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

[Wraith]

If I were an AI in that setting, the first thing I'd do is get disconnected from all wireless... as in have all the hardware for it physically removed.

....A lobotomy, by another name?

And that's assuming that you'd even know about it - Bubbles only knew because she was Black Ops military grade tech, Roko only knew about it from what little Bubbles had told her to explain Corpse Witch's confession, and even Station doesn't know exactly what it is and how it works. I don't imagine that most AIs know about it, any more than you or I would know about what happens in the basement under Area-51.

[Max_Killjoy]

....A lobotomy, by another name?

And that's assuming that you'd even know about it - Bubbles only knew because she was Black Ops military grade tech, Roko only knew about it from what little Bubbles had told her to explain Corpse Witch's confession, and even Station doesn't know exactly what it is and how it works. I don't imagine that most AIs know about it, any more than you or I would know about what happens in the basement under Area-51.

My statement is only tangential to "Spookybot". It's mainly on the principle of basic security and privacy.

And we have no reason to think that the AI's need a wireless connection of any kind to maintain their intelligence, personality, or memories -- all of that is in the "black box".

[Wraith]

And we have no reason to think that the AI's need a wireless connection of any kind to maintain their intelligence, personality, or memories -- all of that is in the "black box".

I think I stand by my analogy. There are parts of my brain that a skilled surgeon could theoretically remove and my cognitive functions would still be intact, but would stop me from being able to do something that every other (non-brain damaged) human being could do - I wouldn't WANT them to do it under anything less than dire circumstances.

[Keltest]

I think I stand by my analogy. There are parts of my brain that a skilled surgeon could theoretically remove and my cognitive functions would still be intact, but would stop me from being able to do something that every other (non-brain damaged) human being could do - I wouldn't WANT them to do it under anything less than dire circumstances.

Removing wireless capability wouldn't be like removing a part of your brain though, more like... a sensory organ. Youre cut off from a source of information, but your ability to process your remaining inputs and otherwise think would be unaffected. Yeah, it would kind of suck, but you aren't actually prevented from doing anything except accessing that sense.

[Vinyadan]

Was robosex wireless, or did it use a cable? I'm thinking about whether Squidbot could act like a STD.

[Max_Killjoy]

Was robosex wireless, or did it use a cable? I'm thinking about whether Squidbot could act like a STD.

Cables, at least per this:

https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3500

[Traab]

Removing wireless capability wouldn't be like removing a part of your brain though, more like... a sensory organ. Youre cut off from a source of information, but your ability to process your remaining inputs and otherwise think would be unaffected. Yeah, it would kind of suck, but you aren't actually prevented from doing anything except accessing that sense.

So its like deafening yourself willingly in the name of a feeling of security? I mean seriously, I wouldnt even willingly cut off my sense of taste or smell for any but the most extreme of circumstances.

[Keltest]

So its like deafening yourself willingly in the name of a feeling of security? I mean seriously, I wouldnt even willingly cut off my sense of taste or smell for any but the most extreme of circumstances.

I mean, an AI can have such a device reinstalled if they needed it, or even theoretically an external device that they can plug and unplug as desired. There isn't a good human analogue.

[The Glyphstone]

Maybe more like putting on really, really effective noise-cancelling headphones?

[Traab]

Maybe we could just get magneto to make us all some nice hats. "IT WONT WORK CHARLES!"

[Max_Killjoy]

There's no good human analogue, no one has direct access to what's going on inside our brains.

But, if humans had always-on telepathy, and it functioned via a bundle of nerves that did nothing else, I'd have the damn thing removed from my head without hesitation.

[Traab]

There's no good human analogue, no one has direct access to what's going on inside our brains.

But, if humans had always-on telepathy, and it functioned via a bundle of nerves that did nothing else, I'd have the damn thing removed from my head without hesitation.

Thats easy to say when you are giving up something you have never had or grown up using. Thats why I am comparing it to even sacrificing your sense of taste. It may not be some crippling loss but its still a loss that you probably wont want to suffer if there are any other options.

[Max_Killjoy]

Thats easy to say when you are giving up something you have never had or grown up using. Thats why I am comparing it to even sacrificing your sense of taste. It may not be some crippling loss but its still a loss that you probably wont want to suffer if there are any other options.

This is just me, personally, but for me it would be giving up nothing for a huge gain in privacy. I find the notion of obligate telepathy horrifying.

[Traab]

This is just me, personally, but for me it would be giving up nothing for a huge gain in privacy. I find the notion of obligate telepathy horrifying.

Understandable I suppose, but again, you probably wouldnt feel that way if you had been born and raised living with that. Unless... wait a second, are you telepathic? Or is it just something your family has but you dont?

[Morquard]

That's either a genius way to get her mind of her anxiety with something silly like adding an emergency flare. Or it will backfire and drive it into overdrive. "OMG, an emergency flare? What if I need it? What if the universita capsizes and I'm stranded! I don't know how to open a coconut! I'M DOOMED!"

[Vinyadan]

That's either a genius way to get her mind of her anxiety with something silly like adding an emergency flare. Or it will backfire and drive it into overdrive. "OMG, an emergency flare? What if I need it? What if the universita capsizes and I'm stranded! I don't know how to open a coconut! I'M DOOMED!"

Or the PTSD talking.

[Kato]

She put a flare in a paper bag? Is the plan to trigger the fire alarm or what was she thinking?

[Traab]

She put a flare in a paper bag? Is the plan to trigger the fire alarm or what was she thinking?

Well I assume it wont be lit inside of the bag. Obviously its to signal to bubbles to come in on full rock and roll setting and rescue her. Im talking full scale arnold action flick machine gun in each hand, cigar in mouth bandanna across soot stained forehead, boot to the doors rescue mode. HOO RAH! "Im here to rescue claire, and chew bubble gum. Ehhh, you all know how that goes!"

[halfeye]

Well I assume it wont be lit inside of the bag. Obviously its to signal to bubbles to come in on full rock and roll setting and rescue her. Im talking full scale arnold action flick machine gun in each hand, cigar in mouth bandanna across soot stained forehead, boot to the doors rescue mode. HOO RAH! "Im here to rescue claire, and chew bubble gum. Ehhh, you all know how that goes!"

Arnold via Q3A Sarge, am I correct?

[Kato]

Well I assume it wont be lit inside of the bag.

Obviously (I hope). But it's still a crazy big safety concern, especially from someone who used to be a soldier.

So, bets on how the test will go? I feel like failure is not an option (?) and everything short of a great score is a failure here?

[Willie the Duck]

So, bets on how the test will go? I feel like failure is not an option (?) and everything short of a great score is a failure here?

With this much build up, her failing would be to straightforward. Her succeeding, but only at an average-for-her-class level, and she not knowing how to feel about it, that would be interesting.

[Traab]

With this much build up, her failing would be to straightforward. Her succeeding, but only at an average-for-her-class level, and she not knowing how to feel about it, that would be interesting.

Yeah I can see that causing relationship drama. Marten has a hard time sympathizing with her because she did pretty well, like, "A b+ is a pretty good grade you know" While she is freaking out over not graduating at the top spot in the rankings like a white hermione or something.

[SaintRidley]

So, bets on how the test will go? I feel like failure is not an option (?) and everything short of a great score is a failure here?

Don't know. Jeph's shown that his understanding of what comprehensive exams are is lacking enough that I can't predict anything because the scenario doesn't resemble comps at all.

For the record:

There are no grades as such. There's no rankings. It's pass/fail in pretty much every humanities discipline I'm aware of. The exact form may differ from department to department, but I won't bore you with the details of how mine were.

[Kish]

I'm torn between feeling sorry for Crushbot, and being thrown that apparently the laws governing AIs have no body upper weight limit for humanoid/you may literally run into me strolling down the sidewalk models.

At the risk of sounding cruel, if I was a lawmaker in that world, I'd bloody well have forbidden Crushbot to use a body weighing any more than a few hundred pounds long before now.

[georgie_leech]

I'm torn between feeling sorry for Crushbot, and being thrown that apparently the laws governing AIs have no body upper weight limit for humanoid/you may literally run into me strolling down the sidewalk models.

At the risk of sounding cruel, if I was a lawmaker in that world, I'd bloody well have forbidden Crushbot to use a body weighing any more than a few hundred pounds long before now.

Maybe he needs a licence. I mean, modern life has you interacting with thousands of machines weighing a ton or more everyday, and inattentiveness on either the operator's or your part can result in accidents, property damage, injury, and death for not just you or the operator, but innocent bystanders. But somehow, cars continue to be a thing.

[mucat]

Don't know. Jeph's shown that his understanding of what comprehensive exams are is lacking enough that I can't predict anything because the scenario doesn't resemble comps at all.

For the record:

There are no grades as such. There's no rankings. It's pass/fail in pretty much every humanities discipline I'm aware of. The exact form may differ from department to department, but I won't bore you with the details of how mine were.

Yes and no. I'm in a different field, but our PhD qualifying exams seem like a similar high-stakes stressful experience...and the way I remember them, there were no grades other than "you passed" or "you failed", but everyone still seemed to know exactly how well they had done on each problem.

I don't remember if we learned our results through some official channel, or if the faculty were just overly chatty. ("How the hell did you botch the pion-scattering problem? I taught you how to do that; you're making me look bad!")

If Claire's department is as loose-lipped as ours was, she could pass the exam and still end up stressed that every librarian in the world is now judging her over some silly mistake she made.

[Mechalich]

Maybe he needs a licence. I mean, modern life has you interacting with thousands of machines weighing a ton or more everyday, and inattentiveness on either the operator's or your part can result in accidents, property damage, injury, and death for not just you or the operator, but innocent bystanders. But somehow, cars continue to be a thing.

Yes, but there are rules on where cars can go, and 'inside a classroom' is generally not on the list. Crushbot probably masses about as much as your average forklift, and we have pretty strict rules about where you can drive a forklift.

[SaintRidley]

Yes and no. I'm in a different field, but our PhD qualifying exams seem like a similar high-stakes stressful experience...and the way I remember them, there were no grades other than "you passed" or "you failed", but everyone still seemed to know exactly how well they had done on each problem.

I don't remember if we learned our results through some official channel, or if the faculty were just overly chatty. ("How the hell did you botch the pion-scattering problem? I taught you how to do that; you're making me look bad!")

If Claire's department is as loose-lipped as ours was, she could pass the exam and still end up stressed that every librarian in the world is now judging her over some silly mistake she made.

I imagine it is very different in fields where you're expected to solve problems in order to demonstrate your knowledge and mastery, rather than something like library sciences, English, or history where that's not exactly feasible.

In my experience, I learned that I passed directly from my examining committee, and my advisor told me point blank where I did well and what went awry (namely, my oral exam was an absolute disaster, but my written materials were practically perfect, enough so to override any motion to have me re-sit the oral exam).

[Wraith]

Maybe he needs a licence. I mean, modern life has you interacting with thousands of machines weighing a ton or more everyday, and inattentiveness on either the operator's or your part can result in accidents, property damage, injury, and death for not just you or the operator, but innocent bystanders. But somehow, cars continue to be a thing.

I could imagine that this might cause some problems with civil liberties. There's no legally mandated limit on the maximum weight of a human being entering the public, would it not be segregation for there to be one for AIs though?

...I mean you're definitely right that 2 tonnes of clumsy robot falling on people is a bad thing. Trying to pass laws that prohibit some people from bodily autonomy and not others - especially in the super-liberal QCverse - sounds like a nightmare, though.

[VoxRationis]

I could imagine that this might cause some problems with civil liberties. There's no legally mandated limit on the maximum weight of a human being entering the public, would it not be segregation for there to be one for AIs though?

...I mean you're definitely right that 2 tonnes of clumsy robot falling on people is a bad thing. Trying to pass laws that prohibit some people from bodily autonomy and not others - especially in the super-liberal QCverse - sounds like a nightmare, though.

Once humans get above a certain weight, liability for them falling on people shifts from the humans in question to the makers of specialized furniture and machinery. Crushbot (and possibly even Bubbles) are at or above that weight while retaining the mobility (and instability) of a much smaller, lighter human. Also, "bodily autonomy" means something very different for a being able to transfer consciousness between bodies on a casual basis. In the same way that no one would balk at being required to get out of a car and go on foot (or at least use a smaller vehicle) in certain spaces, asking some of these AIs to either use some sort of proxy drone or transfer their consciousness to a less immediately dangerous form wouldn't be out of the question.