Progress Report: The Ships With Two Hearts Parked Next to the Sierra Madre

[jeriendhal]

Goal: 100,000+ words
Words Today: 0
Words Total: 586
Words to Go: 99,414

Epic fail on writing, though in my defense I was stuck training a new hire today.

Been pondering how to handle AI's in my universe. It's necessary for the plot that they A) Be at minimum human level sentient, B) able to move from computer to computer (in other words, software based AI like in Transhuman Space) and finally C) be able to fit into a human sized brainpan. Except that within those restrictions I don't want them to be commonplace like in the THS universe, the equivalent of being able find cell phones in the some of the primitive areas on Earth these days. [1]

Unfortunately postulating that AI's are a "lost" technology, like the Stardrives, doesn't pass my personal smell test. Having them need HC metal to operate sounds nonsensical to me, and I've already established that there's at least two centers of human civilization perfectly capable of maintaining, if not improving on, the tech that was available at the time the Confederation fell.

Must ponder this.



[1] Some day I'm looking forward to seeing a movie where a bunch of very stupid First World explorers find themselves trapped in Deepest Darkest Africa, and one of their native porters just shakes his head in annoyance and pulls out his satellite phone to call for aid.

Comments

[sraun]

Re: C) - exactly how much of 'them' must fit in that volume? The computing & memory only? I/O and power outside of the volume? That might get you a double in size. Alternatively, has your society solved our battery problem? If not, it strikes me that an AI should suck down an awful lot of power - maybe they need too much power to be found outside of cities, or need a huge portable generator? Yeah, fine - we can fit everything except the power-source in a sphere the size of baseball - but the smallest power source to keep one going for more than minutes takes something the size of a delivery truck?

Frankenstein complex? Maybe the early generation AI's went mad, and now they're only used in some very circumscribed situations, or only under close monitoring by expert xenopsychologists?

I assume something like the Butlerian Jihad is right out?

[jeriendhal.livejournal.com]

Mmmmmm... I'm more inclined towards restrictions in computational capacity than requiring external power (though perhaps generating unsual amount of heat might certainly work. Cooling fans would be a bit problematical, given where the maguffin AI will be located.) One of the AI's neat tricks is to be able to navigate Hyperspace with more ease than a human backed up by a conventional flight control system. So maintaining its intelligence in the primary AI kernel might work, but it would need to be hooked into the ship's memory core to function at full capacity. And if the minimum level is brainpan sized, then it's not like you're going to be loading one into your IPod.

There might be a mild Frankenstein complex going on. AI's don't go mad (they'd be more likely to just break) but they certainly can be subborned. Ship AI's suddenly having their loyalties reprogrammed was a major tactic during the Starship War.

No Butlerian Jihad though. My humans may have lost some tech, but they ain't going to delberately cripple themselves because a bunch of religious loons say so. ;p

[sraun]

Does the brainpan-sized thing have to actually be at all functional? Could it be the backup?

[chaypeta.livejournal.com]

You know the paranoia limiting the numbers of AI's might be justifiable and not some religious 'thou shalt not play god' mentality. Maybe they were used by some government or fringe terrorist group in some nasty destructive ways so now, to placate the masses, one needs a special permit and particular governmentally acceptable reason to own one which is a mega headache to aquire. I take it that the AI's have no legal autonomy or rights despite their intelligence quota here and are considered shattels. Maybe they can't be truely owned but must be leased from government bodies.

If the supply of starships are limited and the AI's most useful function in this universe is to operate them then there is little need to maufacture many new AI's. Physical labour is handled by low functioning robots and plebs: both infinantly cheaper to procure. Most computer functions wouldn't require the extreme fuzzy logic of a sentient AI unit.

The power source limitation kind of negates the idea of having a mobile, humaniod mimicking 'body' to house the AI (which i take it is what you are getting at by making the software able to fit into a circuit structure roughly the size of a human brain.) and limits it's mobility.

There are, i think, only two reasons one would have an AI housed inside a humanoid shell. Firstly that such a form is necessary for it's function which must incorporate a high degree of human interaction requiring people to respond to it in a certain way. Secondly it could just be an expensive extravegance, perhaps a marketing tool of the manufacturers.

Okay, so there may be more, that's just my thoughts reading this. Sorry about the spelling errors, in the middle of fleshing out the next two Terinu chapters and currently taking a break.

[jeriendhal.livejournal.com]

Good points all, especially on the legal autonomy thing. Especially towards the end, all the of starship AIs were government owned, and it's entirely reasonable that they're still government regulated chattel essentially. And no, robots, autocars and such wouldn't need that level of sentience. It also fits nicely with the book planned denoument, which I like.

As for housing them in a human sized body, there's actually a third reason to do it, related to starship security, but I'll keep that reason to myself for now. *grins*

Love todays page BTW. It's always fun to see Titalia get her Evil on. ;)

[sraun]

There's also the rationale from the Van Rijn universe - there, it was very easy to generate a suicidal AI and put it in command of a starship - which it would then take, land in or near an enemy capitol, and self-destruct. Toss in a load of nuclear weaponry for it to set off at the same time as its star-drive power source, and you have a very spectacular kaboom. Maybe not earth-shattering, but more than enough to do in near-continental sized chunks of real estate.

[moonshadowed.livejournal.com]

At least you're working through and thinking about your story.... you might inspire me to dust off the one I did for my (failed 2007 NaNoWriMo).

[hopeevey.livejournal.com]

If it's any comfort, I have done NaNoWriMo four times now, and not even come close to completing one. But I glory in the attempt, anyway :)

[tamhavik.livejournal.com]

What's a NaNoWriMo?

[jeriendhal.livejournal.com]

National Novel Writing Month. It's basicaly a program to try and encourage aspiring writers. The idea is that every November the participants attempt to write a 50,000 word novel in just one month. Not necessarily a good novel (that's what editing is for) but just an attempt to prove that you can write a full manuscript in a reasonable amount of time.

[tamhavik.livejournal.com]

Ah, sounds like fun! I've been browsing the site and I think I'm going to suggest this to a friend of mine. She's always writing and I think she'll join in. I might even consider trying it myself too. I have so many stories in my head. It might be fun to finally have a reason to write (some of) them down ^^

[chaypeta.livejournal.com]

I dream about being able to attempt a NaNoWriMo. :(
I figure with my kids I have at least 5 years before I can seriously attempt one.

(Everytime I get in the doldrums about not having the time to produce anything creative I flick back through my comic and remember I'm already doing something amazing. That sounds a little conceited, sorry, but thats the way I mentally reward myself.)

[jeriendhal.livejournal.com]

Believe me, with your skills it's hardly a conceit!

[moonshadowed.livejournal.com]

Now, I'll be the first to admit I haven't read your whole comic.... but from what I have seen.... "It ain't a conceit! Shaddap!" (Just kidding about the shaddap )

[tamhavik.livejournal.com]

Your comic is magnificent, so don't say you don't produce anything creative! ^^