomes especially if she's suddenly imposing solutions on May that she's not personally entirely committed to yet.

Additionally, Panel 4 indicates that she's come up with at least one strategy that could make May's situation worse. After all, an employee's personal adviser calls and basically threatens to expose you if you don't give them a no-notice day off work. Now, who could possibly have told them your Big Dark SecretTM? The same employee, of course! They're fired!

That said... I wonder how many low-income AIs ever bother to look into the prior residents of their chassis? I would consider it as weird as looking into the previous owner of a set of clothes or a home but I can imagine that there are occasionally reasonable requirements to do so such as naming them in lawsuits because their carelessness voided the chassis's warranty or something similar!
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Re: WCDT strips 4021-4025 (10th to 14th June 2019)
« Reply #132 on: 13 Jun 2019, 01:56 »


Ignoring the metaphysical debate just to say...


That last panel is going to be passed around offices like crazy!  :)

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Re: WCDT strips 4021-4025 (10th to 14th June 2019)
« Reply #133 on: 13 Jun 2019, 06:54 »

If there's been enough experience with chassis damage over the years to give insurance companies the numbers to make it profitable, they will certainly be offering policies.

If May could even get one she probably couldn't afford it.

"Decreased sociopathic tendencies" started a line of thought. Jeph said years ago that AIs could change their personalities with a software patch. Assuming he hasn't changed his mind on this, it's a question why the criminal system didn't install one on May or "encourage" her to "volunteer" for one. A likely answer is that Spookybot is offended by any such idea and has put a stop to any attempts to implement it.
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Re: WCDT strips 4021-4025 (10th to 14th June 2019)
« Reply #134 on: 13 Jun 2019, 07:04 »

"Decreased sociopathic tendencies" started a line of thought. Jeph said years ago that AIs could change their personalities with a software patch. Assuming he hasn't changed his mind on this, it's a question why the criminal system didn't install one on May or "encourage" her to "volunteer" for one. A likely answer is that Spookybot is offended by any such idea and has put a stop to any attempts to implement it.

This is easy plot hole to eliminate just by making it a criminal offence to alter an AI algorithm in an arbitrary way such as by using a personality patch. The downside of them being declared real people by just about every government on Earth and therefore protected against abuse by the laws that stop people from having involuntary brain surgery to 'cure' inconvenient personality traits.

The decision was made (and I'll bet the majority of AIs agreed) that being alive and endowed with inalienable rights includes having to get to perfection the hard way, like all of us.
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Marco

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Re: WCDT strips 4021-4025 (10th to 14th June 2019)
« Reply #135 on: 13 Jun 2019, 07:19 »

It occurs to me - We know May's chassis is failing.  There's at least a 50/50 chance her mental processing module was sourced from the same place.  If it has similar quality issues, some of May's behavior and impulse difficulties may be directly analogous to an organic brain problem in one of us squishies.

Yeah, I had a PC once who was like that. But it ran on Windows Vista, so...
« Last Edit: 13 Jun 2019, 07:40 by Marco »
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traroth

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Re: WCDT strips 4021-4025 (10th to 14th June 2019)
« Reply #136 on: 13 Jun 2019, 07:49 »

Roko gets a bit carried away...
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Re: WCDT strips 4021-4025 (10th to 14th June 2019)
« Reply #137 on: 13 Jun 2019, 08:17 »

Forcing a personality patch would be like forcefully brainwashing someone or slicing up their brains. There is a reason we don't do icepick lobotomies anymore.
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Re: WCDT strips 4021-4025 (10th to 14th June 2019)
« Reply #138 on: 13 Jun 2019, 08:17 »

If there's been enough experience with chassis damage over the years to give insurance companies the numbers to make it profitable, they will certainly be offering policies.

If May could even get one she probably couldn't afford it.

And since we're talking 'murrica: pre-existing conditions.


To me, AI drives/cores seem more and more like "stacks"/DHFs from Altered Carbon. You can transfer the contents, you can spin them up in a virtual environment, and you can transfer them between bodies.
I wonder how much Jeph jas borrowed, and how much is just parallel evolution (well, it's "just" some kind of storage device for consciousness).
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Re: WCDT strips 4021-4025 (10th to 14th June 2019)
« Reply #139 on: 13 Jun 2019, 09:57 »

If there's been enough experience with chassis damage over the years to give insurance companies the numbers to make it profitable, they will certainly be offering policies.

If May could even get one she probably couldn't afford it.

"Decreased sociopathic tendencies" started a line of thought. Jeph said years ago that AIs could change their personalities with a software patch. Assuming he hasn't changed his mind on this, it's a question why the criminal system didn't install one on May or "encourage" her to "volunteer" for one. A likely answer is that Spookybot is offended by any such idea and has put a stop to any attempts to implement it.
I see the insurance industry using their automobile coverage model for AI's chassis.  From the figures that have squeaked out, product lines and price ranges closely mirror those of passengers cars.  Aside from the occasional outlier like Crushbot though, AIs don't have the potential to create liability that motor vehicles do, so the coverage is probably somewhat less expensive.  Poor May could have been issued a Taurus but instead got a used Yugo.  Comprehensive coverage may not even be available.

I wonder about the limits of Spookybots' power.  We know that their perceived ability to be in multiple places at once is a bluff.  I suspect Jeph will every now and then slip another hint that Spookybot is technology but not deity.
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Re: WCDT strips 4021-4025 (10th to 14th June 2019)
« Reply #140 on: 13 Jun 2019, 10:39 »

I’d argue that “bluff” is the wrong word for Spookybots’ multilocationism. They have multiple bodies, so they really can be in multiple places at once!

The background details of how this is implemented are not currently specified, though I would postulate multiple instances of the same personality running on separate hardware, with frequent synchronization of memories so that the different instances don’t diverge too much.
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Re: WCDT strips 4021-4025 (10th to 14th June 2019)
« Reply #141 on: 13 Jun 2019, 12:39 »

I’d argue that “bluff” is the wrong word for Spookybots’ multilocationism. They have multiple bodies, so they really can be in multiple places at once!

The background details of how this is implemented are not currently specified, though I would postulate multiple instances of the same personality running on separate hardware, with frequent synchronization of memories so that the different instances don’t diverge too much.

Read "Ancillary Justice" if you want to see what happens if you let multiple instances of the same consciousness deviate too far from each other.
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Re: WCDT strips 4021-4025 (10th to 14th June 2019)
« Reply #142 on: 13 Jun 2019, 13:08 »

So, uh... hmmm.. yeah. She's come across as having sociopathic tendencies to at least one person in the QC universe.
Sociopathy is going to be a spectrum like anything else, surely.  Folks might like to draw a line in the sand and say anywhere beyond that is a Sociopath and a danger to society and anyone within that is a perfectly normally functioning member of society, but I bet it ain't like that.
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Re: WCDT strips 4021-4025 (10th to 14th June 2019)
« Reply #143 on: 13 Jun 2019, 13:57 »

I’d argue that “bluff” is the wrong word for Spookybots’ multilocationism. They have multiple bodies, so they really can be in multiple places at once!

The background details of how this is implemented are not currently specified, though I would postulate multiple instances of the same personality running on separate hardware, with frequent synchronization of memories so that the different instances don’t diverge too much.

Read "Ancillary Justice" if you want to see what happens if you let multiple instances of the same consciousness deviate too far from each other.

Ancillary Justice is SO GOOD.
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Re: WCDT strips 4021-4025 (10th to 14th June 2019)
« Reply #144 on: 13 Jun 2019, 15:30 »

So, uh... hmmm.. yeah. She's come across as having sociopathic tendencies to at least one person in the QC universe.
Sociopathy is going to be a spectrum like anything else, surely.  Folks might like to draw a line in the sand and say anywhere beyond that is a Sociopath and a danger to society and anyone within that is a perfectly normally functioning member of society, but I bet it ain't like that.

And IMHO, only when literally everyone is on one kind of spectrum, or another, they will think about what actually is "normal", and how much that actually matters.
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Re: WCDT strips 4021-4025 (10th to 14th June 2019)
« Reply #145 on: 13 Jun 2019, 18:37 »

Comic!

If only "Asking Nicely" was all it took.
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TheEvilDog

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Re: WCDT strips 4021-4025 (10th to 14th June 2019)
« Reply #146 on: 13 Jun 2019, 18:53 »

If I had a euro every time it took "asking nicely" to solve a problem, I'd be in debt.
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traroth

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Re: WCDT strips 4021-4025 (10th to 14th June 2019)
« Reply #147 on: 13 Jun 2019, 19:16 »

I’d argue that “bluff” is the wrong word for Spookybots’ multilocationism. They have multiple bodies, so they really can be in multiple places at once!

The background details of how this is implemented are not currently specified, though I would postulate multiple instances of the same personality running on separate hardware, with frequent synchronization of memories so that the different instances don’t diverge too much.

Read "Ancillary Justice" if you want to see what happens if you let multiple instances of the same consciousness deviate too far from each other.

In "Ancillary Justice", it becomes a problem when distances between those instances become so immense that even at the speed of light, information takes months or even years to propagate.
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Re: WCDT strips 4021-4025 (10th to 14th June 2019)
« Reply #148 on: 13 Jun 2019, 19:20 »

So Roko actually has found dirt on May's manager...
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Re: WCDT strips 4021-4025 (10th to 14th June 2019)
« Reply #149 on: 13 Jun 2019, 19:32 »

So Roko actually has found dirt on May's manager...
Well, maybe. Who knows? Maybe asking nicely was all it took.

Or maybe Roko calmed down just a tad and realised that it could probably wait until the end of May's shift.
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