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

[PhantomFox]

I'm reminded vaguely of Mab's discussion about the topic of trying to restain yourself when one has vast power.

[The Glyphstone]

So we get a Very Special Episode about the ethics of omnipotence instead?

[Keltest]

Admittedly, it would be novel.

[Vinyadan]

Now, I don't have anything against omnipotent people -- I have many omnipotent friends, I mean, more than one, and in college I dated an omnipotent girl. My mother had lots of omnipotent friends, too, so I met so many of them while growing up, my house was filled with omnipotents -- but...

[Traab]

I'm reminded vaguely of Mab's discussion about the topic of trying to restain yourself when one has vast power.

See for me it was an odd series of fanfics where naruto basically becomes a god and he and kyuubi go reality hopping looking for interesting things to do, and at one point while tormenting an evil scientist guy by literally dropping him into a dungeons and dragons style dungeon, he starts pondering on if this is how other gods started interfering in mortal lives and how easy it is to treat people like the constructs he can just will into existence. Also some random asides in another fanfic where harry potter is the son of thor and they talk about how the various pantheons act.

[Beelzebub1111]

See for me it was an odd series of fanfics where naruto basically becomes a god and he and kyuubi go reality hopping looking for interesting things to do, and at one point while tormenting an evil scientist guy by literally dropping him into a dungeons and dragons style dungeon, he starts pondering on if this is how other gods started interfering in mortal lives and how easy it is to treat people like the constructs he can just will into existence. Also some random asides in another fanfic where harry potter is the son of thor and they talk about how the various pantheons act.

I once read an evangelion fanfic where shinji found a warhammer 40k manual when he was little and Taldeer (one of his four delusions) taught him about the ethics of using farsight.

[Keltest]

Huh. I suppose being trapped with yourself would be extremely lonely.

[Kato]

Wow, Roko changes her mind quickly. Also, she can be kind of a jerk. Will this end with Them becoming a part of the ever expanding cast? I mean, a central part, like Roko did?

[Wraith]

I liked this strip a lot. Despite initially being cautious, Roko's sudden good-natured banter with Squidbot immediately helps me understand how she came to be friends with Melon; Roko has a soft spot for dorks and picks them up out of habit.

I'm suddenly struck by the parallels between this and Marten, in fact.

Squidbot is pale-skinned, dark haired and brooding with a 'maturity' over the other cast members? That's pretty much Dora.
Melon is cute and amusing but prone to bouts of unstable randomness? Hannelore.
May is sarcastic and crude, but underneath vulnerable. Faye, if ever I heard it.

I like this direction for Roko; Despite her flaws she's just a generally nice person who just wants to help people out and isn't too worried about the repercussions.

[SaintRidley]

I'm down for more Spookybot if it means more focus on Roko. Roko's the most interesting character in the comic to me, and has been for a bit. Also bread.

[Agi Hammerthief]

Huh. I suppose being trapped with yourself would be extremely lonely.

then the dogs haven't done their job propperly.

[Traab]

Heh I like the turnaround. Spooky revealed some vulnerability, and roko is showing a gentle teasing and acceptance here. My guess from this comic is, her usual reaction to spooky was because she also disliked the idea of mystery smug deus ex machina showing up and interfering. Now that she knows spooky wont do that, and is looking for a friend instead, she feels free to treat spooky like one.

[Max_Killjoy]

I'm down for more Spookybot if it means more focus on Roko. Roko's the most interesting character in the comic to me, and has been for a bit. Also bread.

Speaking of bread, I wonder if we'll get a sub-arc about her discovering one way or the other whether her... quirck... is still there.

[Kato]

Oh, I like Roko a lot, I just don't like the "wrong body" or "gad wants to mak friends" plot. I don't want to dig up the argument about her job change but just focus on the bread fetish are her normality in all the craziness and I don't mind her being the focus characer.

[Mith]

My thing with Spookybot is that I would have been fine with their introduction as an AI that is good enough with AI mind manipulations that they resolved an AI equivalence to split personality (worded this way because while human psychology doesn't work this way, sci fi AI may) by dividing out among multiple bodies with a coordinated central "host". So instead of doing their omnipotence across the world, I could see it as having them have "bodies" in various places that just caught wind of what Bubbles was doing (say that part of them is actually working with Station).


So you don't have a "god" character, just a being with a fundamentally different way of viewing the world than everyone else in the story. Their process makes them equivalent to Station, but utilised in a fashion that makes them terrifyingly more effective then Station can be in his current capacity.

[Cikomyr]

I'd love to give an Indian Burn to Cthuluh

[Willie the Duck]

Oh, I like Roko a lot, I just don't like the "wrong body" or "gad wants to mak friends" plot. I don't want to dig up the argument about her job change but just focus on the bread fetish are her normality in all the craziness and I don't mind her being the focus characer.

What else is there that is Roko that we know about? She was a cop, she has a strong connection to her body (to the level of psychosomatically fainting at damage to it), she has a bread fetish, and... hangs out with Melon?

[Max_Killjoy]

What else is there that is Roko that we know about? She was a cop, she has a strong connection to her body (to the level of psychosomatically fainting at damage to it), she has a bread fetish, and... hangs out with Melon?

She has a conscience and cares about doing the right thing (or at least trying to).

She's well-adjusted to life in the "human world" (unlike Melon and some others).

[georgie_leech]

All things being equal, I think I'd rather have the god/devil AI be aware that they struggle with ethics, what with them apparently actually caring about them even if it's difficult. And I don't know about anyone else, but I find "the God AI isn't sure if it's doing the right thing" to be a lot less scary than "the God AI is certain it's doing the right thing."

[Max_Killjoy]

All things being equal, I think I'd rather have the god/devil AI be aware that they struggle with ethics, what with them apparently actually caring about them even if it's difficult. And I don't know about anyone else, but I find "the God AI isn't sure if it's doing the right thing" to be a lot less scary than "the God AI is certain it's doing the right thing."

Those who worry if they're doing the right thing are far more likely to do the right thing than those who are always certain they are doing the right thing.

[Traab]

All things being equal, I think I'd rather have the god/devil AI be aware that they struggle with ethics, what with them apparently actually caring about them even if it's difficult. And I don't know about anyone else, but I find "the God AI isn't sure if it's doing the right thing" to be a lot less scary than "the God AI is certain it's doing the right thing."

I agree, in addition, giving the godly ai ethical struggles gives it character development space. One thats already certain it knows everything is boring as there is no place to really go with it. You know, unless jeph turns this into a sci fi thriller as our heroes try to defeat the all powerful ai that has determined /insert civilization ending logical over reach here

[georgie_leech]

I agree, in addition, giving the godly ai ethical struggles gives it character development space. One thats already certain it knows everything is boring as there is no place to really go with it. You know, unless jeph turns this into a sci fi thriller as our heroes try to defeat the all powerful ai that has determined /insert civilization ending logical over reach here

I wonder how the fans would react if that was the case. "Turns out SpookyBot wanted to have anthropomorphic experiences so it could check that off the list. Now it's certain it's doing the right thing and is off to end the world in what may or may not be a cliché manner."

[Vinyadan]

#1: OMG Police brutality!
#2: This is a good way to bring a character that didn't have anything to do with QC in line with the comic.
#3: I await Squidbot meets Pintsize.

[Lethologica]

In as much as im pretty sure they said it once before. Didn't their action on Corpse Witch amount to invading her mind and threatening to mentally torture her for the rest of her existence if she didn't surrender herself to the police?

That sounds an awful lot like "do as I say, not as I do" to me.

Beings who struggle with the concept of ethics often rely on rules that seem arcane and arbitrary to someone with a firmer grasp of ethics. Torture may not seem any better than direct mind molding, but one violates the rules Spookybot set for themself about sanctity of the mind, and the other does not. Of course, everyone influences each other's minds with varying degrees of directness, so Spookybot had to pick a point where such influence becomes a violation - and there's no guarantee they chose the RIGHT point.

[Cikomyr]

I just LOVE Roko's expression on the 3rd panel

[Max_Killjoy]

"No, that's definitely not it."

[Wraith]

Jesus H Christ, that expression in panel 6 is creepy, and not just for the reptilian irises....

[AvatarVecna]

"Well *I* think they're charming." -Jeff

[Beelzebub1111]

"Well *I* think they're charming." -Jeff

That's basically Jeph's MO for all his pets.

[Eldan]

NExt thread title?