Re: Why is Star Trek so robophobic?

"James Gassaway" <dtravel@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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> Ken from Chicago wrote:
>> "James Gassaway" <dtravel@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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>>> Ken from Chicago wrote:
>>>> "James Gassaway" <dtravel@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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>>>>> Ken from Chicago wrote:
>>>>>> "Chris Schumacher" <kensu__@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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>>>>>>> "Arthur Lipscomb" <arthur@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> "Victor Velazquez" <k-canute@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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>>>>>>>>> "Arthur Lipscomb" <arthur@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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>>>>>>>>>> "Ken from Chicago" <kwicker1b_nospam@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in
>>>>>>>>>> message news:IJudnetpbqYjJgHanZ2dnUVZ_hynnZ2d@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>>>>>>>>>> We have sentient computers, sentient holograms, FTL,
>>>>>>>>>>> tele****tation technology, fusion technology, replicator
>>>>>>>>>>> technology and yet they still have human(oid)s push and
>>>>>>>>>>> pulling and carrying stuff about ****ps with nary a robot in
>>>>>>>>>>> sight. Forget Data-esque androids, how about basic droids?
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> Put an item of some level of sensitivity or fragility (e.g.,
>>>>>>>>>>> anti-matter which can't be beamed except in exceedingly small
>>>>>>>>>>> amounts, or injured crew) in some robocart, give it a
>>>>>>>>>>> destination and send it on its way. Launch robodrones outside
>>>>>>>>>>> the ****p to survey it and make basic repairs, even if they
>>>>>>>>>>> are remotely controlled, but you never see that. What's up?
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> Sure, there was that whole M5 ... "incident" ... but is there
>>>>>>>>>>> some story or episode that explains why the robophobia? Is
>>>>>>>>>>> there some Butlerian war, some kind of Joshua incident, some
>>>>>>>>>>> kind of Skynet takeover attempt that explains why, not just
>>>>>>>>>>> Earthers, but the Klingons (altho they have a culture that
>>>>>>>>>>> kinda explains direct action), the Romulans, the Ferengi
>>>>>>>>>>> (less fellow Ferengi to share profits if you have robots),
>>>>>>>>>>> Betazoids, Andorians, Cardassians, Bajorians, Vulcans, pert
>>>>>>>>>>> near every alien encountered rarely if ever used robots, even
>>>>>>>>>>> the Borg are hybrid organic / technoid, why?
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Perhaps in the Star Trek universe all the civilizations that
>>>>>>>>>> create intelligent robots get wiped out by them before they
>>>>>>>>>> invent warp drive.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> What incentive could intelligent robots possibly have to wipe
>>>>>>>>> out organic sentients?
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> They don't necessarily need an incentive.  People do things all
>>>>>>>> the time without having an incentive.  And robots don't have to
>>>>>>>> have the same motivations that people do.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I've always thought it would be interesting to have a story
>>>>>>> where a robot uses deductive reasoning to determine the cause of
>>>>>>> all the problems he has to fix, and traces them all back to
>>>>>>> human error. Therefore, to completely eradicate all errors in
>>>>>>> the future (its primary tasks) it kills all the people who can
>>>>>>> make the mistakes to begin with.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Skynet.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> There's also the "I'm damn tired!" plot, where the computer/robot
>>>>>>> gets tired of taking instructions and kills its master just so it
>>>>>>> can sit down and "die".
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Why would a robot get "tired"?
>>>>>>
>>>>> Because a human wrote the story.
>>>>
>>>> You misspelled "bad writer".
>>>>
>>> All human writers are bad writers, by definition?  I think the
>>> problem is
>>
>> If that were the case there would be no need to distinguish between
>> bad writers and humans in general. Let's not blame all humanity for
>> the crappy product of bad writers.
>>
>> Besides good writers have shown Trek has plenty of good and even
>> greatness untapped--especially in literary form versus (multi)media
>> form, tho there are some truly great onscreen episodes and movies of
>> Trek.
>>> more with the audience.  They have this bizarre thing about wanting
>>> to be able to empathize or at least comprehend the characters in the
>>> stories they read.
>>
>> Good writers can do so in ways that do not insult the intelligences
>> of smart audiences or punish them for thinking.
>>
>> The simple answer to why would robots feel "tired" is that say they
>> are programmed that way when their power supplies are low and they
>> need to recharge--as a way of anthropomorphizing them (unlike AI
>> where they had a robot boy that for some stupid reason designed to
>> replace sick real boys yet it doesn't sleep or eat, worse it can't
>> even FAKE it). Or they could be programmed to feel "hungry" when
>> power supplies are low.
>> It's not always What but How that's at issue.
>>
> Interesting.  I had interpreted the "I'm tired so I'm going to kill all 
> the humans so they'll leave me alone!" as being emotionally tired, not 
> physically.  As in "get off my case!" kind of tired.

Much like Moriarty got emotionally tired of Picard's promises--and
lies--of 
freedom and equitable treatment.

-- Ken from Chicago (who had longed for STAR TREK X: MURDER BY MORIARTY 
where the remains of the Big E's datacore is salvaged, including the
****tion 
storing Moriarty and his programming, accidentally released in the
Starfleet 
networked computer, whereupon Moriarty discovers Picard's 
deception--again--and seeks revenge)