Questionable Content 14: "I Deserve A Fancy Butt Emblem."

Welcome to the latest installment of discussion threads for Questionable Content, a M-F "slice of life" comic in which life is defined by coffee, robots, Butts Disease, and spontaneous metal interludes.

You have been warned.

Links To The Past
Questionable Content 1
Questionable Content 2: Espresso With Extra Scorn
Questionable Content 3: Ironically Quite Popular
Questionable Content 4: Attack of the 60-Inch AnthroPC
Questionable Content 5: Suffers Occasional Outbreaks of Butt's Disease
Questionable Content 6: Murder Mode
Questionable Content 7: Will Work For Makeouts
Questionable Content 8: OMG I SHIP IT!
Questionable Content 9: To Kill a Yelling Bird
Questionable Content 10: La-Li-Lu-Le-Lo
Questionable Content 11: It's Like Seeing a Unicorn
Questionable Content 12: Artificial Unintelligence
Questionable Content 13: It's YOU Who Is The Dork!

I would like to offer an Honourable Mention to The Glyphstone who suggested "Socially Appropriate Thread Title!" as a strong contender, but frankly he was fighting a losing battle against butts right from the beginning. Better luck next time, sir.

If everyone's butt emblem is fancy, then NOBODIES butt emblem is fancy! Also poor crushbot, dont be so mean faye, it was an accident!

So... was Winslow badly informed? Or did I miss something?

https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=668

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Originally Posted by Traab

If everyone's butt emblem is fancy, then NOBODIES butt emblem is fancy! Also poor crushbot, dont be so mean faye, it was an accident!

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No, be mean Faye, nobody who calls themselves Crushbot gets to act surprised when they crush something.

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Originally Posted by Vinyadan

So... was Winslow badly informed? Or did I miss something?

https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=668

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I'm not following.

Imagine if it had been a human or other organic being, instead of an AI who can have a body replacement available in short order. If Crushbot just falling over is enough to destroy Roko's body, what would he have done to a human body?

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Originally Posted by Morquard

I'm not following.

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Equal rights for robots. I assume that they already have them. Plus, they appear to have no responsibility, yet there is a robojail.

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Originally Posted by Max_Killjoy

Imagine if it had been a human or other organic being, instead of an AI who can have a body replacement available in short order. If Crushbot just falling over is enough to destroy Roko's body, what would he have done to a human body?

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Similar thing to being hit by a car, or having a forklift drop a piano on one, or any of a thousand things like that. This is probably one of those ai law issues that havent been fully considered yet, we dont let cars drive on the sidewalk due to the danger towards pedestrians, should multi ton robot bodies bear similar restrictions? If so, where are they supposed to go? Its doubtful crushbot can handle traveling at local speed limits after all, so staying on the road probably isnt an option. Should he be stuck in the warehouse he works at or wherever until he buys a secondary body to transfer between?

I think that particular comic predates the coming of the Singularity, which was specifically described somewhere in the 1800's or so, I think. AIs started getting humanoid bodies and a bigger role in society in general right after that point, so perhaps that's also when the civil rights (and responsibilities) also kicked in?

[EDIT] Google says it was in #1777. Pintsize was disappointed because he thought he would be getting sexy robotic elohim, rather than intellectual validity. :smalltongue:

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Originally Posted by Vinyadan

Equal rights for robots. I assume that they already have them. Plus, they appear to have no responsibility, yet there is a robojail.

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The equal rights are a relatively new thing. See how back then they're still talking about "their owners"? These days it's "companions" and such.

Edit: You can read a bit more here: http://questionablecontent.wikia.com...s_of_AnthroPCs

Jeph mostly just quietly changed that when he became more interested in developing the AIs. Back then, they had owners, but Pintsize also later commented on how he was a companion AI to Marten and had chosen that life.

Pintsize was mainly around to start with because Webcomics at the time always had a wacky mascot. See:

User Friendly - Dust Puppy
PvP - Skull
Something Positive - Choo Choo Bear
Sluggy Freelance - Bun-Bun
Penny Arcade - parodied with Div.
Gunnerkrigg Court - Reynard
Girl Genius - Krosp, arguably.
Ctrl-Alt-Delete - Zeke


It was just kind of what you did. When Jeph got interested in AI, he had to try and retcon in Pintsize despite him not really fitting the mold.

Wait this is Post-singularity? I forgot. This is obcenely optimistic. Based on the academics of it we'll probably end up closer to the "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream" future. If we're lucky, it just won't notice us and kill us while trying to do something else

"No, see, we're really lucky 'cause we got the 'friendly AI' Singularity. The AI is smarter than we are, but also likes us. So it PROBABLY won't kill or enslave us or anything!" :smallbiggrin:

"'Probably'?" :smallconfused:

:smalltongue:

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Originally Posted by Beelzebub1111

Wait this is Post-singularity? I forgot. This is obcenely optimistic. Based on the academics of it we'll probably end up closer to the "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream" future. If we're lucky, it just won't notice us and kill us while trying to do something else

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Personally, I expect a "I Have No Job and I Must Eat" scenario.

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Originally Posted by Vinyadan

Personally, I expect a "I Have No Job and I Must Eat" scenario.

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That's just automation. Which will happen, but pre-singularity. When The AI singilarity happens. We'll be to this AI, essentially, as animals are to us. It will be over for humanity. Period.

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Originally Posted by Beelzebub1111

That's just automation. Which will happen, but pre-singularity. When The AI singilarity happens. We'll be to this AI, essentially, as animals are to us. It will be over for humanity. Period.

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One of many conflicting predictions.

If it ever happens at all.

With regards to QC, most, and in fact possibly all (Spookybot is a question mark) of the AIs we encounter are explicitly not capable of recursive self-improvement. As a result even AIs that clearly possess significantly more cognitive potency than any human several times over, such as Station, have distinct limits to their capabilities. As a result, it is likely that the 'Singularity' as it occurred in QC represents something very different from a typical hard take off AI Risk scenario. What seems to have happened is that the AIs in the universe mostly ran into fundamental limits in terms of upgrading their consciousness. It is vaguely implied that enhancing their intelligence, while possible, requires exponentially more hardware to get exponentially better results, and this has largely prevented them from trying it (and also because they seem to have some deep-seated objections to trying to go the whole Matrioshka Brain route).

Now, of course, this may be entirely illusory and the real AIs of the universe represent Spookybot and the beings beyond it and they're all busy converting Jupiter into computronium or something and have just decided to magnanimously ignore Earth for a while because it amuses them to do so. If so, then QC represents a story of the 'left behinds,' a type of science fiction rapidly becoming more common (ex. Rapture of the Nerds). This is, of course, appropriate, because QC was always about people largely left behind by modern society in the first place and adding a bunch of AI types who are in a similar position vis a vis their own society makes sense.

Butt Emblem, the new RPG by Intelligent Systems. _{Rated M for Mature.}

Lemon, no, don't. The danger is too great.

Faye started out so well, too.

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Originally Posted by eee

Lemon, no, don't. The danger is too great.

Faye started out so well, too.

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Given Faye's personal experience with physical injury resulting in visible changes to your body, I would think she would be more sensitive to Roko's discomfort.

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Originally Posted by eee

Lemon, no, don't. The danger is too great.

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I thought that was adorable. Nuclear reactors have AI personalities, and they're so stressed and paranoid with the weight of their responsibilities that they need a therapist to check them for depression.
Melon almost certainly doesn't mean that she wants to run into a control room and start pushing random buttons, but that she wants a play-date with someone who is lonely. That's sweet of her, in her own strange way.

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Originally Posted by Keltest

Given Faye's personal experience with physical injury resulting in visible changes to your body, I would think she would be more sensitive to Roko's discomfort.

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Faye overreacting and overcompensating in order to hide her own insecurity is perfectly within her established character, I think. :smalltongue:

Forgot we had a new thread already... :smallsigh:
When did Faye forget about the concept of personal space? If someone walked up to her and pulled her ear, e.g. Roko she'd probably punch them. Why is she acting like this is normal?

Also, Melon might just cause someone to go crazy, so... I'm not sure if I'm for or against this plan. (I'm pretty definitely against giving control of a nuclear plant to a single entity, though.

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Originally Posted by Kato

When did Faye forget about the concept of personal space? If someone walked up to her and pulled her ear, e.g. Roko she'd probably punch them. Why is she acting like this is normal?

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Because she's a bully who regularly criticises and/or harasses other people but sulks and lashes out when the same scrutiny is turned on her.

If I were being politically minded, I'd possibly suggest that its a form of unacknowledged prejudice. To Faye, Roko is an AI mind and her body is just an accessory that can be swapped out on a whim. It's not really "her" so it doesn't matter if she prods and pokes at it without permission, it's like me admiring your car in a parking lot.

I don't actually believe that's what Jeph is going for; more that it's Faye's "professional interest", so intrigued and excited by the new 'toy' that she forgets its more than that to Roko. Rude, but a staple comedy trope and not usually meant maliciously.

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Originally Posted by Kato

Forgot we had a new thread already... :smallsigh:
When did Faye forget about the concept of personal space? If someone walked up to her and pulled her ear, e.g. Roko she'd probably punch them. Why is she acting like this is normal?

Also, Melon might just cause someone to go crazy, so... I'm not sure if I'm for or against this plan. (I'm pretty definitely against giving control of a nuclear plant to a single entity, though.

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Faye generally seems like someone who generally needs to be heavily prodded onto the path of introspection about other people. See her realising that her old behaviour probably drove Bubbles nuts.

As for the nuclear power plant dealie, I know it was (and maybe still is) policy at Canadian reactors that the head engineer of a plant had veto power on decisions in an emergency because they would know the plant better than any outside party coming in.

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Originally Posted by Kato

Forgot we had a new thread already... :smallsigh:
When did Faye forget about the concept of personal space? If someone walked up to her and pulled her ear, e.g. Roko she'd probably punch them. Why is she acting like this is normal?

Also, Melon might just cause someone to go crazy, so... I'm not sure if I'm for or against this plan. (I'm pretty definitely against giving control of a nuclear plant to a single entity, though.

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Since they require mental support it certainly is. Unless something about nuclear reactors in the qc verse requires a full ai, normal software would likely be the better choice (I would say make one ai manage several of these normal softwares but the software probably shouldn't be accessible from the outside so that is impractical.)

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Originally Posted by Ibrinar

Since they require mental support it certainly is. Unless something about nuclear reactors in the qc verse requires a full ai, normal software would likely be the better choice (I would say make one ai manage several of these normal softwares but the software probably shouldn't be accessible from the outside so that is impractical.)

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I could see using AI as they could have a better mental capacity to monitor and manage the various systems and protocols. Since AI have very human functions, they are the perfect hybrid of precision and detail of computers, with the intuitive leaps of humans.

Monday's update... where once again a character is made clueless and past growth is negated in order to cram a joke and/or "point" into the narrative.

One of the common elements of popular / episodic fiction that I loath.

Im going with this is another arc for faye to confront her robotist behavior. Its more microaggression level so its harder to notice, but as has been pointed out, she wouldnt walk up to a HUMAN who just got out of hospital and start grabbing body parts to talk about how awesome they are. Or at the very least she wouldnt do it to casual acquaintances at best. So yeah, we are going to get a Very Special Arc tm about how she is behaving and why bubbles is upset with her and why faye needs to go apologize.

Faye's lines read to me like this.

"Hey what a cute puppy! I'm so sorry your old dog got mauled brutally, but considering how much you loved him, this new one must be super awesome now, right?"